Interpreting Things Literally

[balder]

I enjoy etymology, so I'll sometimes think about what words actually mean as opposed to how they're used.

One of my favorite examples is "romantic", which really just means "of Rome", or "of the Roman Empire".

So the romantic languages are the ones that most closely resemble Latin.

I also have an addiction for these matters. I am interested particularly in the little differences in languages. Makes me wonder when did similar languages started to follow different ways.

 

[Aspieistj]

I just never learn! I KNOW I take everything said to me literally, yet I stumble over and over again. My precious, adopted dog converted to heartworm positive status and I was devastated. The vet and staff told me Mardi would be there for 2 days of treatment with blood work, X-rays, and 2 horrendously painful shots each day. Two days--go in on Monday and come home Wednesday morning, right???? I called Monday afternoon for an update and was told I could call again on Tuesday. I waited until almost 4 PM to call and was told she could come home at 4!!!!! I never saw that coming! I totally believed she needed to be hospitalized for "2 days" which means 48 hours. I dove into the shower and hurried over to get her out of there ASAP. I am glad she didn't have to remain alone for a second night, but what the Hell does 2 days men? She was there for only 31 hours--not even a day and a half. I hope my bill isn't rounded up accordingly!!!!!

 

[robertwnielsen]

I quote Bugs Bunny, from Rabbit Rampage:

"DON'T BE SO DANGED LITERAL!" (After he said, "Rabbit ears! LONG ONES!!" to the phantom artist, who then proceeded to draw ears at least 10 feet long.)

 

[Aspieistj]

I quote Bugs Bunny, from Rabbit Rampage:

"DON'T BE SO DANGED LITERAL!" (After he said, "Rabbit ears! LONG ONES!!" to the phantom artist, who then proceeded to draw ears at least 10 feet long.)

Long is a non-specific quantitative word while 2 is clearly specific! One day lasts 24 hours. Whey not say, "In Monday morning and home late Tuesday afternoon?" With these words, in no way I would have thought the stay meant ALL day Monday and Tuesday for a total of 48 hours. I don't know how to be less literal because if not literal, there are many possibilities. After I make a "mistake" like this I always ask myself why I didn't automatically doubt the real meaning of the words. However, if I asked everyone to parse every word they spoke to me, why, THEY WOULD CALL ME AN ASPIE!!!!

I am a retired RN and in the medical field we were required to be very specific giving information to patients. Considering the other side of this dilemma, if I were to give an NT totally accurate instructions I guess I would have to expect him or her to misinterpret those instructions. It used to drive me crazy when patients called Tylenol (acetaminophen) "Aspirin" (acetylsalicylic acid). Two entirely different chemical formulae and each with a very different set of overdose cautions-- liver damage vs. excessive bleeding. There is much to be said for saying exactly what is wanted. I worked for a while on the Pediatric unit and parents would come to the desk and ask for some milk for their babies' bottles. In the US milk usually means pasteurized cow's milk. Most often, the babies were still drinking formula and we would have to ask which formula was needed. I don't think I ever had a mother intelligent to say something like Enfamil with iron. I would first have to ask if she meant formula, then the brand, and then with or without iron. It is amazing more parents don't kill their kids with stupidity.

 

[Ylva]

More due to the resilience of the kid than anything the parent does.

I often get the impression people can't actually count, too.

 

[melame]

This thread has made me literally laugh out loud many times. I often have trouble with interpreting what a person is saying. I don't mean things like idioms and I can usually get sarcasm. What usually gets me is grammatical errors and imprecise language. Grammatical errors don't really make me not be able to understand what is being said so much as they distract me from what is being said. I'm too busy thinking about how the change between their and they're changed the meaning of the sentence to care what the sentence actually meant.

I hate it when someone will ask me to go and get them "some" anything. I need to know exactly how much/many they need. I'm not good at guessing how many they need and they often get annoyed because I ask too many questions for a simple request. I think that they think that I'm trying to make them not ask me again, but that isn't the case. If they'll tell me once, I'll remember the next time.

My husband uses improper grammar in his speech all the time. It bothers me to no end, but he claims that he doesn't notice that he does it.

