The reason human brains grew so large was to manage around, and compete with, other humans.

In this aspect (our brain size) we quickly outstripped other species by country miles!

A bit like redwoods growing so tall. To compete with one another, but to their detriment as a group... since it takes so much energy to bring nutrients and water to the uppermost tiers & you're very vulnerable to the weather.

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Our grey matter - and the sheer amount of it (energy-draining, esp when combined with the heavy skull it needs for protection) - grew that way to help us, as individuals living in human societies, a) detect deception, and b) deceive and outdo others. Of our own species.

Now, enter #autistics.

Even the name, #autism - it's about not being what's considered properly 'socialised'.

Autistic babies don't show the heavy attention bias towards other humans that human babies generally do.

Our focus seems to have wandered to other things - light, nature, animals, objects, patterns... everything and anything!

Now let's turn to mentalising. Theory of mind.

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People who haven't been focusing on social intrigue since infancy, but on other things.

It's pretty obvious they're going to be at a major disadvantage among other humans! Yikes.

But... is it a deficit?

Some of the qualities shown in autistics, such as:

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- lack of herd mentality
- not succumbing to persuasion e.g. in a polling situation
- preferring outcomes to intentions (aka 'logic' - sorry, ahem, spoken like a true autistic!)
- not being susceptible to advertising
- preferring lots of data to heuristics
- a strong sense of moral justice and not 'different rules for different people'

#Autistic
(note: I'll add the references to studies and books for this thread later, when I've got a bit more time!)

Are these deficits?

I can certainly see why current human society would frame them as such!

But I have another word for possessing less 'theory of mind'.

Authenticity.
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#Neurodivergent #ActuallyAutistic #ASD #Autism #AuDHD