What if all neurotypical people disappeared?

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A hypothetical scenario that I thought of. I’ve seen videos exploring the premise of what would happen if all humans suddenly vanished (this has in fact been the subject of multiple documentaries) as well as what would happen if specifically all men disappeared. So I got the idea of what would happen if each and every neurotypical human on earth suddenly vanished from existence, think Thanos-snapped. This would leave only people with differently wired brains like autists, people with ADHD, people with dyslexia, etc. . How do you think society would be affected with the majority of the population suddenly gone? Do you think the world would become more accommodating for people with special needs/disabilities now that most people would have them in some form?

Disclaimer: I am not advocating for killing all neurotypicals or whatever, or the idea that a world without them would necessarily be a better one. I’m just wondering what you guys think would go down in a world where neurodivergent people were suddenly the only ones.

We'd be f****d.

There would be a lot of unemployed and unemployable folks waiting for deliveries that never arrive.

No.

Life would be lived at a slower pace and the unnatural use of light/noise/time that we are used to would go away with an older way rediscovered.

There are a lot of people only socially disabled but would get on fine in another society.

We would find ways of connecting like that or of doing things ourselves individually.

Heck there's a bunch of disabled people, actual learning disabilities, in this one town I know which is autistic and LD only. The town functions. It's just a slower pace of life.

Esp if it was allistic rather than just NT I would be sad.

I'd miss my cousin and auntie if it was just NTs.

They are annoying people but they're my annoying people.

Although me and my stepdad would get on ok without mum on a practical level, we would be heartbroken.

She would be equally heartbroken if all autistic people disappeared and my auntie would be if all ND people disappeared.

Response to original question: I don't know. But I'd like to see the movie! Or, the TV series.

But I'm unclear what the genre would be. Horror? Tragedy? Drama? Comedy?

I'm guessing Romance would be a bit of stretch--no, wait a second, if all ND folk remained it wouldn't just be people on the Spectrum...I'd still have had a tough time finding a date, though.

Yes, Dear. I know you are ND^ADHD so you'd still be there so I shouldn't even be looking for a date.
Yes, Dear--I meant the "me" before I was lucky enough to meet you.

Last edited by Double Retired on 20 Apr 2021, 9:10 am, edited 2 times in total.

Uh-huh.

And who keeps the utilities running, provides the medical care, and mobilizes group efforts when an emergency strikes?

Please provide a link to data on this "Autistics Only" town of yours, and leave it to us to determine the truth.[/color]

Hmm, interesting.
My first thought is that Dad was in the Navy and the Navy had a thing for making acronyms out of stuff,

So,

The genre could be,

HORTRADRACOM

anyway, I expect the specific answer to would the genre be horror, tragedy, drama, or comedy?

is, Yes.

I appreciate all the replies I’ve gotten. I agree that if all NTs vanished from existence, there were suddenly be a lot of jobs empty and people unemployed which would be bound to result in chaos. In the long run however, I feel like we’d be fine without them. Perhaps a new society would in time develop that is generally less reliant on social skills, and of course more accommodating of people with special needs like I suggested.

I don't get why there would be a sudden surge in unemployment if all the NT's go. Can someone explain that to me?

Because most people who are employed are NTs. Most people are NTs. If you vanish 97% of the population there's gonna be a lot of job vacancies and out of who's left a higher than average proportion will be unemployable because they don't function at a high enough level.

Within NT society

Slow society down and get rid of sensory sensitivities and a great number of those would be ok

Not everyone but I severely doubt there is no society I could work in

Just aren't many NT ones where I could pass an interview.

Hmm, living here in the midwest in the spring, I wonder, if all the NTs vanished, how long it would take someone to design an autism-friendly tornado siren?

(and no tornadoes today, however; "Today Snow before 2pm, then a chance of rain and snow between 2pm and 3pm, then a chance of rain after 3pm. High near 41. North northwest wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.")

I don't think you or I represent the deep end of struggles with functionality though.

A society geared specifically around enabling moderately functional people to contribute more would likely succeed in that regard but it doesn't mean it would be capable of running itself and it doesn't mean it would ever be able to ensure everyone is able to contribute, some people really do function at too low of level for the accommodations required to be worth the effort.

I could accomplish a lot more if I could offload a lot of executive function related tasks to another person but unless that enables them and I to accomplish as much as two people it's not a worthwhile investment of another person's abilities. That would only work in a society where there's lots of people with average or better executive function who lack some of my talents and skills and this scenario proposes eliminating those people.

I think survival in such a setting would be possible. NTs would magically disappear but their stuff would not. There would be a lot to scavenge from while setting up for life without electricity.

Drawing on film & TV for ideas as to what survival would look like, the first things that come to my mind are:
The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)
The Last Man on Earth (1964)
The Day of the Triffids TV Mini-Series (1981)

And I agree with KT67 that some folk on the Spectrum might see the severity of their symptoms diminish with a less crowded world.

But there is something that scares me! The phrasing of the OP would leave all of the ND population intact.

Exactly what are the neurodifferences that would survive? And, what are their relative frequencies?

Would we be stranded in a world run by the ADHD folk?!

What's wrong with that?