# "I have a rich inner life" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-rich-inner-life/815715 "2018-06-08T20:02:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-rich-inner-life/815715/1 "2018-06-08T20:02:48Z")
I’ve been taking lots of tests that are directly or tangentially related to autism, because I score freaky-high on them and because it’s spooky to see how prescient some of the questions are. But one question shows up on nearly all of them in one form or another, and it baffles me. The question, as per this thread’s title, is “I have a rich inner life” (choose degree of trueness). I…am having a hard time imagining that anyone would say “no.” Would any of you? How would you describe your reaction to that question? If you said no, would you describe yourself as an extrovert? An extreme extrovert? Or is not having a rich inner life supposed to be symptomatic of autism? I know that some autists don’t do well with visual thinking, can be overwhelmed by external stimuli, etc. Maybe that’s what the question is for. But at the same time I’m pretty sure that the people who would formerly have been diagnosed with Aspergers (before it stopped being a diagnosis) would say they do have rich inner lives. …? ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_Peebles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Jim\_Peebles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Peebles)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-rich-inner-life/815715/2 "2018-06-08T20:38:26Z")
It is a very strange question to ask the subject. Certainly if you ask someone else “does the subject have a rich inner life”, then “yes” points to autism. But one characteristic of autism is a lack of self awareness. So “no” could also point to autism if they self report no. If they don’t know what “inner life” means, then in many cases that would be more evidence of autism. Given the amount of thought put into such questionaires, I would say yes increases your autism score, and no decreases or has no impact. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-rich-inner-life/815715/3 "2018-06-08T20:41:32Z")
How would you know if your inner life was rich compared to other people’s? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-rich-inner-life/815715/4 "2018-06-08T20:47:08Z")
My assumption is that it means you can create entertainment and diversions within your own head, while some other people need external sources of entertainment and diversions. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-rich-inner-life/815715/5 "2018-06-08T21:02:18Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > I…am having a hard time imagining that anyone would say “no.” Would any of you? How would you describe your reaction to that question? If you said no, would you describe yourself as an extrovert? An extreme extrovert? My reaction to the question is “please define ‘inner life’.” I believe myself to have an imagination - I write sci-fi/fantasy novels for fun. But I don’t _hallucinate_. I don’t go on extended dream reveries where I tiptoe through my own mental tulips. Does my failure to do so disqualify me from having an inner life? I’m an extreme introvert, incidentally. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-rich-inner-life/815715/6 "2018-06-08T21:05:11Z")
“Ima millionaire in my dreams. Does that count?” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-rich-inner-life/815715/7 "2018-06-08T21:21:47Z")
I suspect that this might, in a good and positive way, be a kind of “dog whistle” question that only a certain group of people (who are wired a certain way) understand. The only real reason I say that is that I expect it’s there for a reason, and I can’t figure out what the reason might be. Hahaha maybe the reason it’s there is neurotypical people might often just say “yes” and carry on, and the category “people who complain about question 43” might be autistic. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-rich-inner-life/815715/8 "2018-06-08T21:24:38Z")
I certainly think I have a rich inner life. I can entertain myself for hours just inside my own head. I dislike having to engage in other people’s entertainment because it drags me away from my own. So I answer “very” when I see the question. Lord. Re-reading my first line, I see why I score high on these tests. > [@DavidwithanR](#): > > Hahaha maybe the reason it’s there is neurotypical people might often just say “yes” and carry on, and the category “people who complain about question 43” might be autistic. 😃 Ha! ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-rich-inner-life/815715/9 "2018-06-08T21:43:53Z")
This reminds me of one of my favorite lines from “Defending Your Life”: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3VS9kJ0iQUQ/hqdefault.jpg "Social Media as the Inner Circle of Thought") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VS9kJ0iQUQ) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-rich-inner-life/815715/10 "2018-06-08T23:11:50Z")
If I answer “yes” to that question, and I probably would, it would be rueful, in these senses: I have a much harder time having a rich outer life than a rich inner one; I talk to myself a lot inside my head; I have a lot of thoughts that I wouldn’t want to express to anyone out of fear and shame; I spend a lot of time reading, which is a very inward sort of activity. I don’t think I’m autistic at all, but I am very introverted in most circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-rich-inner-life/815715/11 "2018-06-08T23:22:07Z")
It’s the polite way of saying “I’m a vague dreamy weirdo who constantly misses bus stops due to my entertaining daydreams, and has to have my name called three times before I realise someone’s talking to me.” Meaning no offence. I would totally answer yes,very also. People who say no would describe themselves as “practical” or “focused” and take pride in that ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-rich-inner-life/815715/12 "2018-06-09T12:38:36Z")
There’s a condition known as [aphantasia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia) where people have a significantly reduced or nonexistent visual imagination. When confronted with the fact that others literally can conjur up images within their ‘mind’s eye’, they’re usually immediately aware of their shortcomings, so it’s definitely possible to compare quality of ‘inner life’. There’s even a test for it, the [Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vividness_of_Visual_Imagery_Questionnaire). ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-rich-inner-life/815715/13 "2018-06-09T13:59:26Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > There’s a condition known as [aphantasia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphantasia) where people have a significantly reduced or nonexistent visual imagination. When confronted with the fact that others literally can conjur up images within their ‘mind’s eye’, they’re usually immediately aware of their shortcomings, so it’s definitely possible to compare quality of ‘inner life’. There’s even a test for it, the [Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vividness_of_Visual_Imagery_Questionnaire). I have some level of aphantasia. I still consider myself to have a rich inner life. It’s just one of words and events rather than images. I’d say “like in a book”, but you \*\*\*\*\*\*s keep claiming you see images when reading, so … 😃