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Fiction makes life imperfect

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nortier
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18 Jan 2011, 12:54 pm

While this question involves many different topics, I think it's at its best in the 'Philosophy' section. I have this theory about my own way of looking at life, I would like to know if anyone of you recognizes themselves in what I'm writing here:

Asperger's makes it so that, subconsciously, I like to copy behaviour around me: in people, films, TV shows, books, etc. I don't always know how to behave, I don't have life figured out (like everyone), but feel that everyone else knows how to live it. So I copy them.

Copying from fictional things like films and books, makes it so that I always expect a conclusion of things in my life. An episode of "The Office US" ends after 25 minutes, and after that the characters have resolved their problems. I need that, too.

Now, sometimes, and it is definitely not always but it's there, I feel that because I can never have these conclusions at the end of a day / hour / conversation, etc., I can never live fully. There will always be an empty part that some people don't understand (in an episode of a show, every viewer is supposed to 'get the whole picture').

Naturally I am aware of the fact that nobody has life figured out until they die, but do you think that the imitation part of autism makes the fact that there is only one conclusion in life, extra hard?

Does fiction make your life imperfect, because it itself is perfect?



Awesomelyglorious
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18 Jan 2011, 7:07 pm

Honestly, I am not sure about the idea of escaping fiction. Every society has always had stories the model itself around... so, I feel uncertain about the idea of the fictionless society that you postulate. The fact that this just doesn't happen leaves me with questions and concerns.



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18 Jan 2011, 7:20 pm

Most life agendas are based on fictions. Success in business, in marriage, in friendships, winning in lotteries, good guys winning and bad guys losing, going to heaven after you die, it's all made up nonsense for the average person although the exceptions seem to be enough to keep people trying and hoping and evading the inevitable depression when the truth becomes apparent.



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18 Jan 2011, 8:19 pm

nortier wrote:
While this question involves many different topics, I think it's at its best in the 'Philosophy' section. I have this theory about my own way of looking at life, I would like to know if anyone of you recognizes themselves in what I'm writing here:

Asperger's makes it so that, subconsciously, I like to copy behaviour around me: in people, films, TV shows, books, etc. I don't always know how to behave, I don't have life figured out (like everyone), but feel that everyone else knows how to live it. So I copy them.

Copying from fictional things like films and books, makes it so that I always expect a conclusion of things in my life. An episode of "The Office US" ends after 25 minutes, and after that the characters have resolved their problems. I need that, too.

Now, sometimes, and it is definitely not always but it's there, I feel that because I can never have these conclusions at the end of a day / hour / conversation, etc., I can never live fully. There will always be an empty part that some people don't understand (in an episode of a show, every viewer is supposed to 'get the whole picture').

Naturally I am aware of the fact that nobody has life figured out until they die, but do you think that the imitation part of autism makes the fact that there is only one conclusion in life, extra hard?


People really have to actively work to resolve issues amongst themselves. Consider the scenario of being indebted to someone. The debt will not pay itself off, but instead requires being responded to by the person indebted. Consider the case of offending a friend. They may or may not recover from their offense on their own, but it would speed up the process if apologies were made. Things left undone require active attention or they will remain undone.

nortier wrote:
Does fiction make your life imperfect, because it itself is perfect?


Science fiction novels, at least ones which are well done and don't revert to magical technobabble every femptosecond, make me wish that more were done in regard to the space program rather than with regard to politicking.