Do you ever learn anything from the average NT?

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Sometimes I even learn from the average teen... and, from all places, on Facebook. One would think, though, "how, when such immaturity abounds?"

But that's exactly the point... why do I take myself so seriously, nearly always? Why do I always strive for my thoughts to be 'cutting-edge'? When I sometimes look at my Facebook timeline (not that I have loads of average teens friended... but the one guy I happen to know IRL also happens to know many other fairly average people) I see jokes here and there, posters that contain puns... and I often laugh! But soon after wonder why I don't strive to be jocular myself.

All the time, but not from FB. People fascinate me, and I learn more about them by observation. Not that they always make sense to me, but I watch how they interact with each other and can find myself surprised and intrigued.

Certainly, their interactions are interesting... but lately, perhaps when I'm stuck in 'cynically nihilistic mode', I keep observing that all they do is lie to each other... every smile, every handshake, is merely a gesture offered as an attempt to deceive the other party.

I do learn from them about how to handle social situations better as well as read them better.

Sure, that humans are dumb monkeys.

I've been observing behaviour of other people ever since I was a baby, really. I remember when I was 4, years before I was diagnosed, I was sitting on the floor with all the other children in my class, and I was looking around at how they were all sitting, and worrying if I was sitting in any different way to them. But some were sitting with their legs crossed, others were sitting differently, so I thought ''never mind, I will stay like this''.

I've always observed NT behaviour. I never knew any other Aspies through school, so I had no choice but to mix with NTs, also I was brought up in an NT family, by NT parents, so I have got really good at knowing general NT behaviour and recognising body language, facial expression, tone of voice, and lots of other non-verbal cues that Aspies are supposed to have trouble with.

This is why I come up with questions about NTs on WP, and get a load of disapproved answers. I'm not the sort to throw generalizations out about NTs, like ''all NTs are compulsive liars'' or ''all NTs have no interests in anything only the thoughts and feelings of other people''. None of those are true, and I know they're not and can prove it because I have seen NTs have interests and enjoyments other than socialising all the time, and I can prove other things too about NTs.

I've never been able to "copy" the behaviours of others.
I can't fake and can't copy.

I just use my instinct to go ahead in life.

My NT partner often gives me insight into reading body language or how NTs think and points out when my behavior is odd to an NT's perspective. What I've learned from NTs online, like on FB, is how much many of their lives revolve around television. I lived in the desert without television for 2 years, I never missed it and still could do without it. Now I pay $100 a month for satellite tv and turn it off as soon as the NT leaves the house.

That it's better for me to be myself.

In a completely literal sense, yes, I learn things from NTs because all of my teachers and college professors have been NTs, however, with regard to things like life and the universe, not especially. My little sister has attempted on several occasions to sit down and formally instruct me on the art of conversation, but I never retain the information for long because there are so many variables, and I find it easier to learn from experience as I go along. Although, I am friends with one of my old high school teachers who's NT, and over the past three years he has been a tremendous help in teaching me about human nature, my own inner feelings, and how to let go of old hurts; in all my life, he's the only person who's ever explained complex ideas so clearly that I always understand what he's saying every time.

It's nice when an NT takes the time to explain a NT concept to me in terms I can understand.

I used to shop for the best overall price...no matter how long it took. A former boss taught me the concept of "administrative cost." In simple terms, if you are paid $10/hour to do work for which you are paid and you spend more than an hour of your productive time trying to save $10, you aren't coming out ahead. Go for whomever at quick glance provides good service at the best price and move on.