Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT 4436-4440 (the 11th through 15th of January, 2021)
sitnspin:
I think the ability to read cues is wholly separate from empathy. Plenty of psychopaths are very good at reading people and picking up nonverbal communication, but one could hardly call them empathetic. And plenty of people have difficulty understanding or noticing social cues while still having a lot of empathy for others.
Dandi Andi:
It sounds to me like the conversation here is about the distinction between capacity and exercize. To say that Clinton lacks empathy, it implies that he lacks the capacity to empathize with Elliot. And that just isn't true. He may be failing to demonstrate empathy for Elliot, but that's because Elliot isn't communicating with him.
It's also important to remember that we have a perspective that Clinton doesn't. Just because we see things doesn't mean Clinton does or that he should have been expected to.
Farideh:
That is true. It's easy to forget that we are basically omniscient when we are reading the comic (and even then we get into plenty of discussions about what something 'means').
It's the same for watching movies/series/reading books as well. Many is the time that I've yelled 'just talk to each other!' at the TV screen ;D
Christophelous:
--- Quote from: sitnspin on 14 Jan 2021, 12:21 ---I think the ability to read cues is wholly separate from empathy. Plenty of psychopaths are very good at reading people and picking up nonverbal communication, but one could hardly call them empathetic. And plenty of people have difficulty understanding or noticing social cues while still having a lot of empathy for others.
--- End quote ---
I can concede that. Closest terminology I could find was "social cognition". Helps me make sense of myself, too. I'm super empathetic, to the point that watching awkward movies and shows makes me physically uncomfortable, but I miss a lot of social cues. But I still think that both empathy and social cognition are difficult skills for Clinton, and that his interactions with Elliot are primed to help continue his progress with these skills.
Gyrre:
On top of everything else Clinton was also drunk.
And he's definitely not the heightened-inhibitors type of drunk.
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