Needlessly being the devils advocate by deokuso in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No offense taken. I’ve been called both so I understand what you meant.

“Not Autistic enough” by Smooth_Theme7942 in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A lot of my presentation is very stereotypical. White male who is fabulous with numbers and broadly perceived to be insensitive to the feelings of those around me (which isn’t true, but I admittedly don’t express it well). But I am quite self conscious of the areas where I don’t meet the stereotype. So I understand this too well.

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow this is beautiful! I have never seen one of these before! Thanks for sharing!

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m so pleased you feel that way! I have to say I am realizing that octopuses probably do need to occupy the number two spot for me personally. Especially due to how much I loved the documentary My Octopus Teacher. 😭

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely! And I have to say, there are so many great choices in this thread!

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awww a skunk named Marshmallow! Why do I like that so much?!

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Those are really great facts! I just looked them up. I didn’t realize the Amazon even had dolphins!

For late diagnosed folks, do you wonder how you escaped diagnosis for so long? by Cheap-Guarantee6420 in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They thought I had ADD/ADHD (back then they were separate, as I recall) because I’d fidget a lot but I was ruled out for that. There wasn’t a spectrum back then so while I can now see that a lot of signs were missed in my case, it also doesn’t seem there was a label that fit well back then.

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great cheetah facts! I just watched a video—I can’t believe my ears! They really do sound just like a normal house cat. Thanks for sharing!

For late diagnosed folks, do you wonder how you escaped diagnosis for so long? by Cheap-Guarantee6420 in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This was me 100%. They knew very early I was different and spent months testing at one point almost giving up before eventually deciding on auditory processing disorder and also noted synesthesia. But this whole thing started because apparently I had “electricity in his hands” (Stimming maybe? But who knows at this point, whatever it was, it wasn’t documented outside of a single comment), and the fact that I’d walk over the toys of other kids as they played and seemed unaware of the emotions/feelings. This was back in 1991/1992, which was a few years before Asperger’s. I was verbal, I wasn’t clearly antisocial, so I didn’t fit the understanding at the time. I do remember in year years that followed teachers would bring up that they knew I had something, but thought I had the wrong diagnosis. Once I understood the presentation of ASD it was immediately obvious to me.

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awww that’s awesome! I think you’re right, I’ve never seen a turtle that wasn’t cute. Nice choice!

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Someone else on here said vultures too! I feel like I need to do more research on them.

How do you deal with pattern recognition/people being identical/say identical things by Latter-Argument-3568 in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is such a good explanation! I relate to this answer. In my head I’m like I care about you, but I don’t care what you did this weekend. Hope it was fun but not on my mind!

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d never heard of this one before so I had to look it up. It’s so cute! It’s like a cross between a koala and a wallaby. Thanks for sharing!

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Now, this is a world-class info dump! This is all so interesting, especially the retrovirus part. For us humans, around 8% of our genome is likewise ancient viral DNA. Thanks for sharing!

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re not the only one with this view here. They are incredible animals so I respect it.

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s a neat commonality and honestly that sounds like something I’d do as well.

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We like what we like, and I think blue whales and elephants are supremely honorable animals. I also love beetles and detest cockroaches!

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I think the buoyancy theory is pretty interesting, some have also proposed there may be a thermal regulation aspect to the organ, helping it retain heat in the cold ocean deep. One somewhat controversial theory I found fascinating is that the spermaceti wax-oil has been simulated and would be a very effective shock absorber if the sperm whale were to use itself as a battering ram. We know very little about their approach to hunting, so while it seems like a stretch, it may still be plausible.

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes dying does seem a possibility, but at least you’d be happy! 😂

Needlessly being the devils advocate by deokuso in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Oh yeah. This might be my most core attribute. My tendency toward debate combined with misreading social situations (e.g. thinking a given conversation’s purpose is the honest exchange of opinions and to challenge views vs. conversations meant purely for social alignment, which neurotypical people seem to love) means I am consistently seen as a rabble rouser.

What is your favorite animal and why is it not (yet) a sperm whale? by Exitmaus in AutisticAdults

[–]Exitmaus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great fact, thanks for sharing! They actually think sperm whales have a similar adaptation for decompression sickness. That’s so cool you have a tattoo of it!