Genetically Stupid Geniuses

This is a repost from my Yahoo! 360 blog

Monday January 30, 2006

Wow. I come into contact with a very diverse set of people, and one thing I’ve noticed a few times is that intelligent people have a tendency to be social idiots. People who can understand complex mathematical concepts or read C++ like it’s their first language seem to have trouble choosing appropriate ways to interact with fellow human beings. My assumption was that they spent so much time on their math or science that they were not used to interactions with people. Of course that theory was always flawed because I know plenty of artists and musicians who will disappear from society for months at a time to pursue their work yet can still have a normal conversation. But, I had no other theories to go on…until now.

To quote Slashdot , “The BBC is reporting that a leading scientist in area of Developmental Psychopathology, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, is indicating that there is good chance that there is a scientific basis to the observed phenomenon that children with highly analytical parents are more likely to be autistic. He believes the genes which make someone analytical may also impair their social and communication skills.”

Check out the article. It’s an interesting read. Remember though – the evidence is far from conclusive and correlation does not necessarily point to cause and effect.