The inhouse journal of the IEEE, Spectrum, had <a href="http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/oct06/4665"> this article </a>in recently, which puts forward the idea that what we describe as autism is really only one extreme of a spectrum of behaviour, and could be brought on by selective breeding. As a possible reason for the increasing numbers of autistic children, it suggests that your modern engineer (or anyone with an analytical turn of mind) is more likely now to end up married to another engineer (or anyone with an analytical mind, etc., etc.), rather than the girl down the hall studying History of Music - and that two borderline autistic people are more likely to have an autistic child.
This has the ring of truth to me. I can think of several people who I'd describe as borderline autistic, and they're all engineers. And as the gender gap in scientific and engineering disciplines slowly (oh so slowly) narrows, more people will marry those of similar persuasions - and I find it believable that this results in a kind of mental inbreeding.
But blimey, how boring to have to live with someone who just emotes and empathizes, and never creates anything.
This has the ring of truth to me. I can think of several people who I'd describe as borderline autistic, and they're all engineers. And as the gender gap in scientific and engineering disciplines slowly (oh so slowly) narrows, more people will marry those of similar persuasions - and I find it believable that this results in a kind of mental inbreeding.
But blimey, how boring to have to live with someone who just emotes and empathizes, and never creates anything.
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