What would and Autistic Country be like?

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Slow. It would have to be slow, to give people enough time to switch lanes to whatever is the issue at that moment.

We are using the monotropism model, right? Because it's impossible to discuss what an autistic country would be like if there isn't an accepted idea of what autism *is*.

My first thought as well.

In possibly his last interview before death, Skinner confessed that he no longer had any faith in (NT) man's ability to not destroy himself. The reduced interhemispheric functional connectivity found in autistics could be argued to support the idea that we would have an easier time constructing a Walden-like society.

What, exactly, is reduced connectivity supposed to cause..? It's been reported, but I don't know what effect it is supposed to have on the brain.

But a lot of things claimed for autism don't really fit with me, so either I was misdiagnosed, or I have a different type and Aspergers should never have been subsumed into autism.

It's a marker for autism and a few other neurological differences but it supports a theory I proposed some time ago in response to a comment by Steven Pinker comparing autistics to robots. IMO there is lower interplay between emotion and reason, which obviously has pros and cons. Nonetheless, neuroimaging supports my contention and I'm inclined to believe that other autistics who spend much time considering these things will have likely reached a similar conclusion.

It's not unusual that many defined features of autism don't fit you. It is a syndrome with many elements, not a disease.

I remember reading Jim Sinclair's account of his first visit to meet with other autistics for a few days. I've tried to find it, with no luck, to share it here. I do remember him reflecting on how the group collectively overcame executive function issues to make sure everyone ate, for example. And, I think he concluded that an autistic society would present a challenge, to say the least. Then again, paradigm shifts usually do.

Hmm. The only autistic trait that really fits is hyperfocus. Which is why monotropism is so self evidently true to me -- it's the only model that accurately describes my experience.

My kind of place!

Mine too!

But who would do all the work to maintain such a "Utopia" if all the inhabitants are prone to sensory overload?

Foreign guest workers. We'd have to build it somewhere oil rich.

All that vee haf to do iz to ...force ze untermenschen (ie the neurotypicals) to verk for us as slaves!

Just a modest proposal.

Hyperfocus, rules-based rigidity, evidence-based logical reasoning, etc.

It comes as no surprise that a theory proposed by autistic scholars fits better than one proposed by someone like, say, Tony Attwood.

Texas would be great.

Eh, people propose things based on their personal experience. This is why a low empathy (doesn't understand that other people have minds; attempts to understand people purely through observation) high systemiser (seeks to place people into categories in order to model how they work) like Baron-Cohen (may his work rot and his name be blotted out amen) came to the conclusion that being low empathy and highly systemising is what is behind autism. He took his experience of the world and applied it to everyone (because, again, he is very low in empathy).

I would be more than happy to run the nation's energy industry. since I have drilling for years.I would be the master driller.

Don't ruin the fantasy with your practical concerns!

Only if there were fewer Texans.

It'd be quieter, hopefully. More investment in electric-engined vehicles and tools, as opposed to the noisier gas-powered ones. More of a soundproofing industry and soundproofing requirements for residential, business, and industrial architecture. Likewise, more investment in levels of cleaning which dealt with olfactory pollution. And probably waste in general. I can imagine more in the way of street cleaning and annual building washes, using non-chemical processes.

Job applications would be assessed based on the person's ability to do the job, not on their ability to be a social butterfly. WFH would be the default, and it wouldn't surprise me if there was an investment in telepresence for blue-collar work.

Ideally, education would have a self-pacing component. People who excelled at one or more subjects would be able to read ahead and take the tests/exams quickly. People who had trouble with certain subjects could access in-depth service which helped to break down the concepts and present them in different ways. Neither of these would be seen as abnormal in any way.

It wouldn't surprise me if the country had international industries in back-end consulting, analysis, scientific research, mathematics, and hyperfocus services. People who moved away, either permanently or temporarily, may well find themselves working in ultra-executive service provision, where the hyper-wealthy (or at least the upper end of the business class) purchased extremely expensive versions of products and services which had massive amounts of attention to detail put into them.

Public transport may be significantly more advanced than elsewhere. With an acknowledgement that not everyone is easily capable of driving in heavy traffic or at highway speeds, public transport should be ubiquitous, simple to use, clean and attractive, and free.

In general, public policy would most likely be set according to the results of research, rather than emotional or religious leanings. Politicians would be evaluated on the thoroughness and depth of the research, papers, and information they derived their policies and platforms from, instead of rabid demagoguery. Where research from equally-credible sources seemed to have opposing data for no obvious reason, additional research would be commissioned, instead of just having two groups shouting at each other about who was 'right'.