Carl-Richard

The negative language is one thing, another thing is the typologizing and absolutizing (diagnosing); you are "this thing" and it has these specific criteria. A different approach is "how much of these traits do you have?", or "what specific goals do you have?" and the person fills in the blanks. The former is a subtle distinction (and the "neurodiversity spectrum" idea could seem to support this, but in reality, people typologize themselves despite this). I have very deliberately challenged typologizing "introversion" when it comes to myself, because I know the traps my mind creates when I go in that territory. I generally avoid describing myself as a thing. There is a saying "I don't care about who you are, only what you do". Or you can say "do what you want, do what you are good at, and do it in an environment that supports these things". If that is not happening, that can explain why you have so much trouble in life. And if you can't figure out why those things aren't happening and you've really tried your best, then consider that you have some dysfunction that needs special care. But even in that case, challenging the dysfunctionalizing and typologizing framework is helpful. You don't have to call yourself "autistic" to go to a psychologist to get help with your concerns (and yes, it can be an uphill battle to deal with diagnoses from the people trying to help you, but that is a microcosm of life and people always "diagnosing" you for various things and you having to say "no you're full of shit").

So we've recently been introduced to the frame of "neurodiversity" (thanks @Cred, and welcome), which is implicitly (or rather quite explicitly) a pathological psychological frame, concerned with describing dysfunction or things that are broken. Notions like "executive dysfunction" get intermingled with "passion", notions like achievement-oriented behavior get intermingled with "narcissistic coping". Those who are different in some way or another, or "neurodivergent", are proposed to disengage from "normal" society, behaviors, activities, people (those who are more alike each other in some way or another). And those who are different are encouraged to identify with various labels from pathological psychology (ADHD, autism, psychosis, etc.). This pathological view of psychology is quite prevalent. I recently watched a video of Dr. K describing how high-achievers are "broken in the right ways". Interesting how you can take a pathological and essentially negative view of something which is so obviously non-pathological and positive. It's of course not surprising, as Dr. K is a psychiatrist, and psychiatry is in essence, in its historical root, concerned about fixing pathology, healing the sick. And hence it frames the problem a certain way, and I believe the way you frame the problem has a lot to say for how you go about not just fixing the problem but relating to yourself and your own mind. And I believe pathological psychology can (not coincidentally) breed pathological frames of mind, of course inadvertently. Viewing yourself as broken, as something that needs to be fixed, and that is "other" than some ideal, is inherently disempowering, stifles autonomy and the feeling of being in control of your life, which as I'll get into, is one of the main drivers of health and functionality. Now, there are cases where taking a pathological view is necessary or useful, but this ideally comes second to taking alternative frames when the pathological frames don't work. And I also believe these alternative frames can address many of the same issues as those proposed by the pathological ones, also especially the concern addressed recently by @Cred in the neurodiversity frame of "are you doing the right thing?", or "are you doing what is right for you?". And what are the alternatives? Well, not coincidentally, there is something called "positive psychology". It is concerned with notions such as happiness, well-being, health, motivation, mindfulness, meaning, etc. Also notions like self-actualization and life purpose, familiar to those interested in Actualized.org, also fall under this category. You also have "salutogenic" perspectives on health, i.e. approaches towards healthcare and public health policy that are concerned about how to "increase health" rather than "fix illness" (i.e., it's about framing the problem in a positive rather than negative way). And it leads to notions such as empowerment, resilience-building, sources of social support and adaptive cognitive styles. You of course also have more Eastern psychology and religion and also Western religion with its spiritual frameworks of moving towards Enlightenment or sacred states of being, intermingled with moral and ethical philosophy on how to live a good life (Dharma, Jesus' teachings, Buddha's teachings, ancient stoicism, achieving eudaimonia). This ties back into well-being, peak states, peak performance, flow states, sources of purpose and meaning found in positive psychology (positive psychology is in large part a recapitulation and Western rebranding of ancient wisdom). And how do they address the questions of "are you doing what is right" and "what is right for you" or otherwise? If it is not self-evident in that you simply have to explore some of these perspectives (which I give my own orienting framework of here), I can give what I think is the most efficient, elegant or powerful model, and it's from positive psychology. You might've guessed it: Self-Determination Theory. You can choose to read more in-depth explanations of it (I will leave some links here; [1], [2], [3]), or you can simply take this summary of the model: do what you want to do (autonomy), do what you are good at (competence), and do it with the support of those who support these things (belonging/relatedness). The question then is of course "but how do I do this in a world that is dangerous and other to me and against what I immediately want to do; taxes, bills, people who disagree, culture, law-makers, naysayers, squares, disbelievers?". Find a way to make it work, find the golden middle way. Life is not infinitely forgiving. That is the harsh reality. But once you have staked out the correct orienting framework — do what you want, do what you're good at, and do it with the support of the right people — you will sooner or later end up in a more and more suitable position, a place where you truly feel that you belong. Even if you feel that you don't fit quite anywhere, if you keep trying, you will find something, and it might find you.

