New member; Aspie and totally okay with it

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Honestly, I don't really feel Aspergers to be the drawback people portray it as. Granted, the condition does indeed beget a host of unique challenges, but... I kind of like it. I'm a literal genius in my field of work (3D animation), I'm not bogged down by trying to conform and understand the NT's ways of living and social connections, and my ability to fixate on my interests (music, animation, and writing) for long periods of time is wonderful.

Now, I can see why its pressures are alleviated on me - I have little interest in connecting with human beings, as I do not understand them and, honestly, find them a bit boring. I'm also aromantic asexual, meaning I have no interest in any romantic relationships, as I simply do not bond with others... and I like that; all that matters is the work (or art, in my case). I understand other Aspies who wish to enjoy the social/romantic sides of life would meet great frustration in pursuing said aspects, but when you forgo that, life is... simple.

I like Aspergers. I wouldn't wish myself "cured", even if they concocted one tomorrow.

Oh, I understand I should also greet you, as this is my "new member" post.

Hello.

Hi there! Welcome to WP.

I honestly don't mean this in any sort of negative way, just a genuine question I have, as your post has made me curious: Why have you joined WP? Why are you interacting with us here, if you have little interest in connecting with humans? Is this perhaps one place where you feel you might get a more satisfying connection? If so, I hope that you do Though you say that you "like" that you do not bond with others, so I'm a little confused.

Ah, a logical inquiry - your curiosity is understandable. Interacting on social forums was something I rarely did, though upon reviewing this site the past couple of days, I feel... at home, I guess you could say (and virtually interacting is much easier than physically). Seeing others who are like me, sharing a common experience amongst themselves was intriguing, and, of course, it is impossible to go throughout life without at least SOME interaction. Even the name of the site implies its members do not feel themselves to be human, thus it's not quite the same as interacting with humans, and is the reason I wrote "human beings" in my post.

I am unsure as to whether that last statement was offensive or not, so I would just like to clarify that it was not intended to be.

And by "bonding", I meant opening up oneself to others, becoming close, even intimate, and etcetera. I have friends in real life, and do enjoy their company from time to time, but I haven't bonded with any of them. Nor will I bond with anyone here.

I hope that cleared up the confusion of my first post; I didn't mean to make myself out to be some sort of hermit.

Makes sense! I do consider myself and all the aspies and auties here as human beings though, just not your "regular" variety

Welcome to WP,

I misread that term as aromatic asexual and was scratching my head. The terms and varieties people describe themselves by today is confusing, and gives me a chuckle too. It used to be just mainly two: Boy & Girl. Now that was simple.

Glad you found your profession niche.

How did you get past all the social interactions (job interviews, etc) that are required to even get your foot in the door in the working world?

I compiled the best personality I could and pretended. It's extremely difficult and draining to do so, but people seem to accept it. Now I more rely on my work to represent my aptitude for a job, however.

How does one compile a personality? How did you deduce what were the best traits to display?

(Sorry if it sounds like I'm interrogating you.)

Not at all. Making up a false persona for dealing with the daily masses took me many years to perfect, but it's proven quite effective. As a child, watching television often allowed me to observe how humans act in certain situations, and I mimicked them accordingly. I also developed a kind of "mask", if you'll indulge me the metaphor, of a kind of fun-loving, life-of-the-party, obnoxious jokester (while it probably doesn't come across in these posts, I'm actually quite funny, with a strange, off-brand humor). The mask is what allowed me to make friends in the first place, but also keeps them at arms length.

Of course I have informed those I regularly interact with that it IS a fake persona, and I do need time to myself to recharge, so as not to cause confusion when my real self starts coming through on particularly long outings. They don't seem to mind.

You talk exactly like a computer or robot in a sci-fi novel. It's quite amusing.

I'm sorry to be rude but that's actually pretty awesome!

It's like you know humans, know their nature, language, culture and everything but it's more like a big science experiment than something you're personally involved with.

I do that too though, is that something we all do? Like certain aspects of people's behavior I can really only comprehend in an academic sense.

Well, I've always felt a close connection with Legion from Mass Effect. Heh heh

It seems to vary from aspie to aspie, though I know I've never felt to be of the same species as NTs. My behaviour is simulated when conducting myself amongst humans, and it usually is derived from mimicry and observation of media (I.e., how characters act in TV, movies, video games, etcetera). Most of it I do not understand though.
For instance, I seem to be able to instigate heavy laughter when making sex jokes in adult gatherings, though I myself am distinctly asexual. If something a human (or NT, whichever you prefer) does makes no logical sense, I struggle with it greatly - and humans are HIGHLY illogical.

I find the nts seem to think more in terms of identity as individuals and associating with a group with a demonstrated set of qualities. They assign qualities, either good or bad to themselves and others and associate based on those qualities. Like, strong, smart, hipster, nice, mean, stupid. And they do illogical things to maintain those identities regardless of whether it benefits them.

I'm making broad sweeping generalizations but people with aspergers seem to not make character inferences. We are more focused on whether that persons is somebody we could use for some purpose and we don't frequently say, is this a good or bad person? I can't really see friendship outside of mutual exploitation, or just a form of entertainment, like a videogame for social people.

Even as a robot, I still enjoy a few friendships, even if it means donning the mask and pretending to be... "normal", which is exhausting. They know this, and are considerate. Sociopaths don't seem to bother NTs as much as I had previously assumed.
But perhaps I just simply like having an audience to crack jokes to. Otherwise I prefer to be alone with my art.