Math Talent, Asperger's Syndrome,"Social Skills"

[Willy Gee]

Let me see if I’ve got this right:

On the one hand, there are socially inept people who are proficient at math. These people view many social conventions as illogical and arbitrary. Further, they believe socially successful people are stupid.

On the other hand, there are socially successful people who are inept at math. These people don’t understand why someone would waste their time on a tedious subject like math. They also say math guys are geeks.

There may be a pattern here.

[Big_Ham]

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What happens when you put a group of people that all have math talent, Asperger's Syndrome together? Is it the math skill that makes them socially inept or just that they are different from others they normally interact with?

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You get the 2+2 forums.

[threads13]

Coming into this one late...

I never really thought in-depth on why I feel the way I do about these "social rituals". I don't know why I never really thought on the level of "Why do I feel this way?" But reading this thread has helped me figure this one out. I am constantly cursing at the silly social norms. (One of my recent favorites is the going to a bar and drinking to hang out norm. Now, don't get me wrong... I love me a good beer. However, sometimes I don't feel like it. If I go out with some friends and drink water for apparently no reason I notice people looking at me funny!) It never occurred to me that some people are possibly not thinking at a level to even consider that these social norms are silly a lot of times. Now that I have read this it really helps explain a lot of my own thoughts, strengths, etc.

[almostbusto]

I am a math major who never has and never will match his socks. i wear dress socks exclusively as well, black and tan are a common combo (people rarely notice though because i don't wear shorts in public). Also i very rarely make eye contact with anyone other than perhaps my girlfriend. i really can't recall if i normally look my girlfriend in the eyes or not.



anyway, i feel like i have a lot of the traits DS describes. Sadly though, I am not a genius, actually i kind of suck at math compared to most who are serious enough about math to major in it. worst of both worlds [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[fraac]

Most asperglers aren't gifted. They often believe they are, though. One of many defence mechanisms for lacking the means to truly understand the world. If they diagnosed Aspergers when Sklansky was young, there is a 100% chance he'd number among them (based on reading his old posts; the similarity to autistic philosophy forums is uncanny).

[J. Stew]

sklan-sky you are right that people that are highly analytical can scrutinize the subtle ways that ppl cover up their anxiety. the important thing, i non-believe, is how do you react theeehhhhn. and what's more intereting, humbling, and purpose-instilling is that people can't see how they are covering up their uncertainty, so where does that leave you but basking in the light of your own beacon of conscious awareness ... muuuhhaawwwhahahahiiiiiieeeehhhhYAH.

[Mr Rick]

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... It is because many of the little things that dumber people do in social situations are obviously ridiculous. Obvious to them that is. Saying "God bless you", offering High Fives, asking "what's up" or "how are you" (when you obviously don't really care).

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The "dumber" people do this because they actually do care about the people they are talking to. These people are not necessarily dumber than other people either - they may just be more empathic (social). And they realize pretty quickly that the "smart" people don't care.

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When I was in fifth grade I was berated for wearing pants with cuffs as they were "out" that year. I will never forget how angry that made me since it was clear that there was no intrinsic reason to wear cuffs or no cuffs except for what some irrelevant person decided was in. Likewise for most of the more trivial (but highly noticed) social skills. Especially those that guys use to attract young girls. Most people just accept them and make them a habit without dissecting them in their mind. Highly intelligent math types can't do that. They recognize how silly those little rituals are whether they want to or not. Others find it easier to suspend disbelief.

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The above sounds like sour grapes and Monday Night quarterbacking. My guess is that you weren't aware of what others were up to because it really didn't interest you. And the kids around you picked on you because you were an easy target and they were probably also jealous of how smart you were. As it relates to girls, I doubt very much that "super smart" types can have much luck trying to emulate the seemingly successful guys. Those guys are generally successful because they actually live on the edge. They are setting the trends that you would be trying to emulate. By the time you emulate - those trends are long gone.

All of this is fairly generic though. Having worked in a field (computers) where most people I worked with were fairly inept socially, I was startled by one equalizer. When everybody went out and got fairly trashed, people tended to get funnier and less inhibited. The boys did much better with the girls.