Understanding neurotypicality-- a parody

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Understanding Neurotypicality

Neurotypicality is a pervasive developmental condition, probably present since

birth, in which the affected person sees the world in a very strange manner.

It is a puzzle; a enigma that traps those so affected in a lifelong struggle

for social status and recognition. Neurotypical individuals almost invariably

show a triad of impairments, consisting of inability to think independently of

the social group, marked impairment in the ability to think logically or

critically, and inability to form special interests (other than in social

activity). It is my hope that this article will help us understand the very

different world of the neurotypical.

Neurotypical individuals show difficulty in forming an individual identity, or

in thinking outside of the bounds of the accepted norms of their social

groups. It appears that each group a neurotypical belongs to will have its own

set of " official " opinions, and each neurotypical within that group is expected

to adopt those beliefs. As strange as it sounds, they generally do so very

readily, and are not hesitant at all to help enforce those beliefs and ensure

group homogeneity of opinion. There appears to be an innate drive for the

neurotypical to fit in with groups in that manner, and their own innate

opinions and desires are modified automatically to fit the group ideal. This

bizarre lack of independence explains the tendency for neurotypicals to engage

in fads of various sorts, or for the existence of certain trends.

Neurotypicals will change the way they talk or dress according to these trends,

and other neurotypicals will admire and imitate such " trendy " behavior. As

such, neurotypicals are easy prey for TV commercials or other means of

advertising that seek to portray the purchase or use of various products as

socially desirable or " cool. "

The need for neurotypical individuals to " jump on " the latest trend is a

function of their excessive level of concern of how they are perceived by

others. Neurotypicals form their self-image based at least as much on the

opinions of their peers as they do on their own opinions. They do not perceive

themselves as individuals in the manner that you or I do; they see themselves

as individual members of a group, but in practice, the opinions of others weigh

heavily upon them, and there is a great drive to obtain the acceptance and

admiration of others around them, including complete strangers. There is a

built-in tendency for neurotypicals to blend in, to become " one of the herd, "

so to speak. Most of them never realize how much their opinions are dictated

by the group. They want the things that the group deems desirable, and they

internalize that desire so fully that it feels to them as if it was an

internally-motivated desire.

The overdeveloped social centers of the neurotypical brain are also responsible

for their odd, inefficient communication style. We've all seen the strange

tendency neurotypicals have to hide their true communicative intent beneath

layers of often contradictory statements. They tend to state things implicitly

rather than explicitly, and with a level of vagarity that often results in

miscommunication. This appears to be an outgrowth of the neurotypical person's

desire to maintain popularity and social status; they seem to believe that by

stating potentially

annoying or offensive things indirectly, their popularity will be better

maintained. This obsessive concern with social standing makes communication

with neurotypicals rather difficult at times. They are incapable of expressing

things directly, in a manner that can be easily

and unambiguously interpreted by anyone that knows the language. They are also

limited in their capacity to interpret statements directly without trying to

find hidden meanings in them; they often misunderstand the most basic

statements in this way.

People with neurotypicality tend to communicate in a very vague manner. They

make guesses as to the level of knowledge of the listener, and omit parts that

the listener is presumed to know. It is rather obvious that this guessing will

often be wrong. Unfortunately, the listener

that does not understand will generally not ask for clarification of such

ambiguities, for fear of the speaker thinking that he is stupid or ignorant.

As is usually the case with neurotypicals, image and status is more important

than effective communication and the truth in general. Communication between

neurotypicals is very limited in this way, and the fear of being seen as stupid

prevents either party from verifying the content of the conversation. As such,

most miscommunication goes undetected by at least one, if not all,

neurotypicals that had engaged in such a conversation.

The neurotypical individual typically has a very limited capacity for logic or

rational thought. The most recent research on the topic suggests that

neurotypical people are not able to separate their emotions from their logic,

and they often confuse the two. This is an obvious explanation for the

sometimes appalling illogicality evidenced in neurotypical behavior.

Neurotypicals typically exhibit very limited critical thought, and they are

easily led to believe some rather illogical things. Sadly, most societal

positions that require logic and rational thought

are occupied by neurotypicals, which is a function of their sheer numbers more

than any fitness for the job. Such jobs include important functions like

jurors, legislators, judges, voters, doctors, and many others. If their herd

mentality did not result in excessive rates

of reproduction, their numbers would be smaller, and they would be of more use

in job titles like salesperson, receptionist, cashier, and others where

rational thought is less emphasized than social interaction.

Neurotypicals have a very limited ability to concentrate on one topic for great

lengths of time, or repeatedly. The apparent absence of special interests in

neurotypicals is notable. Their concentrations on normal areas of interest

like computers, machines, scientific interests,

history, or other academic subjects, are limited, and are short in duration as

well as relatively infrequent. It appears that nearly all neurotypicals share

one singular special interest, and that is socializing. This is the only

activity that the person with neurotypicality can engage in for more than short

periods of time. The stereotyped neurotypical mannerism of " chatting, " or

communicating verbally with others even where no relevant or useful information

is exchanged, is notable, and can be observed very often in neurotypicals that

are engaging in perseverative social behavior. Why the neurotypical mind is

limited in its flexibility insofar as selection of a special interest is not

known at this time. This social interest is not terribly useful as far as

society in general is concerned, and the neurotypical is unlikely to be capable

of significant innovation, or of fostering societal advancement.

Without significant intervention, neurotypicals will continue to be dependent

on us for generations to come. Unfortunately, the neurotypical herd mentality

results in an excessive rate of birth of offspring that are genetically

predisposed to be neurotypical, and as such the incidence of neurotypicality

remains frighteningly high. Fortunately, the percentage of neurotypical births

has been in decline recently, although it is still far too high for comfort. As

long as the numbers of neurotypicals are so high, it is unlikely that they will

allow us to institute any remediative efforts to help them overcome their

disability. We may think it is so sad to see neurotypical children being

trained to maintain a group mentality and to forsake true individualism, but at

this point it is unlikely that the neurotypical parents of these children will

be able to overcome their aforementioned logic impairments to realize how

important intervention is if their children are to live to their fullest

potential. It is up to us to educate them, and to get them to see that every

child is entitled to greatness, even if he was diagnosed with neurotypicality.

There can be hope for a better future if we can reach these children in time.