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The reason human brains grew so large was to manage around, and compete with, other humans.

In this aspect (our brain size) we quickly outstripped other species by country miles!

A bit like redwoods growing so tall. To compete with one another, but to their detriment as a group... since it takes so much energy to bring nutrients and water to the uppermost tiers & you're very vulnerable to the weather.

Our grey matter - and the sheer amount of it (energy-draining, esp when combined with the heavy skull it needs for protection) - grew that way to help us, as individuals living in human societies, a) detect deception, and b) deceive and outdo others. Of our own species.

Now, enter #autistics.

Even the name, #autism - it's about not being what's considered properly 'socialised'.

Autistic babies don't show the heavy attention bias towards other humans that babies generally do.

Our focus seems to have wandered to other things - light, nature, animals, objects, patterns... everything and anything!

Now let's turn to mentalising. Theory of mind.

People who haven't been focusing on social intrigue since infancy, but on other things.

It's pretty obvious they're going to be at a major disadvantage among other humans! Yikes.

But... is it a deficit?

Some of the qualities shown in autistics, such as:

- lack of herd mentality

- not succumbing to group persuasion

- preferring outcomes to intentions (aka 'logic' - sorry, ahem, spoken like a true autistic!)

- not being as susceptible to advertising

- preferring lots of data to heuristics

- a strong sense of moral justice, e.g. not 'different rules for different people'

#Autistic

(Note: References at the end of the thread)

Are these deficits?

I can certainly see why current human society would frame them as such!

But I have another word for possessing & practicing less 'theory of mind';

Authenticity.

References (1):

Why human brains became so large:

- González-Forero, M. and Gardner, A. (2018). Inference of ecological and social drivers of human brain-size evolution. Nature, [online] 557(7706), pp.554–557. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0127-x.

Hidden motivations in humans:

‌- Simler, K. and Hanson, R. (2018). The elephant in the brain : hidden motives in everyday life. New York, Ny: Oxford University Press, ©20.

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References (2)

Autistic atypical attention to human stimuli:

- Zhou, X., Siddiqui, H. and Rutherford, M.D. (2024). Face perception and social cognitive development in early autis. Child Development. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14144.

Strong sense of justice in autistics:

Team, editorial (2024). Autistic Sense of Justice: Understanding and Embracing a Unique Perspective. [online] NeuroLaunch.com. Available at: https://neurolaunch.com/autistic-sense-of-justice/ [Accessed 18 Mar. 2025].

References (3)

Autistic people not being as susceptible to advertising:

- 'Why Advertising Falls Flat in Individuals With Autism' | Psychology Today. [online] Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-fallible-mind/201708/why-advertising-falls-flat-in-individuals-autism.

Autistic people preferring more data to heuristics:

- Bastan, E., Beck, S.R. and Surtees, A.D. (2024). Autistic people differ from non-autistic people subjectively, but not objectively in their reasoning. Autism. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613241277055.

References (4)

More consistency and less bias in decision-making in autistics:

- De Martino, B., Harrison, N.A., Knafo, S., Bird, G. and Dolan, R.J. (2008). Explaining Enhanced Logical Consistency during Decision Making in Autism. Journal of Neuroscience, 28(42), doi:https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.2895-08.2008.

‌and:

- Izuma, K., Matsumoto, K., Camerer, C.F., Adolphs, R. (2011). Insensitivity to social reputation in autism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(42),. doi:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1107038108.

@Frantasaur

Yeah it would be almost comical if it were not so...