Lists

There was an iconic scene in "The Matrix", that is pure sci-fi in all its glory, where Neo is educated via computer. The line "I know Kong Fu" was a cultural moment, with everyone dreaming of eschewing education altogether in favor of being injected with knowledge. God, I loved the debates about the sense of meaning one would glean from knowledge acquired via computer vs, actually working hard to learn. I sometimes wonder if Neo remembered Kung Fu for a long time or not since the knowledge was acquired easily. Did you know that information read in a challenging typographical style is more memorable than information read in an easy-to-scan typographical style? If you want to remember something longer, use a flowery script font to slow down your reading. Ok, one digression is complete. Another digression is incoming now... it's funny because we all have different levels of programming already in place, no? We are born, we cry, we make cute faces, we take nourishment, and we poop. We would die without these basic abilities. Perhaps not as sexy as Kung Fu, but still, really necessary stuff. When it comes to social skills, I daresay that the allistic population has extra pre-wiring that I would adore having. For example, How to Navigate Social Interactions Without Feeling Like a Weirdo 101, How to Efficiently React to Social Cues During the Actual Conversation, and Making this Planet Your Home 101. Now, for the point of this...

I know I don't have a lot of pre-wired skills in the social realm. I am blunt, spaced out, and prone to questioning myself because of my deficits. I make up for this in my own way, using a collection of lists that I've spent years honing and perfecting. Many call these scripts. I have a go to the doctor one, a fill up my car tank one, a school pickup one, a meeting with my boss one, etc. I also have a database of stock replies that I gleaned from observing those around me. I feel society has a penchant for discussing weather patterns and the relative merits of the day of the week as it relates to office/school life. So I leverage that preference. Sometimes I wish I knew more things instinctively but the more I think about it, there is something about me that in a plot twist no one saw coming, makes me a clear communicator (not a great one but concise and straightforward at least). I will of course break it down via a list :p

• I never assume people know what I am thinking or know (the curse of knowledge). I might be blunt at times, but I do try to communicate where I'm at if I value the relationship

• I summarize things well. I respect that people have only so much headspace and try to be efficient in my words and formatting

• I get to the point quickly. I do not bury the lead under a lot of talk. I am polite (I had to learn to integrate some niceties because I didn't before) but straightforward

• I propose solutions to the problems

I saw an acknowledgments section of a book written in bullet lists and I was so impressed. I went to the author's bio and lo and behold, she's autistic. Everyone processes bullet lists better than chunks of text, by the way. But it does seem at times that my neurodivergent brethren lean on them a bit harder than the general population. They're tidy and to the point, which is a relief, at least for me.