What if everyone in the world had Aspergers?

Imagine a hypothetical world, where everyone had Aspergers....

I wonder how that world will be like. There won't be a diagnosis, since everyone has it, it's normal.

But what I wonder most is whether it would be an easier or more difficult world to live in?

- Reasons why it may be easier - 

  • The way that you think will be similar to how other people think (very logical, caring a lot about rules, routines, etc.), so it will be a lot easier to understand each other. There will be fewer misunderstandings among people. The world will be orderly, and there won't be problems due to people forming gangs, cliques, alliances against people just because. There will also be a lot of people who share similar intense interests as you (e.g., science, math, art, etc.), so conversations will be fun and educational. People will be very aware of sensory issues, so there won't be people wearing strong perfumes, smoking, playing loud music in open public.

- Reasons why it may be harder - 

  • People may still misunderstand what other people are feeling, even though they have the same condition. Since Aspergerians care a lot about being correct, if a difference in opinion happens, they may engage in long ever-lasting debates over months, causing both parties lots of frustration, instead of letting it go. People might not be able to tell the difference of someone accidentally making a mistake and hurting them, or if someone deliberately hurt them. People have stimming behaviors that while understandable could possibly affect another person (e.g., if someone stims by making random vocal noises it might cause another person with noise-sensitivity a lot of pain). 

What do you think?

Parents
  • What a fascinating thought experiment!

    Firstly, if my suspicions are correct, it would be like my home life (wife and I are both seeking diagnosis!). No pointless traditions, honest answers to "does my bum look big in this", and everyone responsible for their own feelings (once they find out what they are, that is!).

    But for the whole world, yes many things would run like clockwork and there would probably be less stress generally (?) but I suspect that not having NT people around would actually cause some difficulty, though I'm struggling to think of what they would be now that I've suggested it!

Reply
  • What a fascinating thought experiment!

    Firstly, if my suspicions are correct, it would be like my home life (wife and I are both seeking diagnosis!). No pointless traditions, honest answers to "does my bum look big in this", and everyone responsible for their own feelings (once they find out what they are, that is!).

    But for the whole world, yes many things would run like clockwork and there would probably be less stress generally (?) but I suspect that not having NT people around would actually cause some difficulty, though I'm struggling to think of what they would be now that I've suggested it!

Children