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Huge Survey Shows Correlation Between Autistic Traits and STEM Jobs (cam.ac.uk)

Posted by Soulskill on from the pointing-out-that-correlation-!=-causation-increases-your-score-by-5 dept.

Bruce66423 writes: A survey of more than 450,000 people in the UK has shown there is a significant correlation between a higher score on the Autism Quotient and being a scientist or engineer. AQ scores are also higher for men than for women. "On average, the male AQ score was 21.6, compared to a female score of 19.0. People work in a STEM-related job had an average AQ score of 21.9 compared to a score of 18.9 for individuals working in non-STEM jobs. This suggests autistic traits are linked to both sex and to having a ‘systems-thinking’ mind." A professor involved with the work said, "These may shed light on why we find males in the population on average have slightly more autistic traits than females do, and why fathers and grandfathers of children with autism are over-represented in STEM fields."

9 of 345 comments (clear)

  1. Male privilege by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Men shape the world so that they can earn more money. I demand equal access to autism for women!

    1. Re:Male privilege by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The CDC says that you are absolutely wrong. Autism is 5x more common in boys (interestingly, this is rather close to the male/female STEM ratio).

      http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html

    2. Re:Male privilege by StikyPad · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What you describe is an established "symptom" of ASD in women, but perhaps ASD is not an really appropriate classification for those symptoms. I know this is a controversial statement, but it's possible that men and women have different disorders. I mean, if we have to broaden the symptoms of one disorder to include symptoms which happen to be the antithesis of the "same" disorder, then perhaps we're actually looking at a something unique, and we should categorize it as such rather than trying to shoehorn it into an existing classification.

      --
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    3. Re: Male privilege by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Nope. You don't get how this works. Through years of observation, compensation and learned responses we can become socially functional, but we are not nor ever will be socially intuitive, which is the real issue with ASD. It's like not having a graphics card - sure you can still play games, but you do it at .001% of the efficiency of everyone else because you had to cobble together some shitty emulation of the function they have built-in. We get better over time (if we try) at appearing normal, but the feelings of isolation never stop. If anything they get worse because the more normal people think you are, the more shocking it is to them and stressful it is for you when eventually the facade fails or you are tired and the weird comes out.

  2. So... by symes · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I would much rather we classify conditions such as autism by the extent that someone is unable to lead a full and prosperous life. Rather than get all tangled up with low-level biases that may or may not say something about the disability. All this study really shows is that personality types are attracted to certain jobs. It does not advance our knowledge of autism. What would have been really interesting is whether there is a change in score over time as people enter various careers - to more autistic traits emerge in people who code for a living.

    1. Re:So... by mwvdlee · · Score: 4, Interesting

      This.

      It's weird that a lesser ability to socialize (high AQ) is considered a condition whereas a lesser ability to see patterns and handle information (low AQ) is considered normal.

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  3. High correlation between nerotypical and slackers. by trout007 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What Is NT?

    Neurotypical syndrome is a neurobiological disorder characterized by preoccupation with social concerns, delusions of superiority, and obsession with conformity.

    Neurotypical individuals often assume that their experience of the world is either the only one, or the only correct one. NTs find it difficult to be alone. NTs are often intolerant of seemingly minor differences in others. When in groups NTs are socially and behaviorally rigid, and frequently insist upon the performance of dysfunctional, destructive, and even impossible rituals as a way of maintaining group identity. NTs find it difficult to communicate directly, and have a much higher incidence of lying as compared to persons on the autistic spectrum.

    NT is believed to be genetic in origin. Autopsies have shown the brain of the neurotypical is typically smaller than that of an autistic individual and may have overdeveloped areas related to social behavior.

    Help find a cure!
    http://isnt.autistics.org/

    --
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  4. Re:You obviously don't know what real autism is by RogueyWon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Indeed.

    I have a cousin with a severely autistic son. He's in his early teens now but is completely incapable of any kind of social interactions and has never shown any kind of interest in any kind of intellectual activity. He mostly just sits in the middle of the floor and requires day-round care for even his most basic needs. He has occasional screaming fits (sometimes physically violent), which tend to be triggered by visitors or other events that interrupt his routine. He's never spoken a single coherent word.

    He shows a basic attention reaction to a handful of external stimuli (most notably, for some reason, that godawful Donkey Kong CGI cartoon show from a decade or so ago, which will get him to focus his eyes on a TV), but that's about it.

    He doesn't scrawl complex equations on the wall. He doesn't paint pictures of indescribable beauty. His intelligence, as you suggest, is impossible to measure because he simply doesn't interact with the world.

    This isn't a different way of being a functioning person. It's a very severe disability. He would have a better chance of living an independent life if he were quadriplegic rather than autistic.

    I've seen lots of people claim to be "a little bit autistic" as a way of excusing and enabling their own anti-social behaviours. But there's a big difference between "I don't get along well with others" and "full-blown autism".

  5. Re:You obviously don't know what real autism is by Dins · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've seen lots of people claim to be "a little bit autistic" as a way of excusing and enabling their own anti-social behaviours. But there's a big difference between "I don't get along well with others" and "full-blown autism".

    Indeed. It's called tha autism spectrum for a reason. My 25 year old son is moderate to severely autistic. When he was first diagnosed it was at a time when autism wasn't the "mental disease du jour". Having lived with him for this long, I can clearly see behaviors in anyone that I would consider on the spectrum, myself included. And yes, some of those characteristics would be beneficial in a STEM career. But it bothers me when people who obviously don't say, "I have autism" or "that's my autism kicking in".

    True, diagnosed, full autism isn't an evolutionary advantage because 95% (guessing, but it feels right) of those people will not reproduce, my son included. My son has a good life and even has his own apartment now (heavily supervised by case workers and us), but likely the only type of job he will ever be able to hold down is grocery bagger, which he does now. To me it feels like the disease of autism grossly over-amplifies a certain set of characteristics that are present in all people - to the point where it's debilitating.

    You are not autistic because you like math or because you are socially awkward...