To me that is an indication of a well established relationship. You can enjoy spending time with someone without feeling compelled to a performative kind of interaction. You can just both exist together and that is enough.
this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2026
327 points (97.7% liked)
TenForward: Where Every Vulcan Knows Your Name
7545 readers
775 users here now
/c/TenForward: Your home-away-from-home for all things Star Trek!
Re-route power to the shields, emit a tachyon pulse through the deflector, and post all the nonsense you want. Within reason of course.
~ 1. No bigotry. This is a Star Trek community. Remember that diversity and coexistence are Star Trek values. Any post/comments that are racist, anti-LGBT, or generally "othering" of a group will result in removal/ban.
~ 2. Keep it civil. Disagreements will happen both on lore and preferences. That's okay! Just don't let it make you forget that the person you are talking to is also a person.
~ 3. Use spoiler tags.
Use spoiler tags in comments, and NSFW checkbox for posts.
This applies to any episodes that have dropped within 3 months prior of your posting. After that it's free game.
~ 4. Keep it Trek related. This one is kind of a gimme but keep as on topic as possible.
~ 5. Keep posts to a limit. We all love Star Trek stuff but 3-4 posts in an hour is plenty enough.
~ 6. Try to not repost. Mistakes happen, we get it! But try to not repost anything from within the past 1-2 months.
~ 7. No General AI Art. Posts of simple AI art do not 'inspire jamaharon'
~ 8. No Political Upheaval. Political commentary is allowed, but please keep discussions civil. Read here for our community's expectations.
Fun will now commence.
Sister Communities:
Want your community to be added to the sidebar? Just ask one of our mods!
Creator Resources:
Looking for a Star Trek screencap? (TrekCore)
Looking for the right Star Trek typeface/font for your meme? (Thank you @kellyaster for putting this together!)
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
As a "neurotypical", if I understand that term correctly, I can enjoy a conversation and silence alike without awkwardness. I'd rather have silence than to sit with someone who insists on filling every pause with meaningless chatter.
Same. This obsession with strict adherence to labels we give ourselves is boring and juvenile. Next, please.
It wouldn't be a day in the life of a ND if I didn't get called both boring and juvenile.
Well, possibly you're not neurotypical?
One fun thing about autism is that it's a very specific collection of several traits, and you can have most of them without being official.
We need to drop the idea that filling every moment of our waking life with chatter, TV, music, media, etc. is typical or even healthy.
How do you define neurotypical then?
Everything's a spectrum... I find thing with stark lines that psychology draws is kind of silly.
But, in this case, I'd say the neurotypical thing is to find long silences awkward, and you're not neurotypical with regard to this trait.
It's interesting because a lot of people have the exact same problems relating to neurotypical society without qualifying for a diagnosis, yet those people get no protection, recognition, or accomodations.
But, in this case, I’d say the neurotypical thing is to find long silences awkward, and you’re not neurotypical with regard to this trait.
An uncomfortable silence, other than immediately after someone blurts out something offensive, is generally when there seems like there should be some kind of conversation. Most people will feel uncomfortable if there is something obvious prompting a reason to have a conversation, like hanging around each other at a social event. If nobody speaks it is awkward even for introverts since there is a clear expectation for interaction. Extroverts seem to have that same feeling even in contexts where there is no shared expectation for conversation, like on public transportation. Most people are fine with being silent in that context, so I would say being comfortable with silence on public transportation is neurotypical and it all depends on context.
Kinda sounds like neurotypical is a fallacy
This doesn’t really track. Being able to sit in companiable silence is a classic goalpost for any good relationship.
We've sensed it coming and contemplated 50 ways to handle it by the time you notice it's there.
An old boss of mine couldn't make it 5.2 seconds of silence on a call without blurting out something including the phrase "awkward silence" and then being the only one to laugh at it
God I hate these calls. Then they say something like. Geez, you guys need to lighten up, after no one laughs at their corny busted ass jokes.
It's like, nah bro. You could have sent an email, instead you are wasting our time.
According to The Guide, these people are telepaths. Their quiet moments are drowned out by the chattering of thousands of minds. So they have to talk constantly to keep from going mad.
Neurotypical here: in my experience it's mostly people with anxiety or ADHD that can't handle long silences.
Sweet, sweet silence.
ITT: Spock-types: as a non Spock-type, I can say that I am exactly like Spock. Here is a graduated list of why I think I'm a non Spock-type, in order of severity of overt presentation. This is followed by a list in the same format and spacing, of why I think everyone is a Spock-type.
Thank you. I shall now resume my focused studies. Conversation concluded.
I teach, and if I need to get students to speak up and answer to statistics practice problems, I just let us go silent for extended periods. It's enough to crack them.
Funny enough, it's usually the neurodivergent who answer in my other class, though (which is about neurodivergent children, lol).
Me and the cabbie each and every time.