4 ms·

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathizing%E2%80%93systemizing_theory#Extreme_male_brain_theory_of_autism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathizing%E2%80%93s

by ve55 8y ago

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathizing%E2%80%93systemizing_theory#Extreme_male_brain_theory_of_autism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathizing%E2%80%93systemizin... for more information on this concept

ur-whale 8y ago
Thanks for the link. After reading it, given the current political climate in Universities, I'm genuinely surprised Baron-Cohen has managed to retain his position after publishing a theory like that.
- dan-robertson 8y ago
  He has a permanent fellowship. I think it would be quite hard for Trinity to get rid of him even if they wanted to (and they don’t really have any desire or pressure to do that anyway)
- xxpor 8y ago
  Given Jordan Peterson still has a job, I find that hard to believe.
trjordan 8y ago
"A 2010 analysis of autism diagnoses in California did not find that autism clustered preferentially around areas rich in IT industry. Instead, it found that clusters tended to occur in areas where parents were older and educated to a higher level than were parents in surrounding areas."
- s-shellfish 8y ago
  That makes sense. More social stability, monotony. That's a comforting thing. IT systems are just systems that are predictable within some range of expected behavior without extreme variation, or if there is extreme variation, it's fun (usually).
  - mamon 8y ago
    My guess would be much simpler: older parents == worse genes. It is already proved that some disorders happen more often to children of parent aged 35+ (Down syndrome for instance)
    - bla2 8y ago
      Or older parents == better circumstances for kid, and better chances for kid with autism to be successful.
      - s-shellfish 8y ago
        Ability to create stable mental framework.
    - SamReidHughes 8y ago
      Yep, this is the most prominent theory for why older fathers, particularly, are correlated with autism.
      - A2017U1 8y ago
        It's not just autism, a whole range of disorders. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternal_age_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternal_age_effect

by ve55 8y ago

ur-whale 8y ago

Thanks for the link. After reading it, given the current political climate in Universities, I'm genuinely surprised Baron-Cohen has managed to retain his position after publishing a theory like that.

dan-robertson 8y ago
He has a permanent fellowship. I think it would be quite hard for Trinity to get rid of him even if they wanted to (and they don’t really have any desire or pressure to do that anyway)
xxpor 8y ago
Given Jordan Peterson still has a job, I find that hard to believe.

trjordan 8y ago

"A 2010 analysis of autism diagnoses in California did not find that autism clustered preferentially around areas rich in IT industry. Instead, it found that clusters tended to occur in areas where parents were older and educated to a higher level than were parents in surrounding areas."

s-shellfish 8y ago
That makes sense. More social stability, monotony. That's a comforting thing. IT systems are just systems that are predictable within some range of expected behavior without extreme variation, or if there is extreme variation, it's fun (usually).
- mamon 8y ago
  My guess would be much simpler: older parents == worse genes. It is already proved that some disorders happen more often to children of parent aged 35+ (Down syndrome for instance)
  - bla2 8y ago
    Or older parents == better circumstances for kid, and better chances for kid with autism to be successful.
    - s-shellfish 8y ago
      Ability to create stable mental framework.
  - SamReidHughes 8y ago
    Yep, this is the most prominent theory for why older fathers, particularly, are correlated with autism.
    - A2017U1 8y ago
      It's not just autism, a whole range of disorders. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternal_age_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternal_age_effect