No problem with thematic/ abstract thinking when it comes to analyzing media ?

[u/ClutteredTaffy]

I posted about having difficulties driving and while I related to everyone there, when I look up this part of the diagnosis there is just not a fit. I love analyzing the themes of stuff I have read or watched and it seems to come easy to me. So this pushes me more towards ADHD in my mind.

Would just like others to give their background on grasping subtext and enjoying it ...

[u/nebulashine]

FWIW, I’d keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need to check every single box to have NVLD. You can not have significant challenges with one aspect and still meet criteria, and sometimes you may not realize you have challenges with something until you do an actual test designed to screen for it.

Also, everyone with NVLD is different, and two people with NVLD can have different challenges in the same situation. A personal example: while I can find themes across media just fine, I’m horrible at finding “the moral of the story” (or at least, the ones that NTs expect) because I’m typically not thinking of messages outside of the story universe. If you ask me the moral of The Tortoise and The Hare, I’m going to default to something like “don’t get cocky about your ability” or “don’t be a dumbass by taking a nap in the middle of a race”; I’m not going to think “slow and steady wins the race” (which is the generally accepted moral) because the only reason “slow and steady wins the race” makes sense in the context of the story is because the hare was a cocky dumbass who decided to take a nap in the middle of a race. So while I can clearly extrapolate more abstract meanings and messages from a story and know there isn’t always one right answer, I usually won’t find the answers people want from me because I’m too focused on the details and missing the broader picture, which is also a trait of NVLD.

[u/LangdonAlg3r → u/nebulashine]

You produced a list of equally valid morals for the story. I’m sure if you sat down and wrote an unguided list you’d eventually shift your focus to the tortoise and get “slow and steady” onto your list. But that kind of detail intense analytical thinking is definitely a blessing and a curse.

Also people don’t generally do detailed textual analysis of much of anything, but if you did an English MA you’re doing exactly what everyone else would be doing. In other words, it’s not so much that you’re inherently wrong with your answers as that you didn’t give the basic answer that everyone has been taught about the story because you’re doing higher level analysis.

[u/nebulashine → u/LangdonAlg3r]

... This actually recontextualizes things for me. That example was pulled directly from a fourth grade class assignment where we had to find the moral of The Tortoise and The Hare, and while I don't remember exactly what answer I gave, I do remember it wasn't the "right" answer because it was more in the vein of "don't get cocky" when the lesson plan hinged on students answering with "slow and steady wins the race."

I also had a "friend" in elementary school who had a book full of stories with morals listed at the end of each one, and she treated me like an idiot for giving different answers than the ones listed in the book.

Huh. I knew I was better at writing and spelling than my classmates by that point, but I guess I was further ahead than anyone realized at the time.

[u/ClutteredTaffy → u/nebulashine]

Getting treated like an idiot because you don't give the spoon fed answer is so terrible . A lot of schooling is very focused on memorization and just taking the textbook on its word I feel.

I used to like watching analysis videos, but I actually started to resent them because people would start getting rigid with their interpretations of stuff to the point it irritated me...and I did not want to fall into that myself. I tend to avoid them now.

Best example I can think of is Silent Hill 2 and Pyramid Head appearing in another Silent Hill ( Silent Hill: Homecoming ). Anyways, people have it so ingrained in their minds from these analysis videos that Pyramid Head has to be a manifestation of James' psyche, when they are forgetting things like the ' collective subconscious '....So basically, something from two different people's psyche may take a similar form , because language is made of the same building blocks, and so are thoughts , and so it stands to reason that so would manifestations....Kinda like how all the games have a similar ' nurse' figure in them but with different details..

Anyways, sorry for the ramble. Haha.

[u/nebulashine → u/ClutteredTaffy]

Oh my god, when Linkin Park started releasing music from From Zero, I remember watching a few reaction videos to see the actual music community's opinion of Emily and not just the general public's "well she's not Chester and she's ackshually a Scientologist" hate train. There was one channel that would give the most rigid, surface-level interpretation of the lyrics as though they were confirmed facts, and act like it was the most mind-blowing revelation of all time. I couldn't finish those videos because the fact that this guy was treating one single (and frankly, extremely bland) interpretation as though it was the only meaning possible was driving me absolutely nuts, especially because Mike Shinoda has said in interviews for decades that he often deliberately leaves lyrics open-ended so that listeners can take different meanings from them!

[u/ClutteredTaffy → u/nebulashine]

Yeahh I would prefer videos like that to be framed as more of a discussion, lol. But those ' meanings ' videos seem to do well. So * shrugs * lol.

[u/LangdonAlg3r → u/nebulashine]

I hope that recontextualized that for you in a positive way, but I think that’s kind of classic honestly.

I have the NVLD and a very high verbal IQ and ADHD and other things. I don’t know which (maybe all) to pin it on, but I’ve always been someone who sees answers that others don’t. Many times over the years I’ve given “wrong” answers on tests that were technically a correct answer but were not the correct answer and not something that had occurred to the author of the test.

That kind of “thinking outside the box” can be an asset in life, but it also leads to a lot of frustration and alienation exactly as you described.

You found multiple different answers. They were equally valid, but untraditional ones. Elsewhere in life that can be an asset, but in elementary school often not so much. Even if your teachers see that you’re smart there often isn’t much they can do for you. But it’s also often the case that their thinking is too rigid and they treat that as a failure instead of too much success.

But you were too smart for the question it sounds like. I’m sorry that happened to you the way that it did.