6 ms·
For some this opinion might be contentious/taboo, but mild autism is prevalent across much of the skilled labor pool in STEM - and I count myself within that st
by h0l0cube 5y ago
For some this opinion might be contentious/taboo, but mild autism is prevalent across much of the skilled labor pool in STEM - and I count myself within that statistic. So it'll be interesting in a couple of generations what might happen to this labor pool if the potential to screen for the broad autism phenotype affects who is born and/or affects sexual selection.
- bozzcl 5y agoIs it contentious? I thought it was pretty accepted. Pretty obvious too, even just looking at the people I know.
- mywittyname 5y agoIt hasn't really been studied or formalized in any way (at least that I know of). But I'm confident that it will be found to be the case if/when it is studied.
- h0l0cube 5y agoYeah this is what I meant. I think that 'taboo' is also a big part of it. I think there are many high functioning autistic people that really don't want the label/perception, but also seem to be burning themselves out by constantly masking (to maybe little benefit). Seems like they could be happier if they accepted who they were
- 1-6 5y agoYou say statistic. Is there a document regarding this?
- skissane 5y agohttps://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0141229 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal... Autism Quotient (AQ) scores are generally accepted as a measure of Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP), which is subclinical ASD. That study produces the (entirely expected) conclusion that BAP is more common in men than women, and more common in STEM occupations than non-STEM occupations. I'm not aware of any studies linking software engineering specifically to BAP, as opposed to STEM occupations in general. I think the evidence on that point is (thus far) based on anecdote and clinical experience.
- seanhandley 5y agoAlso, ASD is massively underdiagnosed in girls and women for various reasons to do with societal expectations and a generally accepted better ability to mask autistic traits.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- renewiltord 5y agoSince most STEM workers have fairly successful professional and personal lives and whatever behaviours you associate with Autism Spectrum Disorder don't lead to any harm in their lives, it's hard to accept that what they have is a 'disorder' in any sense any more than working hard is mild workaholism. If you have some cluster of traits that don't hurt you, then imho they're just traits, not a disorder.
- bawolff 5y agoDo STEM workers have succesful personal lives relative to people in other fields? I have no idea, but there are some sterotypes that they are below average. Would be interesting to see studies on that.
- ggggtez 5y agoSTEM make more money, and more money is associated with happiness. But you probably wanted something more conclusive.
- dragonwriter 5y agoX correlates with Y & Y correlates with Z doesn't imply X correlates with Z.
- bawolff 5y agoAlso money generally doesn't correlate with happiness past a certain very basic point.
- wait_a_minute 5y agoGive me some so I can test that theory ;)
- hyperpape 5y agoThis was a widely shared and delightfully counterintuitive idea, but it’s not right. The first source that comes to mind is Dan Luu’s summary, but it’s been widely reported (though sadly hasn’t spread as wide as the original claim) https://danluu.com/dunning-kruger/ https://danluu.com/dunning-kruger/.