I have been driving through an automatic society with a manual transmission
—A discussion on NT and ASD using the analogy of automatic and manual cars—
■ What I wrote last time
Last time, I wrote about the feeling of being "on the borderline."
I am not a genius, nor an average person, not neurotypical, not a typical ASD individual, nor am I extreme enough to be explained solely by ADHD. The point is that there are things I can see precisely because I have been standing on several borderlines.
This time, I would like to explain developmental characteristics (especially ASD) using a metaphor that is as easy to understand as possible, from the perspective of that "borderline" position. It is a discussion that compares NT and ASD to automatic and manual cars is the topic.
■ My oldest memory of being "left behind"
I am told that when I was in kindergarten, my teachers described me as "smart, dexterous, and good at drawing." At the same time, I have heard from my mother that there was also an assessment that “there are times when he doesn't know what he should be doing right now.” as well.
I certainly remember it. The feeling of suddenly looking up and finding that the scenery around me had changed from what it was a moment ago. Realizing that I was the only one left in the classroom or on the playground. Realizing that everyone else was already lined up and singing. Realizing that everyone else had already finished changing their clothes.
Perhaps part of it was that I was too focused on something. But that couldn't have been the only reason.
From the teacher's perspective, I was just a "slow child," and they might have seen it as “he will eventually be able to do it like everyone else.” But for me, that was not the case.
If someone told me in words, I could understand it perfectly. But I could not infer what I should be doing right now just from "observing everyone else." At the very least, as a kindergartner at the time, I could not do that.
This is probably the oldest formative experience of the inferiority complex within me. And, I hope that children born in the future will not have to go through the same feelings if possible.
Now, I can explain this feeling like this.
I think I was driving through an automatic society with a manual transmission.
■ The difference between AT and MT cars
An AT car, or automatic transmission car, is a vehicle that automatically shifts gears according to the engine speed and vehicle speed. The driver basically just needs to press the accelerator and brake to move. Because the operation is simple, there is less to learn, and it is quite easy on normal roads with lots of traffic and traffic lights.
On the other hand, an MT car, or manual transmission car, is a vehicle that the driver shifts manually, pressing the clutch to reconnect gears while driving. There is a lot to learn and operate, and it is difficult until you get used to it. However, because you can choose the gears yourself, you have a sense of being able to make fine adjustments according to the situation. In situations where it is difficult to leave things to the car, such as on hills or rough roads, there is room to make your own judgments and operate accordingly.
Of course, this is not a discussion about the superiority or inferiority of the cars themselves. AT cars have their own strengths, and MT cars have their own strengths.
What I want to say here is not which is superior, but that the operating systems are different.
■ NT might be like an automatic car, and ASD like a manual car
I call this the AT/MT theory.
It is an attempt to think about this difference—whether gear shifting is automatic or not—by applying it to human cognition.
Neurotypical, or NT, people probably sense things like "where our group is heading right now" or "what phase the atmosphere of the room is in" quite automatically, like the gear shifting of an automatic car. Even without being told by someone, they perceive, 'Oh, this is the kind of situation we are in,' and their bodies adjust on their own.
On the other hand, for people with autism spectrum, or ASD, this part may not be automated. If it is explained in words, they can understand and act accordingly. However, the part that infers what to do next just from "everyone's behavior" or "the atmosphere of the room," in other words, the part that reads between the lines, does not work automatically.
This is not about being unintelligent or lacking motivation. I believe it is a matter of mechanics, as simple as whether the gear shifting is manual or automatic.
■ It is not that you "know but cannot do it"
When I was in kindergarten, it wasn't that I didn't want to act like everyone else. I wasn't lagging behind on purpose, either. If what I needed to do had been shared in words, I would have understood it just fine.
But I couldn't read the changes in the situation from the movements of those around me and automatically switch my behavior.
This is probably something that is hard for people who are like automatic cars to understand.
From the perspective of an automatic car person, they might think, "Everyone else is moving, so you can see it and understand, right?" But from the manual car side, the information that "I should shift gears now" does not come in automatically. If I am told, I understand. But if I am not told, I don't switch.
As a result, before I knew it, everyone else had moved on, and I was the only one left behind. For me, the small society of kindergarten was that kind of place.
■ Thinking about hardware and software separately
What I have discussed so far is, in car terms, a matter of "hardware." In other words, it is about the vehicle itself. Is it an automatic car or a manual car?
However, when actually driving, there is another axis. That is the axis of "who the driver is" and "how good their driving skills are". This is a matter of software.
Intelligence and acquired skills are fundamentally different factors from innate cognitive characteristics. If we think about these two separately, it becomes easier to see who is struggling with what, and conversely, what they are good at.
For example, even in a manual car, if the driver has high skills, they might be able to drive quite well on flat, paved roads that automatic cars seem to excel at. Conversely, a highly skilled driver might be able to drive an automatic car on quite difficult roads.
In other words, human characteristics are not simple. Developmental traits are often discussed one-dimensionally using the word "spectrum," but in reality, I think it is a two-axis gradation where the hardware axis and the software axis exist separately.
■ It might just be that the car type and the road don't match
If these two axes can be seen separately and considered in an integrated way, I feel that placing the right person in the right job would become a bit smoother.
There would no longer be any need to force an automatic car to traverse a mountain road just by modulating the brake pedal. Nor would there be any need to keep a manual car shifting gears endlessly on a congested highway.
When a driver stays in a place that doesn't suit them for too long, they become exhausted. Eventually, the act of driving itself becomes difficult.
However, that is not necessarily the driver's problem.
It is a matter of the vehicle's inherent strengths and weaknesses, as determined by its design, not matching the road.
I think that is what it comes down to.