 

[Ylva]

On that note, when I was about six I asked my mother what "a couple" meant, and she said "two or three". She was talking about milk at the time, but for the next ten years or so whenever someone told me to get "a couple" of anything, I always got three, in accordance with "too much is better than too little" and "it's better to err on the right side (i.e. better to get three than one)" which are other rules my Mom used to teach me.

Messing with syntax bothers me a great deal more than flawed grammar, except in case languages like German or Latin.

 

[melame]

My kids (10 and 15 years old) are very literal when it comes to approximations of numbers, such as "couple" or "few." According to them a couple is two, a few is three, and several is four. I have no idea where they learned that. I've always heard that a couple is two, but nothing about several or a few.

 

[robertwnielsen]

Long is a non-specific quantitative word while 2 is clearly specific! One day lasts 24 hours. Whey not say, "In Monday morning and home late Tuesday afternoon?" With these words, in no way I would have thought the stay meant ALL day Monday and Tuesday for a total of 48 hours. I don't know how to be less literal because if not literal, there are many possibilities. After I make a "mistake" like this I always ask myself why I didn't automatically doubt the real meaning of the words. However, if I asked everyone to parse every word they spoke to me, why, THEY WOULD CALL ME AN ASPIE!!!!

I am a retired RN and in the medical field we were required to be very specific giving information to patients. Considering the other side of this dilemma, if I were to give an NT totally accurate instructions I guess I would have to expect him or her to misinterpret those instructions. It used to drive me crazy when patients called Tylenol (acetaminophen) "Aspirin" (acetylsalicylic acid). Two entirely different chemical formulae and each with a very different set of overdose cautions-- liver damage vs. excessive bleeding. There is much to be said for saying exactly what is wanted. I worked for a while on the Pediatric unit and parents would come to the desk and ask for some milk for their babies' bottles. In the US milk usually means pasteurized cow's milk. Most often, the babies were still drinking formula and we would have to ask which formula was needed. I don't think I ever had a mother intelligent to say something like Enfamil with iron. I would first have to ask if she meant formula, then the brand, and then with or without iron. It is amazing more parents don't kill their kids with stupidity.

Sorry if that Bugs Bunny reference offended you, Aspieistj. Trying to inject a little humor into the thread, that's all.

Having said that, I've had several people tell me not to be so literal about a lot of things, too.

 

[Spotty01]

I'm embarrassed to admit how literal-minded I can be sometimes.

For example, if someone tells me to move, like out of their/somebody else's way, then I'll either stand in one spot looking around like a lost puppy or move a couple of steps in a completely random direction, usually not where they wanted me to go, and then cue the face-palm or eye-roll from the person talking to me. Half the time, it hardly occurs to me that, hey, I could just ask them where they want me to go. It usually doesn't occur to everyone that they're dealing with someone who needs specific instructions instead of a simple hand gesture or a word or two either. Otherwise, you may as well be speaking Greek to me.

This is less a "ask the opinion of the audience" sort of post and more of a "this is a problem I go through sometimes" post, but I guess it could be the former as well. Does this ever happen to you guys? Does it happen often, and does it affect (effect?) you in day-to-day life (i.e. at a job)? Do you have a way of "teaching yourself" to understand something that isn't a completely specific instruction (if that's even possible)? Can't really think of any other questions off the top of my head, so, that is all.

 

[Streetwise]

YeP a lot it must be to do with perceptiona word which still confuses me
is that part of learning difficulties?

 

[Gritches]

Yup. I usually respond by just doing something, taking some sort of action, they typically respond better to that than to total inaction.

 

[LittleKnownBeat]

Yes, this happens a lot to me. Recently an instructor that I have for a course I'm taking, blew up at me over email because I was being literal minded. In my defence - he was very unclear about his instructions and many students did not like dealing with him. He was asking that I complete a project while calling it the wrong name. In turn, I kept recompleting a project (4x's) that he never wanted because he just didnt realise that he had been asking for the wrong thing. He ended up sending me a scathing email explaining how he was beyond furious with this immature game that I was playing with him and that since I wasn't serious about the course - I should just drop it. He also went on to detail in heavy dramatics, how he didn't appreciate how I waisted his time.

I was offended by this. I demanded to speak to his supervisor and I ended up showing them the emails (there were many in which I tried to ask him how he wanted me to complete the project and what section of our course module is it highlighted in because it was not specified within the syllabis to which I got NO RESPONSE!). Since I recieved no response - in a panic, I just placed all my focus on recompleting the project with more source material, I added a table of contents, etc.

