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Internet Historian did a wonderful series of videos about this. The investigative abilities of some people is just awe inspiring. https://youtu.be/_p4h3jwJob0

Internet Historian did a wonderful series of videos about this. The investigative abilities of some people is just awe inspiring. https://youtu.be/_p4h3jwJob0 https://youtu.be/_p4h3jwJob0

Loughla 6y ago
The phrase "weaponized autism" used to be a thing on 4chan when I cruised that back in the day. It honestly opened my eyes to a severely under-tapped resource in the job market. Individuals with autism tend to be able to focus on tasks more, and tend to see things in a way that lets them analyze systems and logical steps phenomenally well. In the social-sciences fields, they tend to be overlooked, because of either the stigma or actual lack of interpersonal abilities, depending on the specific individual. It is because of 4chan that when I am hiring for technical positions (now, this is higher ed, so I'm talking about the interpretation of federal legislation or state mandates, or systems and process evaluations, not programming) I target individuals on the spectrum. What a weird thing to see written out.
- ficklepickle 6y ago
  As someone on the spectrum, I approve this message. I wish society was a meritocracy.
  - mushbino 6y ago
    Or just more understanding of different types of intelligence.
  - Widdershin 6y ago
    Just a heads up the term meritocracy was actually coined to describe an impossibility, since all judgement of worth in society is subjective. Even if you pick an objective metric, it was decided upon subjectively and with bias. I can appreciate wanting society to be more egalitarian, but perhaps you’re in search of another word.
    - alentist 6y ago
      So is egalitarianism.
- DanBC 6y ago
  Some agencies are well aware of the benefits of neurodiversity! https://www.gchq.gov.uk/information/daring-to-think-differently-and-be-different https://www.gchq.gov.uk/information/daring-to-think-differen...
- kypro 6y ago
  As someone on the spectrum I really loved the phrase "weaponized autism". I've been telling people most my adult life that high functioning autism is kind of like having a weird super power, but that was the first time I ever saw so many people understand the unique abilities that some people on the spectrum have.
  - UShouldBWorking 6y ago
    Exactly how I describe it! A super power but one most people can't even recognize.
- robotnikman 6y ago
  I love the phrase "weaponized autism" as well, speaking as someone on the spectrum. A previous manager of mine once told me I am great with coming up with unique solutions to problems. Like you said too, some of these people lack good interpersonal abilities. I know a friend who is also on the spectrum and is one of the smartest people I know, and excellent when it comes to math. However his lack of interpersonal and social skills has made it difficult for him to find meaningful employment.
  - Gene_Parmesan 6y ago
    As someone with ADHD, I'm kind of a kissing cousin to autism (they share some genetic indicators [https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/risk-genes-autism-overlap-attention-deficit/ https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/risk-genes-autism-overlap-...] and some but not all symptoms; I certainly don't claim to understand the unique struggles of being a person with autism of course) and can relate to the benefits of different types of intelligence. I can be smart as a whip when it comes to finding solutions to technical problems, and if you find me the right project I can (unintentionally) hyperfocus and tear through it. But man, I am not your person for organizational skills or planning skills. I wish there were a way to be more open about this. On the one hand, you have things like ADA really dictating from a legal perspective how companies can discuss these sort of things; on the other hand, you have very real stigmas that people have against neurodiverse people. (For instance, I have not and will never tell my boss I have ADHD; I have heard far too many stories of people being lulled into thinking it was safe to do so and then finding their professional relationship irrevocably changed.) It's a shame because I think it could be a net positive for all if done in a healthy way.
    - kortex 6y ago
      I've started to just own my ADHD as a way to destigmatize it. I'm your go-to for breadth-first search, latest tools and frameworks, creative solutions, and wielding everything from soldering irons to cloud deployments. But you might need to ride my ass a bit to stay on task. It also has pushed me to a very CI/CD-centric and statically typed workflow (in a python-heavy AI/CV department), because I need to be able to reason about stuff I wrote on a bad brain-fog day. My philosophy is if it's easy for undermedicated me to reason about it, it's easier still for my coworkers.
- bennettfeely 6y ago
  60 Minutes had a segment on this exact topic of employment for people with autism and their talents https://youtu.be/YnAUy4BM0w8 https://youtu.be/YnAUy4BM0w8

