NancyLebovitz comments on Do you have High-Functioning Asperger's Syndrome? - Less Wrong

19 [deleted] 10 May 2010 11:55PM

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Comment author: Cosmos 11 May 2010 03:49:10PM 10 points [-]

I came to the conclusion that I have autistic tendencies a long time ago - lack of understanding of social cues, constant pattern recognition, stuttering, habitual actions... Given the high autism rates in Silicon Valley, it seems likely to me that there is indeed a genetic component, and "high-functioning" autistics have a heterozygous genotype. (Although I don't think it's yet ruled out that it could be caused by some type of improper socialization.)

However, I seem to have an uncommon level of ability to self-modify (from my discussions with other people, including rationalists), and since discovering rationality I've been attempting to ruthlessly optimize various aspects of myself. For my most recent example, because I didn't understand social cues I took a PUA seminar and within days I could successfully approach and charm people in bars and clubs, a world that I always thought would be inaccessible to me. It turns out I was just unconsciously sending low-status signals, because I never paid any attention to what myself or others were doing.

This also helps me deal with the symptoms as well. I have habitual actions, but I don't allow myself to be disturbed if they are interrupted. (In fact, I think settling too quickly into habits means we don't explore the possibility space thoroughly enough, so I consciously try to break up my routines and find new ways of doing things.) I have narrow interests, but I rotate between different things, in a type of serial immersion. I can even use conscious control over my mouth, tongue and throat to relax my muscles and effectively stop my stuttering.

For what it's worth I scored a 22. I predict that number will be lower in the future.

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 11 May 2010 04:16:44PM 6 points [-]

Can you describe the procedure you use when you self-modify?

Comment author: Cosmos 11 May 2010 04:35:22PM 5 points [-]

You're not the first person to ask me this, but there are obvious difficulties in conveying exactly what is going on when I do this.

The first step is becoming consciously aware of the phenomenon. Once this occurs, I begin to recognize it immediately when I do it. I then think to myself how I should have responded instead. Over multiple iterations of the above, I begin to internalize this conscious correction as a new habit.

I first used this technique when I took a course on cognition in college and learned about cognitive biases. The availability heuristic was the first to go - I knew when I didn't have actual data on a phenomenon, making it ridiculously easy to spot.

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 11 May 2010 05:26:57PM *  2 points [-]

Tentatively-- once you decide what you want to change, you put your focus on the change, and check for the outcome after you've taken action.

I begin to suspect that one of my problems is assuming I know how a change will feel, and giving up on a change if I don't get the feeling.