This guy is in some kind of state. Extremely light energy, piercing eyes.

Dude moves like he could knock you out by breathing in your general direction.

Not Vitaly, the guy confronting him 💀 Vitaly is just on coke. He doesn't have divine metaphysical energy driving his actions.

Generally, I might add that questioning how things are framed, like I'm doing here, is a brilliant source of autonomy. It puts the power of reality (as far as it is framed, which is often) in your hands. This is a lot of what Leo preaches and is concerned about with notions like conformity, becoming epistemically independent, intellectually sovereign. Whenever you encounter a frame that you might consider problematic, ask yourself "how does this frame make me feel?". "Do I agree with this frame?" "Is there a better way to frame the same things?". Because frames tend to connect to other frames, they tend to smuggle in things that might not be necessary or relevant for the problem you're trying to address. I've tried to provide a frame that I think is more relevant for many people and which explains why so many people have had such a negative reaction to @Cred and his let's call it neurodiversity educational crusade. And this is not me saying my frame is necessarily better for you. I'm saying you should question the frame and ask "if" it is better for you. I am not doing like @Cred and insisting that you should adopt my frame. Those who know Spiral Dynamics know that this does not work. You have to meet people where they are at, and address their actual needs, not enlighten them with a view that might not fit them. @Leo Gura A video on frames and how being aware of how you frame things is beneficial (and how to be aware of it), might be good.

@Ramasta9 I might have some of their DNA considering my father's side has some Finnish genes (and subtle Lappid phenotypic traits) and Finland is not that far from Siberia (the Lappid phenotype "overlaps" with the Sibirid phenotypes) 😎

I've recently tried many supplements, which is popular these days (Bryan Johnson, Dr. Rhonda Patrick, Andrew Huberman, etc.). Before, I had an aversion to B-vitamin supplements because they made me feel too wired, but I decided to still try them in the form of a multivitamin. I also added copious amounts of zinc, boron and vitamin D (and K2, magnesium, calcium, fish oil). Then after finishing my degree, I noticed I was a bit restless even though I had little reason to be. So I decided to drop the multivitamin to see if indeed it was the B-vitamins. The restlessness dropped noticeably and quite immediately. Then when I try meditating I still find there is some lingering restlessness there. Maybe it's the zinc supplement (which I over time decided to double the dose of, because it gave me more energy). Also, when I started the boron supplement, I went straight to two pills (6 mg) without starting with one and then deciding whether I should taper up (or drop it). I suspect it could be making me feel a certain way (I have for example had strong reactions to too much Vitamin E, probably due to its anti-oxidant/anti-inflammatory activity, and boron has anti-inflammatory activity). If I still feel too wired or weird, I will maybe start tapering down vitamin D (which is a bit of a tough nut because I've done it before; but then I also took smaller doses; and I did not respond positively).

