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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   2615 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 24, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Are people here as autistic as everyone jokes that everyone is or is that just humor? In the survey posted a month ago (tongue-in-cheekily) I was forty something percent German and about as much autistic, but that was entertainment. Are people going on diagnosed autism or just vibes?

Don't answer of course if this is personal.

I was diagnosed before I could speak (that was one of the criteria).

That's interesting. According to family, I was non-verbal until I was about three and a half, then immediately started speaking in complete, grammatically-correct sentences.

There's a classic joke (apparently usually aimed at German personality stereotypes?) along those lines:

An American couple adopts a little German baby boy. As the years go by, the parents become deeply concerned because the child grows to be four years old without ever uttering a single syllable. They take him to speech therapists, pediatricians, and specialists, but every test shows that he is completely healthy, intelligent, and physically capable of speech. He just chooses not to.

Then, on his fifth birthday, his mother serves him tea and a slice of chocolate cake. The boy takes a bite, sets his fork down, looks up, and says in a perfectly clear, advanced voice:

"Mother, this cake is altogether too dry, and the tea is a bit tepid."

His mother gasps, drops her plate, and bursts into tears of joy. "My God, you can speak! Wolfgang, you can talk in full sentences! Why on earth haven't you ever said a single word to us before today?"

The boy blinks, shrugs his shoulders, and replies:

"Well, up until now, everything has been satisfactory."

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