Internet Historian did a wonderful series of videos about this. The investigative abilities of some people is just awe inspiring. https://youtu.be/_p4h3jwJob0 https://youtu.be/_p4h3jwJob0

Loughla 6y ago

The phrase "weaponized autism" used to be a thing on 4chan when I cruised that back in the day. It honestly opened my eyes to a severely under-tapped resource in the job market. Individuals with autism tend to be able to focus on tasks more, and tend to see things in a way that lets them analyze systems and logical steps phenomenally well. In the social-sciences fields, they tend to be overlooked, because of either the stigma or actual lack of interpersonal abilities, depending on the specific individual. It is because of 4chan that when I am hiring for technical positions (now, this is higher ed, so I'm talking about the interpretation of federal legislation or state mandates, or systems and process evaluations, not programming) I target individuals on the spectrum. What a weird thing to see written out.

ficklepickle 6y ago
As someone on the spectrum, I approve this message. I wish society was a meritocracy.
- mushbino 6y ago
  Or just more understanding of different types of intelligence.
- Widdershin 6y ago
  Just a heads up the term meritocracy was actually coined to describe an impossibility, since all judgement of worth in society is subjective. Even if you pick an objective metric, it was decided upon subjectively and with bias. I can appreciate wanting society to be more egalitarian, but perhaps you’re in search of another word.
  - alentist 6y ago
    So is egalitarianism.
DanBC 6y ago
Some agencies are well aware of the benefits of neurodiversity! https://www.gchq.gov.uk/information/daring-to-think-differently-and-be-different https://www.gchq.gov.uk/information/daring-to-think-differen...
kypro 6y ago
As someone on the spectrum I really loved the phrase "weaponized autism". I've been telling people most my adult life that high functioning autism is kind of like having a weird super power, but that was the first time I ever saw so many people understand the unique abilities that some people on the spectrum have.
- UShouldBWorking 6y ago
  Exactly how I describe it! A super power but one most people can't even recognize.
robotnikman 6y ago
I love the phrase "weaponized autism" as well, speaking as someone on the spectrum. A previous manager of mine once told me I am great with coming up with unique solutions to problems. Like you said too, some of these people lack good interpersonal abilities. I know a friend who is also on the spectrum and is one of the smartest people I know, and excellent when it comes to math. However his lack of interpersonal and social skills has made it difficult for him to find meaningful employment.
- Gene_Parmesan 6y ago
  As someone with ADHD, I'm kind of a kissing cousin to autism (they share some genetic indicators [https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/risk-genes-autism-overlap-attention-deficit/ https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/risk-genes-autism-overlap-...] and some but not all symptoms; I certainly don't claim to understand the unique struggles of being a person with autism of course) and can relate to the benefits of different types of intelligence. I can be smart as a whip when it comes to finding solutions to technical problems, and if you find me the right project I can (unintentionally) hyperfocus and tear through it. But man, I am not your person for organizational skills or planning skills. I wish there were a way to be more open about this. On the one hand, you have things like ADA really dictating from a legal perspective how companies can discuss these sort of things; on the other hand, you have very real stigmas that people have against neurodiverse people. (For instance, I have not and will never tell my boss I have ADHD; I have heard far too many stories of people being lulled into thinking it was safe to do so and then finding their professional relationship irrevocably changed.) It's a shame because I think it could be a net positive for all if done in a healthy way.
  - kortex 6y ago
    I've started to just own my ADHD as a way to destigmatize it. I'm your go-to for breadth-first search, latest tools and frameworks, creative solutions, and wielding everything from soldering irons to cloud deployments. But you might need to ride my ass a bit to stay on task. It also has pushed me to a very CI/CD-centric and statically typed workflow (in a python-heavy AI/CV department), because I need to be able to reason about stuff I wrote on a bad brain-fog day. My philosophy is if it's easy for undermedicated me to reason about it, it's easier still for my coworkers.
bennettfeely 6y ago
60 Minutes had a segment on this exact topic of employment for people with autism and their talents https://youtu.be/YnAUy4BM0w8 https://youtu.be/YnAUy4BM0w8