Along these lines, my brother-in-law gets autism headaches where he hears a guitar riff and can copy it instantly, and can look at a row of lockers and say how many there are without counting. Was I ever shocked to be talking with him one day, he pauses, says "48", says he has a headache, and goes home. It turns out there were 48 chairs in that room.
If that kind of autism can be turned on with a "switch", why not other aspects?
Your brother-in-law is not autistic, he's a savant. Here are the symptoms of autism, lifted from here [autism-society.org] (most autistic people:
Insistence on sameness; resistance to change
Difficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or pointing instead of words
Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
Laughing, crying, showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
Prefers to be alone; aloof manner
Tantrums
Difficulty in mixing with others
May not want to cuddle or be cuddled
Little or no ey
I had a lot of these "symptoms" in elementary school, and I would say that I don't have any of them now. I was just an ordinary kid that the adults tried to label as this or that.
I have borderline high-functioning autism myself. Regarding "special talents" (with me anyway) - it comes and goes. I can't switch it on/ off. Regarding the chairs if there were 6 rows of 8 chairs it isn't that hard to count. The ability to remember musical melodies isn't that difficult - and can be learned. It's part of most musician's training to be able to memorise not just a riff but entire pages of music. If you've taken a music exam you have to sing back a few phrases played to you - which is not far off playing them. I get the tension headaches too - one of the downsides of the frustration caused by having a communication disorder and being misunderstood.
We determine what is needed in the way of items to remember, and go on not "recording" what has past, unless it has some required significance. In the workplace, there may be no need to "remember" everything, especially if there is a written record (or digital record) that can be referred to in the unlikely event that the item needs to be brought back up. I have heard that savants cannot do that, they remember everything. It is as if we have RAM, and what we are working with is in that, and anything of value
"In a threating workplace environment, A LOT gets "remembered" because "one will need to know ALL the details" to fend off "supervisors" inquiries, or to counter false accusations concerning the events in question. "
Read "When I say no, I feel guilty" by Manuel J Smith. There is no need to feel threatened (or to be on the defensive) even if you have to work inside a threatening workplace.
In my own experience I remember a migraine I had come on at work and it transformed me into a savant (of sorts) by giving me a mini Tourette's episode. I couldn't actually tell my colleagues in so many words why I was being a bit odd (apparently muttering "motherfucker" every third word is normal for me when I'm working on something tricky - who knew?) but I developed an amazing ability to communicate my predicament by pointing at my head, grimacing, and saying "shit motherfucker gnnn!"
Who knew that talent lay latent within me, just waiting for its release through the method of blinding and nauseating pain?
Screw that (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Screw that (Score:5, Interesting)
If that kind of autism can be turned on with a "switch", why not other aspects?
Re:Screw that (Score:0)
Insistence on sameness; resistance to change
Difficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or pointing instead of words
Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
Laughing, crying, showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
Prefers to be alone; aloof manner
Tantrums
Difficulty in mixing with others
May not want to cuddle or be cuddled
Little or no ey
Re:Screw that (Score:0)
Re:Screw that (Score:0)
Re:Screw that (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Screw that (Score:5, Insightful)
What's Normal. (Score:0)
I have heard that savants cannot do that, they remember everything. It is as if we have RAM, and what we are working with is in that, and anything of value
Re:What's Normal. (Score:0)
Read "When I say no, I feel guilty" by Manuel J Smith. There is no need to feel threatened (or to be on the defensive) even if you have to work inside a threatening workplace.
Re:Screw that (Score:5, Funny)
Who knew that talent lay latent within me, just waiting for its release through the method of blinding and nauseating pain?