Geeks

WHEN GEEKS MEET

AUTHOR: LIZZIE BUCHEN

Nature, Nov 2011

SIMON BARON-COHEN THEORY

PSYCHOLOGIST AT THE

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, UK

Autistic people have an extreme ability of “hypersystemizing”: understanding and analyzing predictable, rule-based systems.  “Hyper-systemizer” couples have higher chances for an autistic offspring.

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EVIDENCES FOR THE FIRST THEORY

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Research: Questionnaire called 'systemizing quotient‘.(2003) Result: people with autism scored highly. Research: Survey of undergraduates at the University of Cambridge Result: Mathematics students were more likely to have been diagnosed with autism than other students. Research: Questionnaire called ‘the autism quotient’. Result: students in science and maths had higher scores on measures of autistic traits than did students in the humanities and social sciences Research: study on Asperger's syndrome* children(2001) Result: Children with Asperger's syndrome can outperform typical children at figuring out how simple mechanical systems work

* Asperger’s syndrome- a moderate autistic disorder which is observed mainly during the early school years (characterized by severe impairment of social interactions, meticulousness in speech and preoccupation with very limited interests). The disorder was named after Hans Asperger

CONCLUSION

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Systemizing is a trait of autism, and also a part of the 'broader autistic phenotype*' that includes some of the wider population

*Phenotype =all of an organism's attributes that are expressed externally (i.e. hair color, skin color, etc.)

CRITICS

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Francesca Happé, (cognitive neuroscientist at King's College London): Questioners are not a reliable source to conclude from. Objective research is to test children with and without autism on their abilities to understand systems, and then compare the scores Uta Frith, (developmental psychologist at University College London): "Rigorous studies are still missing“....