Because if you're growing up fed crack, you will need someone to take away that crack before you can shift your attention to other things. Doing work with social value was easier in the past when there was not much else to do or that steered your attention (but yes, stamp collection was a thing, but it's not literal dopaminergic hard drugs). And when you don't know crack, you probably won't have much else that gives you a sense of value than work with social value (because if you end up doing too much stamp collection, you will realize it's not sustainable in most cases, and it's easier to stop and the perceived value drops). If you let the child self-adminster crack and figure out what functional behaviors to do themselves, you will rely on the progressive breakdown of their functioning until they realize their life is too shit to continue this way, and they will either die or have an internal transformation (rock-bottom theory). That's not a wise or sustainable way to parent. It's more wise and sustainable to guide towards more natural forms of stimulation (indeed that of a cat). That's arguably where most of the self-hatred comes from in the "degenerate gamer": the progressive breakdown of motivational systems, increasing anhedonia, decreasing sensitivity to life, leading to more isolation, more compulsive and stronger types of stimulation (stronger drugs, stronger videogames, stronger porn) and a sense of hopelessness where they feel like they can't get out. And that's where the feeling of disconnection (from the "NT world") comes from, of not having the motivation (forget the competence) to seek out places of connection. And this doesn't just apply to videogames: it's the eternal dynamic of growing up. It's to go beyond the immediate short-term gratification, impulsive, self-focused hedonism, and orient yourself more long-term, delayed gratification, control your impulses, focus on more things than yourself, eudaimonia. And that's where parents lead by example and provide challenges in that direction, to push away from the immaturity and towards maturity. I thought you might say that. I have another theory for why I got "fixated" on that game (we're talking about RuneScape btw), and it has to do with me being promised paid membership for my birthday when I was 11, and then when we were about to purchase it, my dad noticed the age restriction was 12 years old (yes, strict), and he said no. So I was betrayed, making it a kind of forbidden pleasure, so I became fixated on that pleasure once I obtained it for myself (later with pre-paid mobile cards). This was also reinforced by the fact that because of the feeling of betrayal I got when asking for something I really wanted from my parents (RuneScape was a really really, really, big deal for me at that point), I stopped asking for stuff from my parents in general to avoid that potential betrayal in the future. So I stopped asking for other videogames (and clothes unless I had to, computer-related things, really anything "big"), and it calcified my "fixation" on that one game. As for the game itself being repetitive, it depends on how you play it. Skilling can be more repetitive (and is notoriously labelled autistic; "clicking on a rock" a million times), but player-vs-player is more varied and action-based (more like FPS games than anything). I have like 9 different PvP accounts on Oldschool RuneScape, let's put it that way. I have probably also a comparable number of hours playing guitar, and I played sports from like 7 to 14 and was very social at that time. I don't know what technically counts as an autistic fixation, but I didn't channel all of my time into the game. Also, as for repetition, a friend I consider autistic has said he likes to play piano 6 hours at a time (and one time he said he worked 12 hours at work, engineering consultant, with no breaks). When I play guitar, I go around an hour and a half, max 3 hours at a time. Let me also add that "fixation" on a game like RS is not uncommon. All the bigger streamers in the category have been fixated on it despite being sociable and "typical" in other ways, playing it consistently for decades. There is a saying "you never stop playing RS, you just take a break".

Living in a place that is dark half the year might not be optimal, even if my ancestors survived doing it. Survival is not longevity. That's true in the summer in Norway, but the sun is too low in the sky in winter, all the UV rays get absorbed by the atmosphere because of the low angle of entry. 100 years ago in winter, my ancestors ate dried/salted or smoked fish, smoked meat, potatoes, grains, dairy, root vegetables (carrots, cabbage, onions, etc.), canned vegetables/fruit. There was no year-round fresh fruit market. If some genius were to be a fruitarian, they would forego the vitamin D from the fish and purely live on saved up vitamin D from summer sunshine. Maybe it's survivable if you're in the sun a lot during summer, but I'm not sure if it's optimal.

But you live in Australia with the strongest sun on Earth 😢 Meanwhile look up the UV index in southern Norway today (forget about northern Norway, that's essentially the North Pole).

Elon is autistic as fuck.

Mikael Akerfeldt is the Robert Plant of Death Metal:

