Chris's Behavior: Autistic, Lazy, or Dumb? -

[ChurchOfGodBear]

One of the challenges of discussing Chris's potential is not really knowing what his potential is. In some ways, he's obviously capable of growth and development. In others, it's clear he's a very troubled person who needed help from the get-go, never received it, and continues to need help he isn't getting. The question is always one that asks... is Chris dumb, or is he just lazy? And where does the Autism factor in?

For the sake of this thread, I'll define my terms as follows:

Autistic: The strict textbook diagnosis of autism. His mind is locked into concrete thinking, he has trouble understanding nonverbal cues and tends to process statements literally. It's understood that Chris has "high functioning" autism, but he is autistic nonetheless.

Lazy: An unwillingness to take initiative, to challenge himself, or to take risks. It's thought that there are things Chris could accomplish with some effort, and even that if he were to fail, the experience could prove beneficial.

Dumb: Removing all other factors, is Chris just not that smart? Does he simply not grasp some of the more basic concepts the rest of us take for granted?

Of those three possibilities, how would you explain Chris's...
...understanding of Australia?
...one-sided discussion on places like FaceBook and YouTube?
...belief that he's a CADD expert and fluent spanish speaker?
...fashion sense (both classic and tomgirl)?
...opinion of Snyder?
...Third Date Rule?
...plan to turn Sonichu into a megafranchise?
...job hunting skills?

 

[LM 697]

I don't think Chris is that dumb (Autism and lack of interaction skills notwithstanding), he's just lazy and impotent.

 

[CatParty]

raised poorly for his condition and using autism as an excuse made him lazy which caused him to be dumb and sotra created a circle of the three that all coincide with each other.

 

[DrChristianTroy]

All three. But to answer specifically...
...understanding of Australia?
Dumb. He slept through his classes why would social studies be different?

...one-sided discussion on places like FaceBook and YouTube?
Arrogance more than anything. He thinks HE is important enough for Nintendo or whatever to find his videos.

...belief that he's a CADD expert and fluent spanish speaker?
Arrogance. He did it so he's a genius.

...fashion sense (both classic and tomgirl)?
Dumb for the fashion choices. Autism since he stuck with it. Also Barb doing it so people knew he was mentally handicapped.

...opinion of Snyder?
Arrogance. "He didn't do what I WANT! He must be EVIL."

...Third Date Rule?
Dumb. Took a common, if overly cliched, TV convention to heart.

...plan to turn Sonichu into a megafranchise?
Arrogance and dumb. He thought his writing was as good as real writers and that Nintendo/Sega would make billions off it. Dumb in that he failed to recognize any of the legal ramnifications of combining two already made characters.

...job hunting skills?
Lazy. Also the fact that deep down he doesn't want a job.

All of this is just my opinion. Also I think arrogance plays a huge factor, obviously.

 

[BigAltheGreat921]

All three, plus the ego.

 

[Grand Number of Pounds]

...belief that he's a CADD expert and fluent Spanish speaker?

There's something known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, which for the sake of simplicity, says there are some incompetent people who think they are experts and overestimate their abilities.

I don't know how long it takes to be a CADD expert, but I know it takes 500-600 hours of study to be competent enough at Spanish to perform the duties that an ambassador or diplomat is expected to perform (the technical term is working proficiency; my source is the FSI, the branch of the US State Department that trains diplomats in language study). Except for vidya, I don't see Chris spending 500-600 hours on anything.

 

[Saney]

All three at the same time.

 

[Golly]

I think Chris might be lazy because he's autistic. Autistic people like routines. Chris's routine is one of complete and utter unproductiveness. To be productive would be to break his routine, which makes him lazy. Now, in being lazy, he also would neglect putting effort into trying to understand the world around him, which also makes him dumb. So really, it's all three, but it all stems from the autism.

 

[Grand Number of Pounds]

Not just autism, but another undiagnosed mental illness like schizophrenia could be the cause of his laziness. People with mental illnesses often have avolition, or not having the motivation to do anything.

The only thing is: even if his psychological makeup is the reason for his laziness, why does it affect him so much? There are millions of people with autism out there but most of them live productive lives. The only answer is he never learned to cope with it.

 

[Marvin]

Not just autism, but another undiagnosed mental illness like schizophrenia could be the cause of his laziness. People with mental illnesses often have avolition, or not having the motivation to do anything.

The only thing is: even if his psychological makeup is the reason for his laziness, why does it affect him so much? There are millions of people with autism out there but most of them live productive lives. The only answer is he never learned to cope with it.

He has no reason not to be lazy. Like, even if I was a millionaire and could do whatever I wanted 24/7, I'd still do some things because I've got interests. I like computers and programming and other shit like that. Right now, Chris does exactly what I'd do without restrictions, except he has different interests than I do. Plus he's dumb and easy to take advantage of, which helped him develop paranoia.

Basically, a lot of Chris' problems don't seem hard to explain to me.

 

[Kosher Dill]

Laziness - physical and intellectual - is more or less Chris's defining characteristic. His dumbness is due to being too lazy to take any steps away from the ignorance we were all born in, and his arrogance is as often as not due to uncritically assuming the best about himself. And of course his physical laziness speaks for itself.
How much of his laziness is ultimately due to autism, I couldn't say.

 

[Anchuent Christory]

I think it's now impossible to separate genuine disability from his unsavory character traits. Each separate aspect defines Chris and they all combine to form the complete package. I've seen the term perfect storm used to describe him a few times and it's a bloody good use of the phrase. Barb and the late Bob should really be ashamed of what they unleashed upon the world.

Chris just demonstrates that the gene pool needs more chlorine tablets chucked into it.

 

[Abhor-able]

What do you expect from someone who has spent their entire life memorizing the minutiae of Sonic the Hedgehog and Pokemon? Thats the 'tism

Otherwise he's just lazy, and lazy turns into dumb really easily.

 

[regularjohn]

Im pretty sure he could be a lot better a person if he werent so lazy. Sure he doesnt seem smart, but thats because he is lazy and has autism. If he were more proactive, he would be able to understand that his autistic shell has promoted an outlook on life that makes no sense to the rest of us.
Personally, its the fact that his greatest downfall is his own fault that makes him the best lolcow. You cant really feel sorry for him when he screws up because its his own problem.

 

[Niachu]

...Third Date Rule?
Dumb. Took a common, if overly cliched, TV convention to heart.

Could be autism, too. Obsessive categorization and all that.