Unlike some autistic people, I don’t find comfort in logic.
I don’t believe in logic. I believe in magic. Everything in the world is magical. Some things are magical in a dark, twisted way. Others vibrate with beautiful, comforting magic.
Logic doesn’t help me as an autistic Alice in Wonderland.
Fighting the insanity of the world
Every day in Wonderland, I confront things that feel wrong and twisted. What feels normal to other people is like dark magic to me.
Neurotypicals created this world that feels too loud, bright, and confusing.
I don’t fight the insanity of the world with logic.
I confront it with magic. I create something of my own that doesn’t make sense. That is often dark and twisted as well. But now it works with my rules.
I process my experiences by reading and writing. I enter fantasy worlds I can control, unlike the real world.
My satirical fiction writing helps me remain sane when I lose my faith in society.
It’s my croquet game, and I make the rules. Now the Queen is in danger of losing her head.
I wonder how many autistic people are like me. According to the stereotype, we’re supposed to be logical computer programmers. But I’m not. My dominant thinking style is intuitive.
The dual process theory and neurodiversity
According to the dual process theory, humans have two different reasoning processes. The intuitive thinking process is fast and automatic. The deliberative style takes more effort. That would be called logical thinking.
A thinking style that takes more effort; that already sounds unappealing to me!
It seems that I’m in a minority among autistic people. According to research, logical decision-making is more common in those with ASD, compared to the intuitive style.
I don’t find the study 100% reliable to represent all autistic people, though. First of all, all autistic participants in study 2 were male(!). Once again, autistic women got left out.
According to research, making decisions was hard for people with ASD if it involved talking to others, a change in routines, or if the decision had to be made quickly.
I can relate to that. The impact of other people distracts my decisions. It’s difficult for me to listen to my intuition if other people try to impact my decision.
According to research, people with Asperger’s syndrome have a “lack of spontaneous adaptation”. Well, I do have that. If another person asks me to decide on something, I can’t decide quickly. The “energy” of the other person distracts me.
I tend to make decisions quickly when I’m alone, though. I also take action based on my decisions fast. I’m impulsive. That’s my ADHD brain in action.
People with ADHD are often highly intuitive. And 30 to 50% of people with ASD also have ADHD.
The study on autistic thinking styles probably didn’t take that into account. It didn’t mention any of the participants having ADHD.
In autistic people like me, who also have ADHD, the ADHD traits can be stronger than autistic traits in some areas of life. That might explain my highly intuitive thinking.
Not all autistic people are logical
Maybe logical thinking helps some autistic people in a world that feels chaotic and illogical. But it has never helped me because I’m not a logical thinker.
I was happy to read an article on Psych Central that says not all autistic people rely on logic. “Like any group of people, there are variations in preferences and thinking styles”, Psych Central points out.
I make decisions more based on my intuition than logic. I choose the option that feels “right” inside me, even if it doesn’t make sense rationally.
The stereotype of autistic computer programmers annoys me so much that I’m slightly reluctant to admit this. But I got interested in coding recently. And unlike most things, coding seems logical to me.
How did I decide to start studying coding, though?
As usual, with intuition! I was crocheting when the idea came out of the blue. It was as if a voice inside me said: “Learn to code!”
And no one has ever, even once, said to me: “You should learn to code!” I didn’t have the slightest interest in coding before that moment.
It was pure intuition.
Do you make decisions based on logic or intuition? Please share in the comments!
