I facilitate a game day for Autism Tennessee.  It happens between noon and 2:00 p.m. the first Saturday each month.  If you have autism or know someone who does, please contact me at 615-594-6529.  We have a lot of fun. It is open for all ages.

One of our favorite games we play is one called, “Five Second Rule.”  The player is asked to name three things in five seconds. It sounds easy enough, but the time pressure can really add difficulty, especially if you are on the spectrum.  I was wondering why it can be difficult for some of our players. Social inhibition and fear of making a mistake or embarrassing yourself might be one of the reasons. But I am proud to report our group is very supportive.  The participants trust that this is one place they won’t be shamed for taking a risk at participation, even if their response in their mind is “wrong.”

But the delay in response might be the result of deep thinking. And it got me curious about philosophers, and the link between that profession and autism. I found an a New York Times article on line called, “Beyond Understanding,” written by Andy Martin.  Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote a book called Logical Philosophical Treatise.  Martin tells us that Wittgenstein’s English translation of Proposition 7 would be ‘whereof one cannot speak thereof one must remain silent.’  

That is exactly what I experience playing the Five Second Rule. The question was, “Name 3 things that come in chocolate.”  Simple enough if you mind is thinking of things that in chocolate as well as other flavors: ice-cream, cake, and cookies, right?  But what if your mind is on things that come ONLY in chocolate?  The question then becomes more problematic. Another example: “name three things with teeth.”  Again, if you are not thinking in a deep philosophical way, you might be able to easily access this response;  dogs, cats, and humans. But what if your thoughts are things like saws, combs, or a lawsuit that is practically airtight?  If your mind is not on animals, the answer might come much later than 5 seconds.

It occurred to me that the 5 Second Rule game is not difficult for our players because the participants do not understand it.  It might be because they go to places much like Wittgenstein might. Here is Proposition 1 by Wittgenstein, according to Wikipedia:

• 1 The world is all that is the case.

• 1.1 The world is the totality of facts, not of things.

• 1.11 The world is determined by the facts, and by their being all the facts.

• 1.12 For the totality of facts determines what is the case, and also whatever is not the case.

• 1.13 The facts in logical space are the world.

• 1.2 The world divides into facts.

• 1.21 Each item can be the case or not the case while everything else remains the same.

Even with extensive research and consultation with professors of philosophy, I would not have a clue what any of that means. But I have faith that it is very meaningful. Martin tells us that “Wittgenstein has frequently been categorized as autistic.”  Wittgenstein was articulate and not visibly dysfunctional, but very awkward socially. Martin tells us that Wittgenstein “admitted to having difficulty working out what people were really going on about.”   Yet Wittgenstein had ingenious insights into the human social condition.  I look forward to similar insights from our participants of Five Second Rule at game day.

Perhaps there is, in fact,  a link between autism and philosophers.  The male to female ratio for autism, according to Martin, is about 4:1, and most philosophers are male.  Hans Asperger wrote that the autistic mind is "an extreme variant of male intelligence." I like the way Martin described the link between autism and communication:

       “Language arises because of the scope for misunderstanding. We need noises and written signs. Language compensates for an empathy deficit. But with or without language, I can still misread the signs. Autism only arises when there is an expectation of understanding.”

Who knows?  Perhaps the road to understanding will be discovered at game day.

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