Rating intelligence by understanding and recognising jokes and not being literal

[Suzanne]

That is what I have found, just by the reaction when I don't recognise a joke. Well, apparently a joke, anyway.

Also, I was ACCUSED of being a literal person not long ago. The weird thing is, this person's own nephew has aspergers and knows I have it too, but still reacts with disgust, because I failed to get the joke.

Ok, so my husband, who does not have aspergers, teases me, by deliberately taking me literally and yes, that is frustrating, but that is because he is not being serious.

I guess the reality is, it is annoying when one is faced with a literal thinker. And I suppose why it is a surprise to find I am not as stupid as I come across.

Received a lovely compliment not long ago. Told that I am a very logical person.

 

[bon vide]

i can take things very literally sometimes, most the time my problem is with sarcasm, i can be sarcastic but i can almost never tell when someone else is being sarcastic, and ill be annoyed when people make fun of me for it.

and to anyone who feels insecure about their intelligence bc they take things literally :
theres nothing wrong with taking things literally, it doesnt make you any less intelligent and even if you are considered "less intelligent" in one way you could be a genius in another way

 

[Keigan]

(Humor)

Friends welcome, relatives by appointment only.

That husband of yours.... can you get your money back?

(Humor)

 

[ladybug]

That is what I have found, just by the reaction when I don't recognise a joke. Well, apparently a joke, anyway.

Also, I was ACCUSED of being a literal person not long ago. The weird thing is, this person's own nephew has aspergers and knows I have it too, but still reacts with disgust, because I failed to get the joke.

Ok, so my husband, who does not have aspergers, teases me, by deliberately taking me literally and yes, that is frustrating, but that is because he is not being serious.

I guess the reality is, it is annoying when one is faced with a literal thinker. And I suppose why it is a surprise to find I am not as stupid as I come across.

Received a lovely compliment not long ago. Told that I am a very logical person.

I found your post quite surprising...my son (aspie) has a great sense of humour... loves jokes and enjoys telling/ being in company of funny people...
My bf (also aspie) has a great sense of humour... one of the great things about our relationship is the humour, the banter between us, that some people who know him are surprised at -because they don't think him funny...
' not funny, you're joking..!'

 

[Questella]

I do this all the time, lmao, dude will try to make some kind of joke about something and I won't realize it and I'll be total wtf what what? Depending on what it is I'll get offended, then he'll be like, "you totally missed the joke/sarcasm/whatever," and I'll be like, "oh you were trying to be funny???" -.- end lame joke here, it's a daily thing but at least he doesn't seem to get overly offended when I don't get something.

Like the other day I was looking for the canned cat food to feed the cats and he said he ate it and I was like total wtf, "why did you eat the cats food?" I kept asking he why he would eat the cats food and gross and wtf, but then I found the cats food, so that was kind of funny, I was seriously confused for a minute there. IDK people eat Taco Bell's ground beef which is just dog food really so why would I not expect someone would eat canned cat food as well? Well I found the food and fed the cats. lol Please don't eat the cats food. xD

 

[Diagnosed2015]

That is what I have found, just by the reaction when I don't recognise a joke. Well, apparently a joke, anyway.

Also, I was ACCUSED of being a literal person not long ago. The weird thing is, this person's own nephew has aspergers and knows I have it too, but still reacts with disgust, because I failed to get the joke.

Ok, so my husband, who does not have aspergers, teases me, by deliberately taking me literally and yes, that is frustrating, but that is because he is not being serious.

I guess the reality is, it is annoying when one is faced with a literal thinker. And I suppose why it is a surprise to find I am not as stupid as I come across.

Received a lovely compliment not long ago. Told that I am a very logical person.

Unless I have to be serious (professionally or otherwise), my friends know I take nothing seriously; I can't process negative (personal) emotions so everything I say is in jest, or "lovingly (funny) sarcastic."

I have a new friend who not only "doesn't get" my humor, but thinks THEY (the person) are the ONLY funny person -- and their "humor," always has to be explained -- TO EVERYONE -- by the person making the joke. The irony (to me) is, if you have to explain your joke, it wasn't funny.

I'll say something sarcastic (but not rudely) and all of a sudden I'm in the middle of a "lesson," when, in fact, they just don't realize I "know" what they are saying/doing but it just isn't funny.

I am very literal -- and to mimic my inability to tell a joke from being serious (the first sign is that they don't laugh when they say things) is, to me, antagonistic. I have spent my entire life trying to "figure out" people, and have had (up to know) a relatively anxious life because of it.

If I offer to do something and I'm criticized or corrected, I won't offer to do it again. No amount of reminding or "teaching" or showing or whatever is going to undo the fact that a nicety wasn't accepted as just that.

If I offer an insight or an opinion and it's knocked down before/during/after, I'll remain quiet in the future. Then, it becomes a situation of me "watching" instead of interacting with someone, which either becomes a chore or amusing (to me), but it's not a normal relationship.

