Autism: What is Asperger's Syndrome?
From genius to creativity there is only one step!
The form from which Elon Musk "suffers" was brought to light in 1944 by Dr. Hans Asperger, an Austrian doctor, who already described at that time "behavioral disorders in several children who had normal development of their intelligence and language, but who presented a marked deficiency in social interactions and communication," details Isabelle Hénault, psychologist, on the website www.actionsautismeasperger.org.
Does this mean that Elon Musk, with his IQ a priori higher than 155, would finally be endowed with normal intelligence? No, things are not so binary in the world of neuroatypicality, a true nuanced chart of neurological particularities (DYS disorders, hypersensitivity, high intellectual potential, etc.). Certainly, "on a cognitive level, Asperger's patients have an intellectual functioning situated in the average," describes Isabelle Hénault. But sometimes, and this is apparently the case with Elon Musk, the intellectual level is situated "in the upper bracket of the population," in association with "an excellent memory capacity as well as an ability to develop remarkable passions and talents." And according to Dr. Asperger, whose work was only disseminated in the 1980s, "these extravagant individuals can achieve a certain level of success and integrate socially." On all these points, Elon Musk responds present!
According to Isabelle Hénault, "for a person to be diagnosed with High Functioning Autism or Asperger's syndrome, in addition to the criteria usually identified for an autism diagnosis, their intelligence quotient (IQ) must be above 70." It is therefore understandable that not all cases of Asperger's autism are associated with a form of "superintelligence."
Family history, fixation tendencies, fixed expression
But the new Twitter boss, like all Asperger's patients, would experience significant difficulties in maintaining fluid communication and satisfactory social relationships.
Other characteristics associated with this neurological disorder, compared to typical forms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), include "a later onset [of difficulties], a frequent family history, less frequent neurological disorders, a more favorable prognosis." But also an increased tendency "to have difficulty understanding word games, to accurately express one's own emotions, to intuitively recognize" those of others. In a group, the patient may experience a form of "discomfort."
The autistic Asperger's patient has a large number of "favorite" subjects at the center of his interest, so much so that he can "fixate" on a specific theme, "without worrying about whether or not it interests their interlocutor." He also has difficulty "applying instructions." On this point, perhaps Elon Musk's space conquest projects can be part of this way of proceeding: to persuade Humanity at all costs to conquer space in order to one day live there and to realize his project a little more each day.
On the neurosensory level, and here we do not have all this data concerning Elon Musk, Asperger's autism is characterized by "hyper or hyposensitivity of certain senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell), often clumsy gestures, a particular posture, a facial expression that is often fixed and not very lively." But also a "strong tendency to intellectualize feelings, feelings and sensations, difficulties in looking the interlocutor in the eyes, motor tics, possible difficulties in recognizing faces (prosopagnosia)."
Note: cerebral peculiarities could be at the origin of Asperger's syndrome, with overactivity of the left hemisphere (seat of language, reasoning and logic) compared to that of the right hemisphere (seat of empathy and creativity).
SudOuest
