Geek Syndrome
The December issue of Wired magazine has a thoughtful article entitled The Geek Syndrome which explores an increasing fear among the communities of Silicon Valley that the IT/R&D industries are responsible for the large increase in autistic behaviour.
People have commented light-heartedly that many prominent figures in the IT world, namely Bill Gates, have an level of autism in their 'geeky' behaviour and Douglas Coupland wrote in Microserfs that "I think all tech people are slightly autistic.", but it seems that the facts are coming through to make the jokes a little less funny.
An example quote :
"The chilling possibility is that what’s happening now is the first proof that the genes responsible for bestowing certain special gifts on slightly autistic adults - the very abilities that have made them dreamers and architects of our technological future - are capable of bringing a plague down on the best minds of the next generation."
Posted 10 years, 5 months ago