I cannot vouch for this

[supergee]

Translations from the Neurotypical

Comments

[amaebi]

I think I'm neurotypical, but I don't do this and I wasn't aware of it as a regularity.

*runs away screaming*

[weofodthignen]

I don't think it is; I also think I'm neurotypical and I also don't think I do this. There may of course be a failure to take introversion into account; I usually find such questions annoying intrusions. But setting that aside, it may be a combination. I agree with the statement that most people not ask many informational questions, so when they do, they tend to want both the information (they're interested) and the human contact (otherwise they could always peer over the person's shoulder or try to get a glimpse of the book jacket). I suspect what the writer has been doing is answering in a matter-of-fact manner, without a smile or the intonation that suggests "If you find that interesting, I'm open to telling you more." I only do that when I am indeed put out at being bothered. For example, while I hate people trying to flirt with me by asking personal questions, I've been asked by people on the bus home about the very weird assortment of books I read on my commute (sometimes scribbling notes when the bus stops), and have had short conversations as a result. Some of the questioners may not have been able to read, and one wanted to know about the car in a picture (a very rare German 1920s car). And "What show is that" or "What game is that" is not "Explain the plot/gameplay", for goodness' sake, though I've explained what language the book is in if it isn't English (that's the other reason people sometimes ask).

[redbird]

It doesn't allow for introversion, and it doesn't allow for the difference between a friend or even coworker asking "What are you reading?" and a complete stranger who means "put your book down and entertain me until the train comes." They know exactly what they're doing: if this was just about neurotypicality versus autism, answering with "just a book" or "a Pratchett novel" in a monotone and going immediately back to looking at the book would get them to go away. Some will: they might be disappointed, but they can register "he'd rather read his book than chat with me about it." Others refuse to accept that, because either they don't believe someone would be reading if they had any choice, or because they don't care: you might prefer reading to talking to them, but they'd rather talk to you than stare at the wall until the train comes.

I don't know how common that sort of self-centered/entitled attitude is among autistic people; among the neurotypical, it seems to correlate with maleness, and probably with other sorts of privilege: that is, an able-bodied man is more likely to do it than a disabled man, a rich person more likely than a poor one.

[bibliofile]

I found the article pretty amusing, both as "hey, pointing out something" and also turning tables with a dash of satire or something added.

Then again, I wish people would speak more directly sometimes. (I'm not a fucking mindreader, etc. etc.)