This is one of a series of discussion posts based on questions from the AQ-10 autism test.

2. When I’m reading a story, I find it difficult to work out the characters’ intentions.

  • Definitely Agree
  • Slightly Agree
  • Slightly Disagree
  • Definitely Disagree

Is this statement true for you? Can you think of any examples? Is it an easy or difficult question for you to answer?

You can take the full AQ-10 test here. Note this test is intended as a quick screener, and cannot diagnose or rule out any condition on its own.

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  • octoperson@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    Compared to the first question, I had to think a lot harder about this one. First stumbling block - ‘difficult’. Difficult compared to what? Second, ‘reading’. Is it ok to also think about characters in films and TV here? Taken at face value, the answer would be no, but the question seems more about interpreting the story than about the medium that the story is in. So film and TV should be ok? I think?

    Anyway, characters in stories tend to be pretty explicit in their intentions. Captain Ahab wants to kill the whale, Frodo Baggins wants to destroy the ring, Elizabeth Bennett wants to find a suitable husband. They will explain themselves in dialog, and sometimes even get their thoughts narrated. Sometimes a character’s goals will be ambiguous or misleading, and that’s deliberate on the part of the author. It’s not a problem if you get to the reveal in a mystery novel and don’t yet suspect the killer. So, I think I can follow stories well enough. But…

    Is there some aspect to characters that I’m not getting, and that I am not aware I’m not getting? There’s a kind of intrigue type of stories that just go over my head. I never know what’s going on in Scorcese or Frances Coppola movies, for example. And then there’s people in the fanfic space who like to ship characters, or imagine this character in that universe, and I don’t get it. Back in school we had a book report exercise with questions about the characters and how they develop through the story, and I found it unreasonably difficult to apply those questions to the stories I was reading.

    So I’m going to say Slightly Disagree. On the face of it, I can generally understand what I need to follow a story. But I have some doubts, and I don’t think I have the insight to assess how relevant those doubts are.

    • Narrrz@kbin.social
      1·
      1 year ago

      I think a better phrasing I for this question might be, how easily can i put myself in a (fictional) character’s shoes?

      using examples from the adjacent reply, it’s obvious Frodo is intending to destroy the ring, is questing to that end. but can you imagine yodel if being him, imagine how he feels at a specific moment in the story, discern his deeper, non-explixit motivations, his thoughts or fears?

      • octoperson@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        yodel if

        yourself?

        This is a very helpful perspective, thank you. Is this what people mean when they talk about identifying with a character? I’ve never really been sure if I understand that properly.

        To maybe lean on the example a bit too hard - there was a part where Frodo started to put his trust in Gollum, and I remember (gosh, it was a long time ago,) being frustrated with him. So, we’d want to think about why he might have developed that trust. And feel, what? Satisfied that it makes sense for the character? Feel the same trust ourselves, despite us knowing it’s a mistake and still being frustrated with him as readers? It’s a complicated tangle to unravel.

  • PancakeLegend@mander.xyzEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    Slightly agree.

    I don’t enjoy reading fiction much at all. I think I’m more interested in the worlds than the characters.

    Oddly, this question gave me a flashback to reading The Outsider by Albert Camus in school. I remember it making me really uncomfortable. I just read the blurb again, I think the main character might have been autistically coded, and FFS, they made him kill someone and not feel guilt. :(

    • octoperson@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      Reminds me of an odd interaction where someone recommended The Outsider to me. Like, not prompted by anything - You, personally, octoperson, should read The Outsider by Albert Camus because You will find it relevant to Your self. What exactly was she trying to tell me??

    • Wogi@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      1 year ago

      I looked in to getting a diagnosis, it was difficult to obtain, ridiculously expensive, and not particularly useful to me, but could be used against me.

      I scored as “probably autistic” on all of these tests. That’s good enough for me.

      • Lumidaub@feddit.deEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        I hate that there are ridiculous places where getting a diagnosis might actually be harmful, that sucks so hard, man. I consider myself very fortunate to live in a place where a diagnosis can really only be beneficial (neutral at worst) and getting it is free. Just takes forever to get an appointment.

      • Lumidaub@feddit.deEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        Tbh, this particular question I’m having trouble answering (which might be telling too I suppose?) but I clicked through and took the longer version of the test and the result further confirms things that my therapist has already implied.

  • torpak@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    This is definitely true for me. That’s one of the reasons I love anime and manga because in most of those the innermost thoughts of the characters are shown to the audience.

  • s12@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    Disagree. When reading a story, it’s easy to go at your own pace and work intentions out.

    Tried the test and got a 9.

  • BOMBS@lemmy.worldMEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Marks definitely disagree because it’s not that I find it difficult. It’s that I can’t whatsoever. Looks like I’m not autistic after all 😀