They say that good music keeps you at the edge between familiarity and surprise. Too familiar becomes boring, and too surprising becomes hard to follow. Musical improvisation is the manifestation of this in real time, and you can usually notice when the player is engaging in well-established/familiar patterns ("licks") and when the player is creating something completely original. I'm used to improvising a lot on guitar, and I've noticed that I'm able to imagine impossibly intricate and original lines of improvisation in my head, but I'm in no way technically advanced enough to manifest that through my instrument. When I listen to the most complete virtuostic improvisational players out there, even though they can come very close many times, I always feel a tension between boredom and impenetrability. Of course, this desire I have of hearing the most hyper-creative lines of notes that I can possibly imagine is impossible to fulfill. It's completely relative to my unique conception of music, and I would probably never in a million years get to hear somebody produce even 10 seconds of those exact notes (which would be absolutely transcendentally orgasmic if it happened). Nevertheless, I know two players who come extremely close, and I'll try to weigh to which extent they're too "boring" ("musically conventional" is a better word) or too impenetrable (too melodically or harmonically complex) relative to my impossible standard of imaginative perfection. Guthrie Govan (obviously). It's tricky, because he is so versatile that he often fluctuates between too conventional (like bluesy bendy stuff) and too complex (like jazzy shredding stuff). I'll give an example for each player: Allan Holdsworth is notoriously known for being impossible to imitate by other players. For reference, Guthrie Govan can imitate virtually anyone but him. He often becomes too complex. I sometimes have to listen to his songs 30 times to understand what he is doing (like the run at 1:28 in the video below). (Btw things become more interesting around 0:40).

Which is what, playing more videogames and continuing being a NEET? This "separate from the world" thinking is exactly the kind of trap I'm warning about. You're not separate from the world just because you never dared to expose yourself to a slightly more uncomfortable challenge than waking up and turning on your computer. You will very well end up as someone who thinks they are separate from the world if you are not challenged. Me going to university was a challenge imposed on me by my mother, but I learned that it was more for me than I had ever realized. Through challenge you might find strengths you never realized you had. And it will lead to finding value you did not know existed. Take this as someone who has spent more than 10000 hours on one single videogame. Likewise, of all the people I know in real life who I consider ND (leaning autistic), they are all well-educated, well-functioning members of society. If anything, the more normal ones or those more like me (I don't consider myself in any statistically significant way autistic, if anything, I'm on the opposite extreme) are the ones struggling. Some even died of overdoses. There is a fine line between enabling authenticity and enabling immature dysfunction. What that line is might be something like "try this out and see if you like it", "work on this for a while and see what happens". You don't have to be thrown to the flames of reality with threats of abandonment or isolation from those who support you, but that might also work.

Who are these schizos lol. The dude was skeptical whether or not he would go on a podcast. He has gone on a podcast before. 🤢

I could definitely see a difference between say a pure THC vape and a wild cannabis flower. It's the difference between the strongest vodka you can find and a light beer (and beer contains various phytochemicals outside alcohol). My main gripe with THC nowadays is its lipophilicity, so it really stays in your body (to the point of being noticeable) for up to a week or so with infrequent use, which sucks ass. Back in my weed days, I remember getting this strain that a friend of mine said was a hybrid indica strain or something. I liked it so much.

Pretty schiz ngl.

My guy, he has already been on many podcasts. Pretty schiz ngl.

Since Dr. K seems to talk about both neurodivergence and Puer Aeternus, he should probably talk about the possible tension between them. Because it's easy to use dysfunctionalizing yourself as an excuse to not grow up.

It's not ultimately real. Oneness is what is ultimately real. Sounds, colors, feelings are ultimately as a real as the ego. The ego is "real" in the sense that it is distorting your perception. Perception is "real" in the sense that it is distorting reality. Sounds, colors, feelings are "real" in the sense that they distort Oneness.

Doesn't that taste like absolute battery acid?

I just looked up 5 mangoes and 10 bananas on Cronometer. Both give a lot of copper but little zinc, which alone could explain this (forgive my reductionist brain). I one time bought a copper supplement and I hated it because it made me feel like an emotionally unstable woman lol. Mango is actually surprisingly nutritious. All it really needs is B12 and it's like the egg of fruits. But nothing beats kiwi, but it's like scarily nutritious and sort of unbalanced if you were to eat it and nothing else (insane amounts of vitamin C and K).

You are allowed to post, not just spam new threads all the time about the exact same topic (neurodiversity). The point of a thread is to gather similar thoughts under it so that the sub-forums can be used as a catalogue for where different kinds of thoughts are found. One thread for neurodiversity is probably enough. Perhaps if there was a sub-forum for neurodiversity, you could spam threads, but we don't have that yet.

If you were to do a personal profile on me (based on what you currently know about me), what makes you think I'm neurodivergent?