We are cats

This blog is inspireert by something I read in “goodby, things: the new japanese minimalism”. Expect a review someday.

In that book he talks about things tied to neurotypicals their worth and how they have a need to show it to others, and I think a comment about cats and dogs in the book, explains so much.

Here is the quote from the book. “Have you ever thought about the differences between cats and dogs? Though a cat can stay at home alone and be perfectly comfortable, this is not the case for a dog. Leave the dog alone for an extended period and it’ll probably start barking or walking in circles by the door. It’s known that dogs that have been in solitude for a long period can suffer depression. Unfortunately, we’re more like dogs, not cats. We’ve been designed to act in packs and avoid solitude. As social animals, we feel the need to have value to society. We’re unable to live without feeling that there’s some meaning to our existence through the recognition or acknowledgment of others. One of the main reasons we become depressed or consider committing suicide is that we convince ourselves of the lack of value of our existence.”

Before this he talks about our ancestors and how they hunten in packs. I can’t help but think that there was also an autistic ancestor, wandering alone, not in a pack. He could have been the village wiseman, sharing his wisdom with th tribe. Contemplating existence alone. Or toolmaker, the Smith.

I think also, because we don’t care about being social, we don’t care about social value. We don’t get more pleasure out of something because it is more expensive. We don’t feel the need to show others our worth through the things we buy or put on display.

This could also explain our not caring for authority, but valueing an expert opinion. Hence, there are two types of authority. The one gained, and the one received. A translator or a native speaker automatically have authority on how a language is spoken, this they are experts in that skill. A person in a high rank could have played the socio-political game and have gained ranks that way and think very highly of himself. Mostlu those with a native skill are humble to those still learning the skill, while those having gained ranks the other way don’t have the skill to back up their claims so will belittle those that are a threat to their self worth.