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

[Lestat]

I was going to introduce myself and say hi when I saw you meandering around my table during the LA Poker Classic. I didn't, because I figured you'd think it was silly.

I think it's a matter of fun, humor, and so on. Social people can get silly and find fun where it might not make sense. Math and science minded people can't. So I'm not so sure they could if they wanted to. It would be fake and forced and that's just what makes them socially awkward in the first place!

[blah_blah]

I know a lot of people who reasonably could be termed 'math geniuses', including a couple of professors who are world-class in their respective fields.

As far as I can tell, only say that one of them exhibits the traits associated with Aspergers.

[MrBlah]

[ QUOTE ]
My theory is that people artificially find trivial things to place a lot of importance on because without that they would lead lives of quiet desperation.

[/ QUOTE ] Is the work of let's say Tom Ford an important contribution or is it trivial and silly? Is his work more or less important than "The Theory of Poker"? There is no logic to art too, and a lot of people consider it very important, is that silly too?

[secader2]

Are u trying to pass yourself off as some math genius?
Your pathetic, you probably have no understanding of what pure maths is. Oh, you used to be an actuary, your wonderfull you can do some stochastic modelling and some poker algebraic equations.
Mr Sklansky you are stupid, all my peers in my department would LOL at inept abilities.

[David Sklansky]

[ QUOTE ]
I was going to introduce myself and say hi when I saw you meandering around my table during the LA Poker Classic. I didn't, because I figured you'd think it was silly.

I think it's a matter of fun, humor, and so on. Social people can get silly and find fun where it might not make sense. Math and science minded people can't. So I'm not so sure they could if they wanted to. It would be fake and forced and that's just what makes them socially awkward in the first place!

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course I would have wanted you to introduce yourself! I'm astonished you would have thought otherwise.

As to your second pragraph, you are basically agreeing with my OP. Except that I believe if it was deemed important they could learn to fake it if they applied themselves.

[Alex/Mugaaz]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I was going to introduce myself and say hi when I saw you meandering around my table during the LA Poker Classic. I didn't, because I figured you'd think it was silly.

I think it's a matter of fun, humor, and so on. Social people can get silly and find fun where it might not make sense. Math and science minded people can't. So I'm not so sure they could if they wanted to. It would be fake and forced and that's just what makes them socially awkward in the first place!

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course I would have wanted you to introduce yourself! I'm astonished you would have thought otherwise.

As to your second pragraph, you are basically agreeing with my OP. Except that I believe if it was deemed important they could learn to fake it if they applied themselves.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think a lot of them have, I know I did. The problem is that it's still painful, distasteful, and akward to do.

[fraac]

True. Asperger's people are famously good actors. Acting. Faking. Learning the hard way.

Consider that the silly social conventions aren't something to be opted in to, but rather an epiphenomenon of having properly working brains. One theory I like is that Asperger's is a defect in forming episodic memories - emotional memories - which means even though we can get brief shards of how good it feels to connect with someone, we can't learn from them. We end up taking refuge in maths and tasty young black prossies and words like 'epiphenomenon'. When we rationalise social conventions as functional and the smart choice, we ignore that people basically do things because they feel good.

There is also commonly-cited research on shonky autistic mirror neurones - you can guess what they're meant to do. Jesus, Sklansky, you could put a tiny bit of effort into your trolling.

True geniuses, to my mind, aren't the human computers but effortless all-rounders who can relate an idea to a child. I'll bet that even in mathematics, the brightest and best are highly social.

"I couldn't any more make up my mind to look someone in the eye and hold the contact than a sparrow could make her mind to look a cobra in the eye and hold the contact."

Awesome line!

You're out of your depth and very wrong on this one, Sklansky. Besides everything else, I got over telling myself I was rejecting society because it was stupid when I was about 14. How old are you?

[LeatherFace]

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And when the top talented geeks decide to become even marginal at social skills they can usurp the vast majority of even that top 2%.

[/ QUOTE ]

This holds true only if they are physically attractive.

[draw2aflush]

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.

not my quote

[furyshade]

i havent read every response, but from the gist i got i think i am in the category sklansky described, though i wouldn't call myself a math genius. actually a year or two ago in high school during summer i worked in a college public health lab, apparently i offended like half the people in the lab because i didn't say good-morning and good-bye. i essentially have wore the same types of clothes every day, different colors but same types of clothes for last 6 years because thats what i find comfortable. i don't think i am autistic because i dont seem to have any gaping social problems, though i admittedly have no game. i suck very hard at small talk cause i find it remarkably difficult to just talk about nothing, and i think this all falls under what sklansky described and isn't necessarily a disease, just a common series of habits among a like type of people.