Saturday's lineup for Interesting NY looks great. As a person of Aspergian tendency, I'm particularly interested in Grant's talk on the seeming ubiquity of Asperger's these days. I have sometimes thought that planning and Asperger's are a natural combination, what with the focus on noticing detail and deconstructing the social habits that most people take for granted.
I also wonder whether the characteristics of Asperger's are becoming, if not more prevalent, more visible and valued because of economic and social trends towards tech and the otaku mindset in general. Is it possible that Asperger's has become kind of cool?
A similar thought crossed my mind last year when Russell and I went to the dConstruct web app conference last year. The entry hall was ringed with booths of companies feverishly trolling for employees. And the attendees clearly knew that they were now the stars of the show, trollees and not just trolls. There was no furtiveness to their nerdliness. They were out and proud and apparently, happy. And I had to wonder: are these nerds? Do nerds sip cappuccino, wear expensive glasses and discuss stock options? Are there any nerds anymore or has that ecological niche been taken over by the sleeker, more confident and non-neurotic variant, the geek?
Comments