![](http://"http://static.flickr.com/84/261697034_7aee0845b7_o.jpg")
Meeeeeemmmoorrreeeeee, life was beautiful then
I just read this headline on Yahoo news: US Survey shows autism very common
No Shit. Have you ever been to an ice cream social for the R&D department of an engineering firm?
"Oh look everyone, Neil's chocolate swirl looks like a sine curve!" calls out Fred.
"Hey has anyone seen my laser pointer?" I ask the group.
"Derivative of one half y squared!" yell out Wen-Shu and Matthew in unison.
Actually, these highly entertaining party comments are fabricated because actually everyone loads up their bowls with ice cream, not making eye contact with the people that they've worked with every day for the last 15 years and they run back to their cubicles to immerse themselves in their computer models. Yes that was my life.
Okay, now I'm being serious. I'm completely unsurprised by this 'survey.' I really was an engineer for a long time and I really did experience the characteristic antisocial behaviour by extremely intelligent men all the time. Every day. It's one of the things I miss least about my former career. Think about it the next time you need to see a particulary brilliant doctor or you watch an interview of a famous economist.
No Shit. Have you ever been to an ice cream social for the R&D department of an engineering firm?
"Oh look everyone, Neil's chocolate swirl looks like a sine curve!" calls out Fred.
"Hey has anyone seen my laser pointer?" I ask the group.
"Derivative of one half y squared!" yell out Wen-Shu and Matthew in unison.
Actually, these highly entertaining party comments are fabricated because actually everyone loads up their bowls with ice cream, not making eye contact with the people that they've worked with every day for the last 15 years and they run back to their cubicles to immerse themselves in their computer models. Yes that was my life.
Okay, now I'm being serious. I'm completely unsurprised by this 'survey.' I really was an engineer for a long time and I really did experience the characteristic antisocial behaviour by extremely intelligent men all the time. Every day. It's one of the things I miss least about my former career. Think about it the next time you need to see a particulary brilliant doctor or you watch an interview of a famous economist.
posted by Mignon at 2:36 PM
Was I that anti-social? I agree with your assesment that nearly every other engineer here is. A certain engineering manager has about as much social grace as a hunk of coal.
I've often wondered why these people choose to have families... Nice that they provide a good income, but the kids must feel like they are on a trust fund - they never see or interact with the person who provides their nice upper middle class lifestyle because they are at work 12-14 hours a day (some even more).
LOL. I used to work at a government site that was chock full of engineers, researchers, and scientists. So this absolutely rings true for me. You should have been there for quarter beer night, a more fun time was never had by all.
Geez - and all this time I thought Alan Greenspan was just to shy to look me in the eyes...
Just heard about a pediatrician who plans to study the primary teeth of autistic and ADHD children to determine if there is an excess of mercury. It was alarming to learn that mercury is used as a preservative in immunizations. He is treating his autistic son with shots of pure B12, and the results are positively awesome.
If the vitamins do prove to be so effective, maybe a B12 cocktail injection party for socially challenged coworkers would become a new fad?
i can totally see it too. and i think i would find it very hard to spend a lot of time around people like that because i am a very social person. i likes me some socializing.
I know they have identified a spectrum for autistic behavior that ranges from mild to severe. Sometimes I wonder if I'm mildly autistic or just really shy and sort of anti-social and then I remember, oh yeah, I'm an introvert. I think we all have some of the characteristics at times. I'm not making light of autism by any means I know it's a serious disease for a lot of people. But I'm not surprised by that report either.
Hah I love it! I used to date WAY too many engineers. Not the really awkward ones, but the ones who were fond of drinking their own weight in beer who often socialized out of pity with the awkward ones for a laugh. I'm a wee bit talkative (to put it mildly) and the combination of "girl + friendly" left them completely puzzled and with no idea what to think. Man was that fun.