Humans are probably the same. It is not that the person is lazy, inferior, or lacks social skills. It is just that the person's cognitive mechanism does not match the environment they are placed in. I think that alone is enough to make a person suffer quite a bit.
In such a situation, I feel there are unexpectedly many people who have been forced to stop their life's journey, people who are on the verge of stopping, or people who are suffering while hiding the urge to stop, or even people who are not even aware of their own suffering.
■ In an automatic society, manual cars stall
I feel that human society is generally built for automatic cars.
Reading the room. Sensing things without being told. Naturally understanding what phase things are in from the movements of those around you. Judging what to do next from the expressions or silence of others. These abilities are largely taken for granted.
Of course, for those who can do this, I think it is faster and easier. The group moves forward without having to put everything into words. That is probably a very important function for human society.
However, when a manual car enters a society built on that premise, it stalls. To those around it, they might wonder, "Why are you stopping there?" But from the driver's perspective, they feel, "No one told me when I should have shifted gears."
I think this gap is what creates various kinds of suffering.
■ Manual cars are hard to identify from the outside
The tricky part is that you generally cannot tell from the outside whether a vehicle is an automatic or a manual.
For the most part, people do not know the structure of any car other than their own, so it appears as though other vehicles are moving just like them.
In other words, people who have only ever driven automatic cars do not imagine that the other person is shifting gears manually. Conversely, people who have only ever driven manual cars have no way of knowing that the other person's gears are shifting automatically.
Therefore, even on difficult roads, the other party cannot see the difficulty of that driving.
As a result, they are sometimes honked at, tailgated, or yelled at while passing. In the worst case, it can even lead to an accident.
Eventually, I began to feel inferior for "not being able to drive normally on the ordinary roads that everyone else can drive on." Before long, I became afraid of going out on the road.
By the way, since I have ASD, I am equivalent to a manual transmission car, but because I have a certain level of dexterity in driving and the other drivers driving alongside me were kind, I happened to be able to live my life so far without causing any major accidents on ordinary roads. I am quite lucky for that.
On the other hand, because I didn't know that other people were automatic transmission cars, I would think things like "everyone is so dexterous," and when I saw the occasional stall or accident, I honestly thought, "that must be tough" or "I feel sorry for them."
After all, in regular classes, we weren't taught "how to drive for manual transmission cars," and during health checkups, we couldn't tell "whether the transmission part of our vehicle was AT or MT."
No one, including myself, noticed. I suspect that there are actually a huge number of people who are also not aware of it like me.
(This seems to connect to the often-discussed topic of "are developmental disabilities increasing?", but if I touch on that here, it will get messy, so I will save it for another occasion.)
■ It is not a story about MT cars being superior
When I talk about this, it might be taken as a discussion about "which one is superior." But that is not the case.
I am in a position where I know that I am an MT car, but I do not think a society of only MT cars is good. Rather, I think a society of only MT cars would be quite difficult. Every driver would have to be conscious of every gear change every time. It would take cognitive cost even for a short trip. It might not be suitable for mass transportation or daily travel.
Because there are AT cars, society is running smoothly.Because there is NT-like cognition, groups can process many things quickly and efficiently. I definitely think that is a necessary power for society.
On the other hand, there are roads that only MT cars can enter.
Precisely because the gears do not change automatically, there are things that can be consciously noticed in detail. There are times when one can stop at a sense of discomfort that everyone else naturally passes by. There are times when one can break down and re-examine the premise that "that's what you do if you're normal."
I think that is also a necessary power for society.
■ It is stronger when various cars are mixed
What is important is that both AT cars and MT cars "exist because they are necessary." I believe this can also be said about developmental characteristics.
Perhaps ASD is not a defective product that happened to get mixed in, but rather exists because a certain number of them need to be born.
Of course, this is my hypothesis.
But at the very least, when thinking about the large traffic network that is human society, I do not think everyone needs to be the same vehicle type.
If all the cars on the road were AT cars, daily travel might be quite smooth. But when mountain roads, rough roads, or places that cannot be reached on ordinary roads appear, MT cars might be needed.
Conversely, if they were all MT cars, they might be strong on narrow roads, but daily travel might be quite tiring.
It is stronger for the traffic network as a whole when various types of cars are mixed and driving.
That is how it looks to me.
■ It's okay if we don't fully understand each other
No matter how much I explain this structure, it probably won't be 100% conveyed to someone driving an automatic car. Conversely, I don't think I can 100% understand the feeling of driving an automatic car either.
I've come to think recently that that's fine.
Instead of aiming to fully understand each other, I think it would be a wonderful world if, while driving different cars in different ways, we happened to pull up alongside each other on the same road and could mutually acknowledge one another, saying, 'That's a nice car,' and 'No, yours is nice too.' I think that would be a wonderful world.
The wish to 'not make anyone the villain' that I've written about up to this point probably connects here as well.
It's not that automatic cars are bad.
It's not that manual cars are bad either.
It's not that people who have driven manual cars on roads meant for automatic cars are bad.
It's not necessarily the fault of people in automatic cars who didn't know why manual cars stall.
It's just that the car models were different. The roads didn't match. The way of explaining things was different.
If we can think that way, I think there is a little more we can do before blaming someone.
■ Next time
Next time, I plan to write about the 'Ramen Theory' that I haven't been able to put into words properly yet.
This is a similar story, but it has a slightly broader scope, and I want to think about the differences in roles by comparing chain stores and specialty shops, using soup and noodles as metaphors.
Thank you for reading this far.
If you felt this article was even a little bit helpful, or if you would like it to reach someone, I would be happy if you could support me with a 'Like,' a follow, or by sharing it.
I hope this story reaches someone who needs it.