Why? Experts in other fields have no reputation for being socially retarded, and yet they must have to devote enormous amounts of time and effort as well. Do yo

Why? Experts in other fields have no reputation for being socially retarded, and yet they must have to devote enormous amounts of time and effort as well. Do you think da Vinci allowed himself to become socially retarded so he could focus on drawing and inventing, or that Erdos decided to isolate himself from other people so he could work on math? (Which he didn't, he wrote many collaborative papers. Hard to believe someone socially retarded could publish so many papers in collaboration.) Unless you have proof that programming is harder than becoming a great musician or mathematician? Your premise doesn't make much sense anyway. I think a lot of simple social skills are picked up early, at a young age, before you start fanatically devoting yourself to whatever occupation you choose. I can understand it if you're not a smooth talker and even a little rude, but some of the social mistakes I've witnessed are simple ones like following me back to my room when I've stopped making eye contact and responding to their conversation. Like--FTW, following me back to my room?! When I've stopped talking to you? I really do not think you have to sacrifice a deep understanding of recursion to grasp a basic point like eye contact. I also disagree with your last sentence. Social retardation is relative, not absolute, and social skills exist online, too.