Some perspective on psychology through the lens of an Asperger brain. Psychology fascinates me.
Skinner said that behaviorism is not the Science of human behavior; it is the philosophy of that Science. He’s right – and what is philosophy but the quest for knowledge and understanding. Nothing is written in stone, even the big bang is out the window. It was an idea that they didn’t have the capability of proving wrong. Now they do.
I believe that every brain is meant to be great at something, but not every brain meets that something, and that’s sad. This is especially prominent in people that are on spectrum. I’m Aspergers and the people that know me are likely thinking, cripes – it all makes sense now. My mother didn’t hold me back. It’s really not something I had the urge to admit til recently, but my brain is fascinated by other peoples brains – the animal brain. I love reading blogs from people on spectrum, many wish they were encouraged more, pushed harder to get out of their comfort zone. This isn’t criticism, it’s just reality.
I watch great guitar players – I couldn’t make my fingers move that fast, let alone accomplish something – and coordination isn’t happening in the first place. Practice, yeah I tried that, not a chance. Same thing for drummers, it drives me insane. There are drummers out that sing and play the drums at the same time. How? How does your brain coordinate your arms, your legs, your mouth and your tongue and your breathing to do anything at the same time. I don’t get it. There are children on youtube that are great musicians at such a young age. I was playing with Tonka’s in a sandbox and eating dirt at 8 years old, these kids are dedicating their lives to being great at something and they do it willingly. Are children getting smarter or are they being exposed to so much more due to internet? Are their brains finding that “great” that most never find?
It’s an interesting question.
I watched a young girl do a brain dump of a custom image out of her head – she drew out this beautiful picture on paper with a basic graphite pencil. How? Tattoo artists? Where do you begin, some of the best artists in the world. The sheer confidence it takes to put ink to skin – knowing there is no eraser… Their brains are wired to their hands and fingers in a way that I can’t understand or replicate. I can’t draw a straight line without a ruler. And so many autists are extremely creative and talented as well. I love music, but I couldn’t carry a note in a bucket. Get into the 5th octave – while dancing around on a stage? There would be blood somewhere if I tried – but there are those that are great at it.
Watching people that would be called a Big T personality – some people are outright nuts. I can’t even begin to comprehend why someone would want to don a flight suit and thread the eye of a needle – that’s a hole in a rock, a very small hole. I literally get pictures in my head of being a pile of blood stuck to a rock. I can’t see myself jumping off a skyscraper hoping like hell the chute opens up. Can you imagine getting half way down and finding out that you’re going to hit the ground at terminal velocity and there’s not a damn thing that can do about it? What drives people to tempt death over and over, it’s so final – that’s it, your done. And if you survive, oh my I can only imagine the pain? I get the lack of fear – fear exists to be conquered but seriously? What makes your brain tick the way it does – cause mine doesn’t tick that way, my ass in staying on the ground. I can’t swim so I keep my arse out of the pool.
For me on aspergers, there are so many things where I can just play the game. I love to read and research, I love to learn and understand. Love to analyze things, everything has to be more logical in a sense. Love to know how things work, and even as a kid, I picked things apart to see how it worked. So I’ve always been mechanically inclined and good with my hands in that way. I’ve rebuilt engines and transmissions, my own vehicles have never seen a mechanic.Built houses from first dig to finish, and the list goes on. I always been good at understanding how things work and can fix near anything.
Look at the computer field, that’s where you find Aspergers – the Aspies. Programmers – your brain has to be wired in a special way to enjoy database and programming in general. I know people that will peck away at the keyboard for days then sleep in their chair. Wake up, coffee up – rinse and repeat. I’ve done it many times on the networking side but there are certain things thatI can’t understand. I look at SQL, it just doesn’t make sense to me. And programming is a bunch of nonsense on a screen, I don’t understand how your brain interprets all that, you see things in a way that I can’t. Doesn’t bother me, just the way it is.
Sports and my body don’t go hand in hand, never ends well, usually injury. Sports fascinate me in a different sense. The predictive brain. Batter hits a ball and the outfielders brain is predicting the path the ball will take – and they catch it at the last second. Think about how that all works – the brain predicts the arc the ball will take. There has to be prediction for what wind will do to the ball, spin on the ball, friction – but yet, they catch it. Goalies in hockey, watching that glove hand predict the exact path that puck has taken. Think about how many things come into play for that to happen. Player has the puck, goalies watching the body language, the stick, the foot movements, the stick motion – and yet, still manages to catch the puck – and in a split second no less. That’s what I look at, it’s not about the game – it’s about the psychology in the game.
Many things just make sense in my own brain – especially when it comes to dogs. That’s a game I just play – animal behaviour. People are pretty easy for me to read, so are dogs. What really frustrates me is trying to explain how I see things – through the lens of Aspergers – and I usually end up coming off the wrong way. That is a battle that never ends for me. I don’t want people to take things personal. It’s the way I am – and it’s not dog owners – it’s me and I doubt it’s going to change.
Yeah, psychology is fascinating indeed.
Everyone’s brain is different, everyone’s mind is different. Dogs really aren’t that different from us. Some need to learn in different ways, just like us. Why are we applying cookie cutter protocols and techniques to so many different brains – human and dog? That is something I will never understand. Schools try to stuff all the same information in a way that many brains can’t comprehend. But they are told they failed.
Training dogs isn’t something I enjoy, never did. I don’t teach dogs to sit, or roll over or come. I’m not interested in agility, or nose work etc. But my fascination with psychology drives me to learn and understand everything I can about the dog. Man fears that which he does not understand – if he can’t control it – he destroys it. And there is far too much of that going on today – it’s called Behavioural Euthanasia. When you understand the dog – there is no need to fear them and we don’t need to kill them.
I truly respect dogs, they are the most honest animals on the planet. They can’t lie, they can’t hide their emotions and they surely can’t hide their intent – that deserves respect – but it’s typically not forthcoming. I don’t fear dogs – but that doesn’t mean they can’t scare me in the moment. I haven’t met a dog with serious intent to harm yet. If a dog had any intent to harm me, I wouldn’t make it through the gate – let alone get in the back yard. What you’re watching in my video is 2 animals in a back yard having a talk – and one is pissed off and/or scared for some reason – it’s pure psychology. I’m there to assess and diagnose the causes of the dogs behaviours – not the human. I don’t want the owner there.
My understanding of the dog is that they aren’t that different from your children. They have many of the same needs, and I raise my dog like you would your child. Children need to learn and understand through social cognition – it’s no different for the dog.
Don’t apply behaviourism – instead step back and try to understand why the behaviour exists in the first place – cause that’s what needs to be fixed. Try to understand the psychology behind the behaviour.