They eventually gave me a new Instructor but he seems about as confusing as my last one was so.... no happiness shall be gained through this situation. NONE.

It had never dawned on me that I should submit anything outside the realm of what he was asking for. Never once did I think - He probably means this!. I never thought that because he never asked for that. He also didnt respond to any of the questions I laid out in email. I do wonder though.

Did other students get a letter?

Would an NT navigate this situation better than me?

Was I the one that 'fell through the cracks?'

What I'm trying to say is... keep records when at school or dealing with work. You never know when it'll be needed to aid a sticky situation. Perhaps some NTs find our specificity to be... needy. Or perhaps in my case, I came off looking incapable. Why couldnt I just figure it out for myself/get it together? In the real world, perhaps I will have to be flexible or take risks. Why can't I be easy to deal with like other students are? After all, easy is always better in nearly all people's eyes.

I, much like yourself have not discovered a good way to navigate these situations. Ask too many direct questions and it may still go south. You may still end up with an annoyed NT looking at you like you're a nutter. Or you may get a nice NT that doesn't mind at all. Roll of the dice really because people are so varied in temperament and personality. In the end, communication is a two way street. None of us speek fluent 'mime'.

 

[Questella]

Move? Move what? If they said excuse me at least that would make more sense and be more polite. >:

Earlier today dude had to go somewhere at four, he told me he needed to go somewhere at four and he was taking a nap, didn't say anything else, so naturally I assumed he was good and had it covered. I was totally shocked when he came to me at 4:12 and started yelling at me for not waking him up. I'm just like, "huh? you didn't tell me to wake you up at any certain time." So we got into an argument and he yelled at me the entire time he was getting ready. I'm completely confused, if you wanted me to wake you up, why didn't you say, "Hey wake me up at x time if I'm not up not just oh I have something to do later." WTF dude. >: Then he proceeded to blame me for everything that goes wrong ever. Ugh, one of those times I really wish I could have a beer, wtf. 119 more days plus a couple weeks of breastfeeding. x.x Come on October.

 

[Questella]

He ended up sending me a scathing email explaining how he was beyond furious with this immature game that I was playing with him and that since I wasn't serious about the course - I should just drop it.

Omg I want to stab him for you! >: >: >:

This whole situation sounds like such total b.s. and totally familiar, why can't their just be straight-forward laid out guidelines?

 

[Gritches]

Yes, this happens a lot to me. Recently an instructor that I have for a course I'm taking, blew up at me over email because I was being literal minded. In my defence - he was very unclear about his instructions and many students did not like dealing with him. He was asking that I complete a project while calling it the wrong name. In turn, I kept recompleting a project (4x's) that he never wanted because he just didnt realise that he had been asking for the wrong thing. He ended up sending me a scathing email explaining how he was beyond furious with this immature game that I was playing with him and that since I wasn't serious about the course - I should just drop it. He also went on to detail in heavy dramatics, how he didn't appreciate how I waisted his time.

I was offended by this. I demanded to speak to his supervisor and I ended up showing them the emails (there were many in which I tried to ask him how he wanted me to complete the project and what section of our course module is it highlighted in because it was not specified within the syllabis to which I got NO RESPONSE!). Since I recieved no response - in a panic, I just placed all my focus on recompleting the project with more source material, I added a table of contents, etc.

They eventually gave me a new Instructor but he seems about as confusing as my last one was so.... no happiness shall be gained through this situation. NONE.

It had never dawned on me that I should submit anything outside the realm of what he was asking for. Never once did I think - He probably means this!. I never thought that because he never asked for that. He also didnt respond to any of the questions I laid out in email. I do wonder though.

Did other students get a letter?

Would an NT navigate this situation better than me?

Was I the one that 'fell through the cracks?'

What I'm trying to say is... keep records when at school or dealing with work. You never know when it'll be needed to aid a sticky situation. Perhaps some NTs find our specificity to be... needy. Or perhaps in my case, I came off looking incapable. Why couldnt I just figure it out for myself/get it together? In the real world, perhaps I will have to be flexible or take risks. Why can't I be easy to deal with like other students are? After all, easy is always better in nearly all people's eyes.

