Do we always come across as stupid?

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My dad got a new toaster that has 3 different settings, plus an option for frozen bread. My grandmother actualy told me to reead the instructions on how to use my dads new toaster.... It is very intuitive for a toaster with 30 settings... Why should i read the instructions..... Why do so many people think of others as stupid? How can a toaster be difficult to use? Why don't people realize Ilike to tinker with things instead of reading the instructions, so that I figure it out on my own?

I wouldn't take it personally that she told you to read the instructions.

I didn't read the instructions for my camera, and as a result, I didn't know for the longest time that with a very simple push of a button I can switch the video size to a smaller format

Well I'm not so sure about your example (although I can see where you are coming from) but I do know that my husband often tells me that the way I think is stupid.

The problem is MANY PEOPLE judge by their own PREJUDICES and APPEARANCES....not necessarily the actual appearances, but HOW THEY INTERPRET the appearances.....I think neurotypicals think BY HABIT and not in an *intellectually creative (moment to moment reality synthesis)...and so I notice that neurotypicals are HIGHLY prone to SAVE THEMSELVES FROM ACTUALLY *THINKING* using reason and logic..... by depending on their recorded preconceptions, which are often based on herd mentality. People LOOK DOWN ON YOU if you don't fulfill their idea of 'normal'......and if you are not ABLE to express things in a way that THEY UNDERSTAND...it doesn't matter how smart you are......in their mind.....you might end up being 'stupid'........the funny thing is....in my mind I often notice that I am MORE INFORMED, MORE LOGICAL, and WAY AHEAD of someone in the 'insight' department.....but they'll never know, because I don't make them aware of how ignorant they actually appear to me, on the inside. I just let them think they are so smart, and live with their fantasy that I might be stupid. Actually, I think Aspies keep other people 'guessing'.......I think aspies can't be pinned down and pegged, and in a strange way....that is a kind of survival strength. It helps me realize FOR SURE.....that

WE ARE NOT DEFINED BY OTHER PEOPLE'S DEFINITION OF US!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !

By not reading and following the instructions, you're responsible for whatever mishaps and damage to the unit and surroundings, and harm to yourself and others around you may result, and may void the warranty.

I think that does happen. I'm not sure it's 'NTs' only, that operate like that. No shortage of evidence of lazy thinking on WP either

Most people are incapable of "intellectually creative" thinking, logical thinking. Because of this, they do not understand anybody who is comfortable with maths, or programming computers or engineering etc. The next step is that it's all too easy to fear what we don't understand (especially for the lazy thinkers).

Calling them 'lazy thinkers' is harsh, I'm doing exactly the same as *they* do when they say we're just too lazy too be sociable. However, I am aware of this, they are not



Yes, I think that too. In fact I've been *told* that be people. Some people instantly assume I'm an idiot because of my mannerisms, others instantly assume I'm some sort of super-intellectual geek. Both are wrong, of course. What's happening is that they "can't read the signals from me like they can anybody else" - that's in their words. Must add that this is not deliberate from me, I am not *trying* to confuse, it just happens.

You know, it's easier for me to figure out how things work by looking, thinking and then tinkering than compared to reading the instructions and trying to put the words I read to the object.

People think I'm stupid when I don't pick up on sarcasm (I've literally been called "stupid" for this exact reason). I guess it makes me seem slow or something. But they tend to think of me as good with technical stuff (which I am), so I don't have experience with the situation you are describing.

My boyfriend acts like I'm stupid because he says things I already know. But he says it's the way he is because he states the obvious.
My ex thought I was stupid but yet he told me I am very smart and then my mother told me he said to them "Beth isn't very smart" and he said my school dummied up my school work and she said that's an insult because it's implying that I am stupid. I thought he meant they made it easier for me because they had to modify it because the work was abstract so they had to make it concrete for me. But I remember him saying I sound very smart when it comes to movies. I have studied some acting and watched audio commentaries on movies and behind the scenes so I learned.

I often feel stupid myself.

I think it's normal that people tell others to read instructions.

Yet I seemed to look stupid today.

I think people would tell someone to read the instructions because they don't want to stop and tell the person how to use it and have to explain how it works. So the instructions are your friend.

The onlytime I tell people to rea the instructions is when I am to busy to explain things, and they are asking for n explanation. My dad recently had me reimage his business laptop (format hard drive, install windows with the modifications required for his Sun Life stuff to work, plus Sun Life software). He told me that I did a better faster job than the tech people he had do it at his office the last time. It was also my first time doing something like that, and he knew that as well. All I did was follow the instructions, and set up the bios to make it run faster, which was something the instructions told me I had to do. My dad often refers to me as his tech support. Tech is what I do, what can I say. I didn't really follow the instructions, as most of it was obvious, just when there was something radically different from a normal installation of windows, which there was a lot of, but most of it was intuitive. Their software package I had to install was very well thought out, and who ever designed it better be getting paid well for that job.

There have been many, many instances in my life where I've looked stupid. However, I know I'm intelligent so this frustrates me. Apparently it's hereditary in my family--Mom talks about how she tends to do that too. It seems, to me, that I can do a lot of higher level thinking, but some of the simple things in life will sometimes hit me at a mental road block. This made me anxious at my part-time job for a long time.

Maybe she told you to read the instructions because she felt it was too complicated herself. I've noticed the humans tend to project their own shortcoming onto others.

my husband calls me a clueless @*&% head. Isn't that nice of him.

I feel many times I come across as being stupid. So you are not alone in feeling that way.