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An engineer's mind?

H

harrietjansson

Well-Known Member
I have been told by a professional, ie a person who works with people who have eg ASD and ADHD problems, that I work with music and acting like many autistic computer programmer work with programming.
He says that he sees a resemblance.
He did not say that I work with music and acting like autistic actors n musicians. Perhaps he hasn't met many. I don't know.
I've been told by my father that I might have an engineer's mind. But I don't like computer programming that much. It is not my thing.
What do you think this could mean?
Have you been told something simmilar?
Do many people with ASD have an engineer's mind?
 
Played with Meccano well into my teens and did an engineering course. I have my own little workshop with lathe/mill/drill/welder etc.
 
Most people have some degree of brain hemispherical dominance. A working theory, as it pertains to this discussion, is that because some of the areas of the brain responsible for communication,...areas where autistics are often affected,...lie mostly in the right hemisphere. Stereotypically, the autistic will have difficulties with communication, for example. Within the context of neuroplasticity, the brain of the affected person in this situation will have some level of left hemispherical dominance,...areas of the brain associated with logic and reasoning,...areas where science, technology, engineering, and math typically are stimulated. Interestingly,...many of these same people also understand music well,...rhythms, patterns, sequences, etc.
 
If you are defining an engineer's mind as a predisposition toward linear thinking, pattern recognition, logical reasoning, and an easy grasp of complex subjects, then yes, many do. Just as many gravitate toward the arts, history, and philosophy.

As Spock said to Kirk in Wrath of Khan:

Kirk: Spock,these cadets of yours, how good are they? How will they respond under real pressure?

Spock: As with all living things, each according to his gifts.
 
Ever been in a project meeting with engineers? I used to shepherd their work through the FDA's regulatory process. Nobody was looking at each other in the eyes.
 
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In my working life I gravitated toward engineering and eventually programming. However, before I ever got to that point, I did a fair bit of singing in choirs which led to some acting in musicals in high school, took piano lessons for a number of years and have always been more interested in the arts than in science. I do not know what that says about me or the way I THINK.

That's why I think the diversity within the ASD community is as varied and interesting as any group of so called norms, maybe more so!
 
Do many people with ASD have an engineer's mind?[/QUOTE said:
I guess I do. It was/is my entire career. I say was/is because I am retired, but still working - if that makes any sense. I just can't leave it alone.
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Richelle-H said:
In my working life I gravitated toward engineering and eventually programming. However, before I ever got to that point, I did a fair bit of singing in choirs which led to some acting in musicals in high school, took piano lessons for a number of years and have always been more interested in the arts than in science. I do not know what that says about me or the way I THINK.

That's why I think the diversity within the ASD community is as varied and interesting as any group of so called norms, maybe more so!
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Many people have said that piano lessons are very good for us. In my experience many teachers refrain from going into the details of eg technique. I guess most teachers, especially music teachers, make me frustrated with their un-pedagogic lessons. Most teachers may even make many of us quit taking lessons.
I don't think most teachers know how to teach people with ASD.
 

Logic.


And yet more logic. Fact based, provable concepts rooted in empirical proof.
 
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harrietjansson said:
I never really hear them explain what system of logic they are talking about
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That is because they do not actually know, as there are four branches or types of logic: Formal, Informal, Symbolic, and Mathematical. The phrase "you are not being logical" is shorthand for saying "I don't understand your reasoning and I certainly don't agree with it".

It is a phrase that is abused and misused over and over again. I made my living being nothing but logical, because computers work using billions of logic gates controlled by a program. In other words, being logical means submitting to whatever programming is running at the time, be it in your understood language or forced on you by hackers. :rolleyes:o_O

You should follow your own instruction set and do not let others bring you down because you do not fit the expected mold. Just the viewpoint of a retired programmer and engineer who became such long before being diagnosed with Asperger's.
 
Richelle-H said:
You should follow your own instruction set
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instruction set?

Richelle-H said:
I made my living being nothing but logical, because computers work using billions of logic gates controlled by a program.
Click to expand...
Can we say that music is logical and a lot about the engineer's mind?
For me personally, learning to play the piano and getting better at it requires a lot of problem solving. You can say that a musician needs to think about aesthetics but in order to be good at eg piano one must deal with things that are not really about aesthetics. Yesterday I had a piano lesson and I was told to focus on very concrete skills eg how to play a Cmaj7 chord with the correct technique. It's very concrete and a lot about problem solving. It's not that I did not already know how to play it but one can always become better at technique and using dynamics.
How is this different from the computer programmer's or engineer's mind?

I really do think that I have what I refer to as a mind for aesthetics rather than a mind for engineering.
But with Aesthetics you need to understand both the details and have an overview of the whole situation.
I guess asperger's can actually be very helpful when dealing with it. It's just that most people refrain from focusing on how the system works.
 
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