#both in the monetary sense and the mental-energy-expenditure one

[redshiftsinger]

not-very-researched, preliminary hypothesis which may or may not be total junk:

The associative link between autism and being transgender is in some way related to the way that a brain forced to function on a hormone balance it is not optimized for handles the processing of sensory information.

Supporting evidence: anecdotal reports from a lot of trans people who go on HRT, that sensory changes are part of the experience, and particularly, that regardless of which direction a person is transitioning, they consistently report liking the mental/sensory effects of HRT, indicating that it is not that a particular hormone has across-the-board sensory effects one way or another, but that brains can be optimized for a hormone balance that is not necessarily the one that the body they get to drive naturally produces.

(yes I would love to hear more anecdotal reports on the topic from primary sources)

#I really need to figure out how to get a biochem degree #so I can start fuckin researching some of these goddamn hypotheses for real #like #not to be cocky but I WOULD BE VERY GOOD AT NEUROCHEM RESEARCH #if I could just fucking afford the base education needed to get into the field #both in the monetary sense and the mental-energy-expenditure one #and I could probably do either one #but not both #because if I have to work full time to afford it I won't have the spare mental energy #and if I prioritize having the spare mental energy I will not be able to monetarily pay for it #unless I manage to knock enough background forks out that I find a surprise amount of mental energy freed up #but I can't count on that #as much as so far I'm 3 for 3 in the last 2 years for making Life Improvements that free up mental space #such that I am in fact no longer operating on constant burnout #which is GREAT #but I'm not to the point that I could do college + enough employment to afford college at the same time #well at least my neurochem aptitude directly got me 1 of those 3 fixes #I AM my own biohacker and I kinda love it honestly #experimenting on myself like an ethical mad scientist lmao