Geekiness & autism? Connection? (CNN Article)

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Roxas_XIII
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28 Apr 2012, 1:15 pm

http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/23/geekiness-and-autism-is-there-a-connection/

Pretty much re-hashing what we've already established here :P


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snapcap
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28 Apr 2012, 3:03 pm

I think it's sad that a lot of geeky people are now being said to have ASD. It's like being smart is becoming a disability. You can look up names of famous people with the word Aspergers in Google and you'll get results asking just that.


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ruveyn
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28 Apr 2012, 8:27 pm

There is a considerable overlap between being a Nerd and being an Aspie.

ruveyn



ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
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29 Apr 2012, 9:40 am

There are only two kinds of people in the world
People who are popular and have friends
People who are unpopular and don't have friends.

Knowing a lot of information is NOT a disorder. That is just bs, saying it is.



ValentineWiggin
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29 Apr 2012, 9:43 am

I also noticed the day of the week for today ends in "y", coincidentally.


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29 Apr 2012, 10:05 am

Well at least they acknowledge this sterotype does not apply to all people with AS, because I was going to say, well I'm not really a 'geek' if I was to fit into one of these particular types of sterotypes I think I would be more along the lines of a 'loser' so there you have it.


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ruveyn
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29 Apr 2012, 10:11 am

ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo wrote:
There are only two kinds of people in the world
People who are popular and have friends
People who are unpopular and don't have friends.

Knowing a lot of information is NOT a disorder. That is just bs, saying it is.


There are also people who are unpopular and have friends and there are people who are popular and do not have friends.

ruveyn



XFilesGeek
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29 Apr 2012, 1:02 pm

Quote:
Others say the stereotype of the Asperger’s scientific genius is unfortunate; that it overshadows the fact that many people with high-functioning autism have talents in arts and literature instead, says Teresa Bolick, a licensed psychologist who specializes in neurodevelopmental disorders. And some are not geniuses per se, they are simply fixated on specific interests.

In other words, not all smart people have Asperger’s, and not all people with Asperger’s have great talents.


Sooooo....

People who are talented in art and/or literature can't be "smart" or "talented?"

Seesh. Oh, and I'm talented in art and literature, and I'm a geek.


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ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
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30 Apr 2012, 9:26 am

ruveyn wrote:
ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo wrote:
There are only two kinds of people in the world
People who are popular and have friends
People who are unpopular and don't have friends.

Knowing a lot of information is NOT a disorder. That is just bs, saying it is.


There are also people who are unpopular and have friends and there are people who are popular and do not have friends.

ruveyn

Good point but I meant being popular within a circle of friends or being liked by a friend, not by the general population. You are referring to being liked by strangers who only know of a person, not in a personal way. It's what celebrities experience, but I did not mean that kind of existence. I am not referring to student body presidents or prom kings and queens, rather, everyday people.



Last edited by ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo on 30 Apr 2012, 9:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Kraichgauer
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30 Apr 2012, 5:27 pm

For years and years, I was aware I was a geek with intense, peculiar interests, as embarrassing as that had been. It wasn't till a few years ago when my daughter had been diagnosed as being on the spectrum that I came to realize that I, too, was autistic. An official diagnosis confirmed my suspicions.
Now, I wear my geekiness, along with my specified interests as a badge of pride.

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Joker
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01 May 2012, 2:58 am

I am a geek but I dress like a thug and talk with a traditional southern accent. In school the geeks never let me hang out with them because of my thugish reputation. so I was a misfit who hanged out with bullies. And trouble makers you know the kind that would still another kids lunch money. Or beat some one up just because they could even though I am a geek at heart I never dress or fir into the stereotype of a geek.



cyberdad
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05 May 2012, 7:30 pm

Roxas_XIII wrote:
http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/23/geekiness-and-autism-is-there-a-connection/

Pretty much re-hashing what we've already established here :P


The Terence Tao story indicates that "geekiness" and high intelligence might well be a manifestation of being on the spectrum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_Tao

His brother Trevor shares exactly the same gifts for math and music but was born with severe autism and is described as an autistic savant. I attended a Psych talk a month ago where the speaker used this very example to suggest that geekiness and nerdish traits may well be proven to be mild forms of autism.



PastFixations
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05 May 2012, 8:14 pm

snapcap wrote:
I think it's sad that a lot of geeky people are now being said to have ASD. It's like being smart is becoming a disability. You can look up names of famous people with the word Aspergers in Google and you'll get results asking just that.
Yoda is an Aspie?


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05 May 2012, 8:56 pm

It seems that in the 1950s or so before Aspergers was well known the people that seemed to be nerds or geeks were really persons with Asperger's. :?:
:roll: :!:


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