Autistic people do NOT realize this.

What kind of way to live is that? What is it founded on? It seems a perfect fit for the conduct of government, or business, or life as “get away with whatever you can”, “tell ‘em what they want to hear”, “if you can’t be good, be good at it”.

And if the absurdity is that evident, God help s/he who laughs. One must respect the liars as well as believe the lies.

And some people really do speak with “accents” that are stereotypical. But that does not make them the stereotype. (ref: description of Tourette Syndrome from Spider Robinson’s “Callahan” stories) This misjudgment could work in both directions, leading to impatience - “What are you, stupid or something?” - on the part of both parties.

Is this some way of “letting people see what they want to see” in others’ actions? The only halfway-workable means of social navigation would have to be “fuzzy logic”, with the ultimate goal being to reprogram others. 1984, with a smile on its face.

Or maybe it extends the idea of “pulling others’ opinions by stating an extreme” to everyday stuff, turning it into acts of convincing. Everything would become “selling” if this were so. Attractive packaging would be paramount, which would certainly account for all the “impression management”...

Last revised: June 19, 2007
(c)2007 Dave Spicer
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