#sdam

I hesitate to call this piece meandering because I understand why it's structured the way it is -- it's a personal essay that happens to be about brothers who are at opposite ends of a specific neurological spectrum. The author has Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory and his brother has Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory -- along with their frequent companion conditions, Hyperphantasia and Aphantasia.

I know these conditions are of interest to readers -- to me too, as someone with aphantasia/SDAM. It's a useful read in that it talks about the history of the study of these conditions and describes various people's experiences with them. It just also has a bunch of personal reflection that while expressive and well-written is not very interesting to someone wanting to read more about this fairly young field of study.

"Imagination related" like aphantasia and anauralia. Can make other people erase creativity (making music, art) get less help psychologically (standards of assumptions) and assumed faking if certain other neurodivergences (i have both and a formal d.i.d. diagnosis. I would be fake claimed if i stated communication in system is more like handing eachother sets of computer code and understanding it)

Experience spectrum, like that of sdam/severely defficient autobiographical memory. Can make people assume you don't value things you valued. Positives and negatives of the past when you have facts and associative memory over nostalgia and grief will get people stating evil, not valueing what you value.

Emotional toolbelt, like that of aspd and lesser extent sometimes schizospec disorders. Gets people to view you as evil even for good actions. Gets people angry at you for doing good for different reasons. And again gets people to be told what you value is less weight because less wide (value, beauty, curiosity, appreciation, content. Seen as less worthy)

Enotional expression. As is the case of blunted affect (common in schizospec disorders and autism) can get people to say you are lying about what you feel, can get people to assume you are hating them.

Its amplified even worse if you have (common in schizospec but can be in other things) of "showing the wrong emotion for the situation" that's viewed as very evil in the eyes of bigotry.

Overly staring at eyes, aka lacking in discomfort for that (yes neurotypicals do get discomforted, just less so then autism) which can be a trait in aspd for wanting to analyze everything when talking (like reading a book) gets people to assume aggressive, wanting to destroy or overly control, even when you are just being curious and interested.

Lack of physical pain, while posing more of a danger to self in actuality, gets very quick viewed as a threat to be disposed of.

Like you can see stuff in your mind? You talk to yourself? You can relive your life?