I, much like yourself have not discovered a good way to navigate these situations. Ask too many direct questions and it may still go south. You may still end up with an annoyed NT looking at you like you're a nutter. Or you may get a nice NT that doesn't mind at all. Roll of the dice really because people are so varied in temperament and personality. In the end, communication is a two way street. None of us speek fluent 'mime'.

Wow, that instructor sounds like a total ass, and from your detailed description of the situation it sounds like that was 100% his problem, not yours. NTs aren't perfect, they aren't always right.

 

[Questella]

Kind of sounds like he was on some kind of power trip, it's so annoying when they do that. #smh

 

[LittleKnownBeat]

Move? Move what? If they said excuse me at least that would make more sense and be more polite. >:

Earlier today dude had to go somewhere at four, he told me he needed to go somewhere at four and he was taking a nap, didn't say anything else, so naturally I assumed he was good and had it covered. I was totally shocked when he came to me at 4:12 and started yelling at me for not waking him up. I'm just like, "huh? you didn't tell me to wake you up at any certain time." So we got into an argument and he yelled at me the entire time he was getting ready. I'm completely confused, if you wanted me to wake you up, why didn't you say, "Hey wake me up at x time if I'm not up not just oh I have something to do later." WTF dude. >: Then he proceeded to blame me for everything that goes wrong ever. Ugh, one of those times I really wish I could have a beer, wtf. 119 more days plus a couple weeks of breastfeeding. x.x Come on October.

I hope your day gets better Questella.

 

[Sabrina]

Well, me, my husband and two kids share the same literal understanding of things. So, in order to have a better communication, I'm as specific as possible.
Like, for example, I don't tell my kids "we're gonna go out later", I tell them "we'll go out at 4:30pm, so please start getting ready at 4:10 pm. Which is usually good , until they are not ready at 4:30 pm (because they're kids and maybe they can't find their shoes, for example) and my husband starts to get anxious because it's 4:31 pm , and we are not ready, and the party is supposed to start at 5:00pm, so if it takes us half hour to get there, he thinks we're gonna be late.

Thank God, after many times arriving first than anybody else, and even a couple of times when the poor people hosting the party or dinner, or whatever, were not even dressed, I had enough evidence to demonstrate to my husband that when people say 4:30 pm, they actually mean 5:00 pm. So (halleluya!) nowadays, we arrive half hour later to social gatherings. But then, if it's 31 minutes later and not 30 minutes, you now what happens . Haha, no, just kidding.

 

[Questella]

Well, me, my husband and two kids share the same literal understanding of things. So, in order to have a better communication, I'm as specific as possible.
Like, for example, I don't tell my kids "we're gonna go out later", I tell them "we'll go out at 4:30pm, so please start getting ready at 4:10 pm. Which is usually good , until they are not ready at 4:30 pm (because they're kids and maybe they can't find their shoes, for example) and my husband starts to get anxious because it's 4:31 pm , and we are not ready, and the party is supposed to start at 5:00pm, so if it takes us half hour to get there, he thinks we're gonna be late.

Thank God, after many times arriving first than anybody else, and even a couple of times when the poor people hosting the party or dinner, or whatever, were not even dressed, I had enough evidence to demonstrate to my husband that when people say 4:30 pm, they actually mean 5:00 pm. So (halleluya!) nowadays, we arrive half hour later to social gatherings. But then, if it's 31 minutes later and not 30 minutes, you now what happens . Haha, no, just kidding.

My dude totally freaks out if we're a minute late to parties as well, and even being a bit late we're always there first and the people throwing the party are nowhere near ready. I can't count how many times we've shown up as his singers house for some kind of party and neither him or his wife have showered or gotten dressed. It's totally awkward. Idk why people don't just say the party starts at 8 rather than 6 but I hate showing up at a party at any time before two hours after the expressed start time. Most people seem to show up 3-4 hours after the intended start time. People show up as late as 6 hours after. lol. I'm a girl and I want to spend hours getting ready now rush getting ready to go sit awkwardly somewhere and wait for everybody else to get ready and show up. x.x The only times I want to show up early (on time) is if I'm not planning on staying very long and basically am planning on dropping by to say hi or whatever.