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Then it is good to consider autism an advantage in programming jobs, so people that are actually autistic have special treatment in the sector. The question is

by lucio 10y ago

Then it is good to consider autism an advantage in programming jobs, so people that are actually autistic have special treatment in the sector. The question is: How many out-of-the-ordinary programmers have some form of mild arperger's? 90%? 99%? none?

morgante 10y ago
We can't just "consider autism an advantage in programming jobs." It's not. The majority of programmers are not autistic and there are large parts of programming jobs which are very difficult for autistic people to cope with. At best, autism is less of a disadvantage in programming than in other jobs. That's why it makes sense to focus on programming as a field for autistic individuals to move towards, though in practice my understanding that QA roles are actually often more suitable. Unfortunately, what you end up with is individuals like Alex St. John taking someones disabilities as a reason to exploit them. That's ugly. > How many out-of-the-ordinary programmers have some form of mild arperger's? 90%? 99%? none? The fact that you're even throwing out numbers like 90% is ridiculous. There's no way that 90% of programmers have "mild Asperger's."
- lucio 10y ago
  please do not ignore the "out-of-the-ordinary" part. I'm not talking about "all programmers". Read this interview of the creator of Nginx: http://mindend.com/index.php/interview-with-the-creator-of-nginx/ http://mindend.com/index.php/interview-with-the-creator-of-n...
- ZanyProgrammer 10y ago
  Honestly I feel like having an Aspie Spectrum diagnosis is like a badge of honor to some people in Silicon Valley.
  - fideloper 10y ago
    Absolutely feel the same way. Everyone's also conveniently ignoring that Asbergers isn't even in the DSM anymore.
  - sotojuan 10y ago
    Anywhere on the Internet. Plenty of people in online forums who claim to have Aspergers and thus smart and not care about socializing. Same thing as saying you're INTJ.
    - wolfgke 10y ago
      > Same thing as saying you're INTJ. Why not INTP?
Retra 10y ago
"Special treatment" that results in 80-hour work weeks?

by lucio 10y ago

morgante 10y ago

We can't just "consider autism an advantage in programming jobs." It's not. The majority of programmers are not autistic and there are large parts of programming jobs which are very difficult for autistic people to cope with. At best, autism is less of a disadvantage in programming than in other jobs. That's why it makes sense to focus on programming as a field for autistic individuals to move towards, though in practice my understanding that QA roles are actually often more suitable. Unfortunately, what you end up with is individuals like Alex St. John taking someones disabilities as a reason to exploit them. That's ugly. > How many out-of-the-ordinary programmers have some form of mild arperger's? 90%? 99%? none? The fact that you're even throwing out numbers like 90% is ridiculous. There's no way that 90% of programmers have "mild Asperger's."

lucio 10y ago
please do not ignore the "out-of-the-ordinary" part. I'm not talking about "all programmers". Read this interview of the creator of Nginx: http://mindend.com/index.php/interview-with-the-creator-of-nginx/ http://mindend.com/index.php/interview-with-the-creator-of-n...
ZanyProgrammer 10y ago
Honestly I feel like having an Aspie Spectrum diagnosis is like a badge of honor to some people in Silicon Valley.
- fideloper 10y ago
  Absolutely feel the same way. Everyone's also conveniently ignoring that Asbergers isn't even in the DSM anymore.
- sotojuan 10y ago
  Anywhere on the Internet. Plenty of people in online forums who claim to have Aspergers and thus smart and not care about socializing. Same thing as saying you're INTJ.
  - wolfgke 10y ago
    > Same thing as saying you're INTJ. Why not INTP?

Retra 10y ago

"Special treatment" that results in 80-hour work weeks?