Humor from the Spectrum

I am neurotypical. Unfortunately, this means I have a strong herd instinct, and will tend to do exactly what everyone around me is doing. I cannot help this. It is innate.

"So, what happens when an NT like me lives with people on the spectrum?" I ask, while shuffling my feet and gazing at the floor.

{This is a joke. Sort of. Directed at NTs. We tell many such jokes around our house. And we ALL laugh.}

Comments

Anonymous said…
I didn't get it. ;) :P
Alana said…
you are kidding, right? I can't always tell when I'm deprived of tone of voice and facial expressions to guide my poor NT brain. :-)
Martha said…
You mean you just "go with the flow"? Nothing wrong with that, but I'm sure you know when to stand apart.
Anonymous said…
Yeah, I'm kidding! That was an Aspie sort of joke.

My husband and his uncle love puns. Sometimes they sail right over my head and sometimes I'm ROTLF.
Alana said…
No, no, no. "I" am the pun QUEEN! Never stand between me and a good pun! If it is possible to make a pun, I will make one. It's rather punishing for those around me. Bwahahahaha.
Has said…
I don't get it. You'll have to be explicit. Do you mean that in a household full of NTs, nobody knows what to do so you all sit together shuffling your feet and gazing at the floor?
Alana said…
OK...here's the explanation:

Many people on the Autistic spectrum like to think of themselves as "neurodiverse" and are advocates of "neurodiversity" according to which, being on the Autistic spectrum is not something to be "cured" but rather something to be celebrated. I do gather that most people who fall into this category are not the ones staring into space and rocking and not speaking, but rather the people who are nerdy and shuffly and geeky and like themselves that way.

There is even debate within the autism community whether "high functioning Autism/Aspergers syndrome" and classical autism are truly the same thing, or whether they are manifestations of conditions with differing etiologies which fall along the same behavior spectrum and have therefore been lumped together.

A "neurotypical"(NT) is a "normal" person. Someone who can easily and instinctively pick up on social cues and who carries the burden of being more "human community" oriented and therefore prone to peer pressure (the herd instinct). (I'm explaining a view of NT's that is often taken by those who are "neurologically diverse".)

So my joke is basically this: what happens when a "normal person"/NT is living in a household where multiple members are somewhere on the Autistic spectrum? Well, if herd instinct takes over, the NT will start acting like an Autistic person. Bowing to peer pressure and all that.

It is an exaggeration. Hence the humor.
Liz in Seattle said…
(poking head up) Huh? (going back to obsessive Mensa Sudoku and looking for a new computer science job; you think I'm kidding...)