Fortunately (or not), I was married to someone who treated me (as above) for 10 years before we were finally divorced. Since then, no one in my life has been able to make me feel as low as I did then (triggers PTSD) -- before I met this new person. I've decided that I'm far better company than they are, so I decided that putting up with craziness is too much trouble. And, I don't treat my "friends" like crap.

 

[Suzanne]

I found your post quite surprising...my son (aspie) has a great sense of humour... loves jokes and enjoys telling/ being in company of funny people...
My bf (also aspie) has a great sense of humour... one of the great things about our relationship is the humour, the banter between us, that some people who know him are surprised at -because they don't think him funny...
' not funny, you're joking..!'

I do joke and understand jokes that are clear cut jokes. I give an example on what I do not see as a joke.

We have a turkey and because we do not eat it, it is huge. The question: are you saving the turkey for xmas? Shock from me. Of course, not; don't celebrate anyway and couldn't do that. Response: just joking, can't you take a joke or something? Get it, I was just joking!

I do have a sense of humor.

 

[Suzanne]

Unless I have to be serious (professionally or otherwise), my friends know I take nothing seriously; I can't process negative (personal) emotions so everything I say is in jest, or "lovingly (funny) sarcastic."

I have a new friend who not only "doesn't get" my humor, but thinks THEY (the person) are the ONLY funny person -- and their "humor," always has to be explained -- TO EVERYONE -- by the person making the joke. The irony (to me) is, if you have to explain your joke, it wasn't funny.

I'll say something sarcastic (but not rudely) and all of a sudden I'm in the middle of a "lesson," when, in fact, they just don't realize I "know" what they are saying/doing but it just isn't funny.

I am very literal -- and to mimic my inability to tell a joke from being serious (the first sign is that they don't laugh when they say things) is, to me, antagonistic. I have spent my entire life trying to "figure out" people, and have had (up to know) a relatively anxious life because of it.

If I offer to do something and I'm criticized or corrected, I won't offer to do it again. No amount of reminding or "teaching" or showing or whatever is going to undo the fact that a nicety wasn't accepted as just that.

If I offer an insight or an opinion and it's knocked down before/during/after, I'll remain quiet in the future. Then, it becomes a situation of me "watching" instead of interacting with someone, which either becomes a chore or amusing (to me), but it's not a normal relationship.

Fortunately (or not), I was married to someone who treated me (as above) for 10 years before we were finally divorced. Since then, no one in my life has been able to make me feel as low as I did then (triggers PTSD) -- before I met this new person. I've decided that I'm far better company than they are, so I decided that putting up with craziness is too much trouble. And, I don't treat my "friends" like crap.

I am the same. I guess I did not put my post over very clearly. It is the "jokes" from nt's that I rarely get and mocked for it.

 

[Suzanne]

I found your post quite surprising...my son (aspie) has a great sense of humour... loves jokes and enjoys telling/ being in company of funny people...
My bf (also aspie) has a great sense of humour... one of the great things about our relationship is the humour, the banter between us, that some people who know him are surprised at -because they don't think him funny...
' not funny, you're joking..!'

You meet one aspie.....you meet one aspie.

 

[ladybug]

I do joke and understand jokes that are clear cut jokes. I give an example on what I do not see as a joke.

We have a turkey and because we do not eat it, it is huge. The question: are you saving the turkey for xmas? Shock from me. Of course, not; don't celebrate anyway and couldn't do that. Response: just joking, can't you take a joke or something? Get it, I was just joking!

I do have a sense of humor.

I think you're spot on with your last comment.... everyone (to some degree) has their 'own sense of humour'.... it's like music... it's personal and humour can be so subjective... even down to geographical location....

Ps everyone thinks they are humours... but sometimes the 'audience' doesn't...!

 

[Sabrina]

Like the other day I was looking for the canned cat food to feed the cats and he said he ate it and I was like total wtf, "why did you eat the cats food?" I kept asking he why he would eat the cats food and gross and wtf, but then I found the cats food, so that was kind of funny, I was seriously confused for a minute there. IDK people eat Taco Bell's ground beef which is just dog food really so why would I not expect someone would eat canned cat food as well? Well I found the food and fed the cats. lol Please don't eat the cats food. xD

I used to be teased a lot by a frenemy in similar situations. She'd say, even in front of other
people "you'd believe anything" and have a laugh at me. For example, she'd say something like what happened to you with the cat food, and I would believe it (I also would have a good explanation for believing it, like you). Then she would point it out to who ever could listen, and then laugh at me. If I complained, then she'd said I didn't have a sense of humor. I put up with that for years, but I hated it. I decided to terminate our "friendship" recently (for that and many other reasons). I couldn't be more relieved).

 

[Questella]

I used to be teased a lot by a frenemy in similar situations. She'd say, even in front of other
people "you'd believe anything" and have a laugh at me. For example, she'd say something like what happened to you with the cat food, and I would believe it (I also would have a good explanation for believing it, like you). Then she would point it out to who ever could listen, and then laugh at me. If I complained, then she'd said I didn't have a sense of humor. I put up with that for years, but I hated it. I decided to terminate our "friendship" recently (for that and many other reasons). I couldn't be more relieved).

