"I don't like the people in this town, they're so empty."

"I don't have a girlfriend, all the girls in here are so empty."

"I prefer reading over scrolling down through Facebook feeds, because books teach you something."

This time those words didn't come from me.. as it so happens that the guy who recently moved into the apartment next door is an aerospace engineer, also diagnosed with autism (I suspect Asperger) and apparently a curious brainiac as well. Guess I've just found myself a new friend.. right next door 😋

@xzvf so is that supposed to be a good thing or not

seems like a curse and a blessing in the same time to me

@SukMikeHok people with autism are most of the times really smart people focussed on a single subject.

Ive a slight form of autism and I really had to get a specific set of rules to be able to have a normal conversation. I also take a lot quite literally, and when it's weird I will try to find out what was actually meant, this makes me really good at dad jokes but takes a lot of energy from me.
That's most of the issues I have because of it.

Other autistic people I know are really smart but are unable to function in daily life. They can't get a job because some people find it difficult to handle people with autism while a job can be a great help for that person.

@SukMikeHok it is what it is, dont overthink

@Codex404 what, so that means einstein elon musk bill gates jeff bezos mozart etc are all autistic people?

this shit makes me wonder now if i am autistic or just simply fucking focused on my own private work

@SukMikeHok no it doesn't. They weren't. At least not all of them, I can't go check all the Wikipedia right now. But yes, it's a curse and a blessing at the same time. Just read a bit about it

@epse does it mean all autistic people are above average smart? or just a minority?

@SukMikeHok no it doesn't mean that every smart person is autistic.
Every cow Is an animal, but not every animal is a cow.

And not all people with autism are smarter than average. Its the focus to a field that makes them invest time in it and thus makes one knowledgeable in that field but in another its just average.

Personally I see autism as a curse for me. But when I see others I see how much of help they can be to others.

@SukMikeHok Codex404 just above explained it much better than I could :-)

@Codex404 so by ur explanation anyone who focuses on their career at one single field and does almost nothing else except being extremely focused on it - is autistic?

thats what i do. by that logic i am autistic?

thats what every financially independent CEO did. they are all autistic?

There are autists who are also brilliant, but most autists are actually impaired people who can't get their life together.

Asperger is only a mild form of autism, and while Asperger doesn't correlate with high intelligence, those Aspis who are highly intelligent often do well in tech and especially computers. That's because computers do exactly what you tell them down to the letter.

@SukMikeHok some, always they have problem with social skills (in different degree). Their brain works slightly different so they could have better performance in some fields or tasks. It isn't curse nor blessing (to some degree, because sometime it could be huge problem to live in society at all with strong autism) if you just understand that brain works differently.

@SukMikeHok
Every cow is an animal, but not all animals are cows.

@Fast-Nop indeed, but most of the times they are just as smart as any other but they just cannot perform in our society.

Our company always has a lot of interns and in the last 4 years we've seen 10 people with autism. We always get compliments from their parents because they see how well they do against expectations.

@Codex404 how can you recognize if someone has autism?

@SukMikeHok you cannot see it, they have to have been diagnosed. Its really difficult to really differentiate between ADD, ADHD, Autism and a few other things on that spectrum. They have a lot of the symptoms in common and those which differ can just be a personal trait.

@Codex404 @Hubot-0x58 what causes people to be autistic? is it by birth or is it formed by some kind of trauma?

@SukMikeHok most other people have already mentioned it, but it's essentially a genetic bug, or a feature depending on how you look at it.. you get it at birth and it can't be cured. Most psychiatrists get all crazed up with prescribing pills for it, but at the end of the day you just have to learn to live with it. Personally I think that it's a curse and a blessing at the same time.. the categorization, the stamp, is terrible but the cognitive advantage makes me a quick learner, which I think is amazing. Unfortunately however, most people with autism are cognitively impaired. Only a small minority has average or high level of intelligence. Said intelligence is only applicable in science however, since exact sciences that can be calculated and predicted are easier to grasp. However, psychology and understanding social innuendo is something that I've never really been able to do natively.. in my case (and others', since social impairment is a central part of autism) it's a learned skill. Fortunately not many people can see that I have Asperger's until I tell them about it.. most just see me as a nerd. Hope this helps 🙂

@xzvf Asperger doesn't always come with above average intellect

That's sad.

@HelloUglyWorld what exactly is sad about it?

@Condor If you have to ask, I shouldn't be explaining.

@HelloUglyWorld now that's sad, isn't it? Refusing to answer a genuine question, out of what, sheer laziness? Expectation that I'm some kind of mentalist?

What I find most saddening is that there's so many people making and watching shit on YouTube and Facebook alike, playing Candy Crush on their fancy iPhones instead of doing something useful and creating something new, pursuing their desires instead of doing a mindless 9 to 5 job. However, I can't say that I'm saddened by my own desire to not live like that.

@HelloUglyWorld I'll take that insult with pride, being the miserable human being I supposedly am. But in your own words, resorting to insults.. that's pretty sad.

@Condor You are implying that you never insulted me - but you aren't being honest to yourself.

Saying that someone didn't do something out of 'sheer laziness' is the exact same as calling someone lazy.

@HelloUglyWorld I honestly can't see how expressing a suspicion of laziness is to be compared to "sucker", "miserable human being", and "posting worthless stories". But that's just me of course. Also, only a fool would take a jab at someone, yet be surprised when they jab back in retaliation. I'm not saying that you are, but generally I'd call such behavior foolish. Perhaps that's an insult, I don't know. I don't mean to derogate, but I admittedly am fairly judgmental. If that makes me a miserable piece of shit to you, so be it. I have nothing to prove to you, and I don't owe you anything either.

@HelloUglyWorld "if you have to ask I shouldn't be explaining" /flawed logic alert/

@xewl that's what his parents teachers and everyone else around him thinks as well, so we can't blame him for it.

(If they didn't he would know better)