"There's a link between autism and genius"

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Darmok
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14 Mar 2016, 1:40 am

Well there certainly is in my case.... :mrgreen: :lol:

http://nypost.com/2016/03/13/theres-a-l ... nd-genius/

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Yigeren
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14 Mar 2016, 1:51 am

I think I've heard of this before. It's not genius as in overall IQ, but in specific abilities.

I've always wondered why I'm so good at so many things. I'm not bragging; I really am. I think part of the reason is just natural talent, but a large part is attention to detail and being very motivated/obsessed. With whatever it is that I want to do, I just throw myself into it and put in maximum effort.

JakeASD
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14 Mar 2016, 5:36 am

I must be an anomaly then as I possess no intellectual gifts at all.

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EzraS
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14 Mar 2016, 6:56 am

I have scored genius level IQ linguistically. The rest is average to below average. Typical savant spike. Maybe it will make me a successful writer someday.

Kudos on the article Stephen

Darmok
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14 Mar 2016, 2:40 pm

The famous computer hacker Eric Raymond picked up this story today also and has a discussion on his blog, with extensive comments by readers:

http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=7060

His analysis (in his language):

Quote:

I’ve logged a lot of time interacting with both autistic and non-autistic geniuses, and I’m anthropologically observant. So hear this:

Yes, there is an enabling superpower that autists have through damage and accident, but non-autists like me have to cultivate: not giving a s**t about monkey social rituals.

Neurotypicals spend most of their cognitive bandwidth on mutual grooming and status-maintainance activity. They have great difficulty sustaining interest in anything that won’t yield a near-immediate social reward. By an autist’s standards (or mine) they’re almost always running in a hamster wheel as fast as they can, not getting anywhere.

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jackinblack
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14 Mar 2016, 3:30 pm

Darmok wrote:

Quote:

Beautifully said!

impendingtacticallama
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14 Mar 2016, 3:53 pm

I've never felt like a genius about anything. A shame, because I feel like I'm owed it as compensation for my social deficits. :lol:

Darmok wrote:

Yes, there is an enabling superpower that autists have through damage and accident, but non-autists like me have to cultivate: not giving a s**t about monkey social rituals.

I think this is a bit too simple. I'm sure plenty of people with autism and AS spend time worrying about their social lives and interactions throughout the day. I know I do.

Joe90
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14 Mar 2016, 4:40 pm

I am good at some things, but then it's quite normal for humans to be good at something. I wouldn't say I'm genius at anything though. Not that I care anyway, because I'd rather have more social skills than be able to calculate three thirds of a fraction of 51.0993 times by Pi.

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Caz72
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14 Mar 2016, 4:58 pm

Ha I'm no genius. I have learning difficulties as well as autism.

kraftiekortie
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14 Mar 2016, 5:32 pm

Nope....I don't really stand out in anything.

Except maybe Wolfman stuff.

BaalChatzaf
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14 Mar 2016, 5:40 pm

Any intellectual advantage I have, derives from paying attention to details and essentials. Which means I spend very little of my time in social posing and social competition.

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Trogluddite
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14 Mar 2016, 6:33 pm

There's a commonly used maxim that it takes X number of hours practice to become an expert at something. So it would make sense that people with a relatively narrow, obsessive focus on a subject would reach that level sooner (where all other factors were comparable.) High achievement in a specific field might not in itself indicate any intellectual superiority so much as practice, practice, practice.

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kraftiekortie
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14 Mar 2016, 6:52 pm

If I spent all my time reading anything relating to Charles Dickens, I'd become an expert on him really fast.

ASPartOfMe
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14 Mar 2016, 8:21 pm

Darmok wrote:

Quote:

Complete and utter garbage. All of the depressed suicidal autistics here who feel are that way because of lack of friends and relationships did not get the memo. :cry:

So all of the peer reviewed studies confirming 10 percent of autistics are savants are wrong because the people making them are NT's looking for social approval? Or maybe most of us here are really not autistic?

All this superpower genious nonsense hurt most of us because since 90 percent of us can't possible live up to these expectations.

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Edenthiel
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14 Mar 2016, 8:59 pm

I find that last 2-3 (or so) paragraphs of the story the most interesting, in that the author seems to be saying that research indicates there are a) indications of genetic components and, b) they are different components. This would indicate that the various attributes of Asperger's are quasi-independent and only when someone has enough of certain ones of them do they qualify for a diagnosis. That would allow for the seemingly large variation in Aspies, yet also account for them all having some certain qualities that make them 'feel' like Aspies to everyone else. It also means that there is no one determining criteria, but rather a vague body of them with an equally vague, amorphous set of thresholds. It'd be interesting if psychologists would actually apply a bit more science to this like the geneticists have...

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btbnnyr
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14 Mar 2016, 10:00 pm

Some of the things I am naturally good at probably have to do with autistic traits.
My brain waves are highly abnormal when I am doing some of the things I am abnormally good at.

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