I've had the problem with people saying I'll believe anything as well. Would it be better to believe everything or not believe anything?

 

[Sabrina]

I've had the problem with people saying I'll believe anything as well. Would it be better to believe everything or not believe anything?

I don't think it's an all or nothing situation. The thing is that, even if I've tried hard to be more alert to that kind of thing, my reflex is to believe whatever is said to me, to take it literally.
If I have some time to think about what was said, usually I'll connect the dots and realize that it was not true.
But I just can't help believing some things instantly. I mean, if the situation happens out of the blue, I laugh at myself, and I get that other people spontaneously laughs. What I don't like is when is done intentionally to mock someone, over and over.

 

[Sabrina]

For example, the other day I went to the salon for a haircut. When I was about to pay, I hear that the guy tells me that is seventy. So I instantly say think "WOW, this is so expensive, I'm never coming to this place again". So, since I happened to have cash on me, I took out a 100 $ bill, and give it to the person. He looks at me strangely and says : "but it's seventeen" and I'm all , "Oh , sorry , it's just that it has happened to me before that people suddenly raise prices" (It doesn't help that I just moved from a country with very high inflation, either). I was embarrassed,
but then I just laughed at myself .

 

[Questella]

Generally I'll just go along with whatever somebody is telling me, even if it seems really out there. I don't have any real reason to argue with them and I don't want to come off as insulting by trying to call them out. At the end of the day it really isn't going to affect me and I don't really care. Normally from a making-money standpoint just going along with whatever a customer wants to tell you seems to be lucrative even if they're saying something ridiculous, I guess it goes along with that 'stroking their ego' idea that people seem to love, even if what is stroking their ego isn't even real, which I really don't understand but I'm not going to call people out. None of this is meant and joking just total fabrication of stories about the person telling the story. So basically straight up lying, so I'm glad I don't have to associate with any of them outside of my work environment.

 

[Alan tm]

I don't think of myself as literal but my jokes offten are literal.
I'l read or hear the same sentence as other people and I will see the direct joke in it like, the band took the roof off in here last night .
I'm very aware of bizzar things people say that are mini statements themselves that people don't react to .

Maybe I am literal but I also see it . It's another thing on my list that makes me feel none aspie.

 

[Bella Pines]

Well I think that you sound very logical, and further more always make sense.

 

[Judge]

That is what I have found, just by the reaction when I don't recognise a joke. Well, apparently a joke, anyway.

Also, I was ACCUSED of being a literal person not long ago. The weird thing is, this person's own nephew has aspergers and knows I have it too, but still reacts with disgust, because I failed to get the joke.

Ok, so my husband, who does not have aspergers, teases me, by deliberately taking me literally and yes, that is frustrating, but that is because he is not being serious.

I guess the reality is, it is annoying when one is faced with a literal thinker. And I suppose why it is a surprise to find I am not as stupid as I come across.

Received a lovely compliment not long ago. Told that I am a very logical person.

Neurotypicals default to expecting- even demanding that you conform to their way of thinking.

If not, for whatever reason you are inherently "flawed" via the consensus of a social majority. Not because it is, but only because they "have the numbers".

Majorities may "rule" both socially and politically, however it doesn't make them objectively right, either.

 

[dragoncat16]

People find it funny when I point out how something they have just said can be taken literally. The best thing is that I can keep a straight face. Of course, I usually understand the humour or irony or whatever of what the other person had said. I have learned to analyse practically each sentence to see all the different ways it can be taken, in order to determine which way the speaker likely meant it. I'm usually right. I guess it's just one of those compensatory mechanisms I have developed over the course of my life.

I think it's completely ridiculous when NTs say something mean (or otherwise unfunny), and then claim later that it was just a joke. Who exactly was supposed to be laughing if there were only two people in the situation? I understand humour of all types, and even if I don't find something funny myself, I usually see why others find it funny. Some things are just plain not funny, and I really don't know why someone would say such a thing and then later claim that it was a joke.

 

[Merewen]

I think it's completely ridiculous when NTs say something mean (or otherwise unfunny), and then claim later that it was just a joke. Who exactly was supposed to be laughing if there were only two people in the situation? I understand humour of all types, and even if I don't find something funny myself, I usually see why others find it funny. Some things are just plain not funny, and I really don't know why someone would say such a thing and then later claim that it was a joke.

Sometimes it's because they aren't joking; they are trying to get away with being mean and push the blame onto you for feeling hurt. "Jokes" like this are sometimes bullying/abuse.

I always had trouble with customers who made outrageous demands as jokes when I worked in customer service. I was in "serious work" mode, plus I'd never seen the person before. It always seemed to be extra funny that I didn't get the joke, then I'd have to fake-laugh with them.