Some of the very best nerds, the Top Nerds, the ones who are superb programmers, share important traits that are identified with that rapidly spreading "disease," autism.

Recent studies are starting to measure the differences between those with autistic traits and the majority who are mentally weaker.

…most people regard autism as a disease, a straightforward example of an impaired mind. But there's compelling evidence that autism is not merely a list of deficits. Rather, it represents an alternate way of making sense of the world, a cognitive difference that, in many instances, comes with unexpected benefits.

That's the lesson, at least, of a new study from the lab of Nilli Lavie at University College London. A few dozen adults, both with and without autism, were given a difficult perceptual task, in which they had to keep track of letters quickly flashed on a computer screen. At the same time, they also had to watch out for a small gray shape that occasionally appeared on the edge of the monitor.

When only a few letters appeared on the screen, both autistic and normal subjects could handle the task. However, when the number of letters was increased, subjects without autism—so-called neurotypicals—could no longer keep up. They were overwhelmed by the surplus of information.

Those adults with autism didn't have this problem. Even when the task became maddeningly difficult, their performance never flagged.

What explains this result? According to the scientists, autism confers a perceptual edge, allowing people with the disorder to process more information in a short amount of time. While scientists have long assumed that autistics are more vulnerable to distraction—an errant sound or conversation can steal their attention—that's not the case. As Prof. Lavie notes, "Our research suggests autism does not involve a distractibility deficit but rather an information-processing advantage."

It is well-known that history is written by the victors. It is also true that what is considered "normal" is determined by the majority, who simply describe themselves and call it "normal." People not like them are, by their definition, ab-normal or disabled.

The medical and intellectual establishments have firmly established their views: people who don't interact socially like they do are lacking something important, and must be labeled in a way that indicates the deficiency. There is a simple way to describe people who think this way: they are fools.

The best programmers are often accused of being "arrogant." Are they? When you make the accusation, are you committing libel?

How to respond when accused of Arrogance

You can just tough it out. Dilbert shows us the way here:

In order to figure out how to respond, maybe we should understand just what arrogance is.

What is "arrogant," anyway?

Here's the scoop from the dictionary:

Definition of ARROGANT

1: exaggerating or disposed to exaggerate one's own worth or importance often by an overbearing manner <an arrogant official>

A book on Introverts was just published. Mostly it states things that are obviously true. But since most people don't know these things and they're not part of mainstream cultural thinking, it's worth reading.

Jobs and Wozniak

One review of the book refers to the hoopla about the "wonderful, creative" Steve Jobs. Here's an excerpt:

If you look at how Mr. Wozniak got the work done — the sheer hard work of creating something from nothing — he did it alone. Late at night, all by himself.

Intentionally so. In his memoir, Mr. Wozniak offers this guidance to aspiring inventors:

“Most inventors and engineers I’ve met are like me … they live in their heads. They’re almost like artists. In fact, the very best of them are artists. And artists work best alone …. I’m going to give you some advice that might be hard to take. That advice is: Work alone… Not on a committee. Not on a team.”

Introverts

Not every introvert is a nerd (far from it); and not every nerd is an introvert (though most of them are, I think). So this book is worth looking at because of the high overlap. I was particularly struck by the transformation in American society to elevate the extrovert to the image of what is desireable in a human being. To the point of admissions officers at top universities saying they'd rather have someone who was good at sports and slapping backs than someone who (among other things) doesn't put going with the crowd above all else.

Though the subject of unapologetic humor, nerd values and attitudes are wonderful. Society would be better off with more nerds.

When other groups have gotten status and prestige, or just respect, in the past, they have had to either (1) exercise aggressive dominance, or (2) do the victim thing. Nerds are getting respect like never before by just coming out, valuing who they are and what they do, making a bit of fun of themselves, and by the simple fact that people actually know stuff and can get stuff done with passion and complete dedication are really valuable, admirable people who tend to enjoy what they do! 

I found a delightful blog post by Liz Andrade, a self-described nerd, who describes some nerd values that also illustrates why nerds are so valuable.

Here are a couple excerpts:

Nerds are Inspiring!

Part of being a nerd has to do with having some strong opinions on whatever it is you’re nerdy for — be it Star Wars, video games or typography — nerds pride themselves on knowing a lot about what they are into and your opinions on the matter are part of your identity.

…

This past year I shopped for glasses … and the experience I had … made something that in the past was nothing more than a necessary task into a remarkable experience! How? The people at these locations were total eye wear nerds!

This is a sect of nerd I was not even aware existed … They were able to suggest ideas based on my face shape and style, they knew about eye wear designers, frame shapes, materials, vintage styles and their enthusiasm for the subject was infectious!

When you are passionate about what you do, you inspire the people around you – and who doesn’t want to work with someone inspiring!?

Nerds are Authentic

Part of being nerdy is accepting yourself for who you are and what you are into even if isn’t what fits into the status quo or flow into the mainstream. Those who are able to embrace their nerdisms and not be ashamed of them have this obvious badge of honesty.

Whether it is real or imagined, if someone can be totally open and honest about their Red Dwarf obsession, you feel they are probably transparent about other things in their life, like business practices and ethics.

Nerds are Memorable

Nerds are usually stand out from the crowd… and being unique makes you easier to remember, as simple as that. It is each of our unique experiences and abilities that make us valuable individuals, blending in has become a liability to any business trying to be remarkable!

Of course the work of nerdy, remarkable people like Temple Grandin has gotten some attention and helped the cause as well. Temple has had to overcome some obnoxious and inexcusable barriers … to make the world a better place! Not to mention, to get her job done! More of us should be more like Temple….

There are nerds. There are super-nerds. And then there are … Top Nerds. What do Top Nerds do? Simple:

• Top Nerds work hard. Really hard. Why? They like hard work.
• Top Nerds save the day. One of my Top Nerds buddies is doing it as I write this. No "software project" of any kind, however well-run, could possibly pull off what he's pulling off.
• Top Nerds have fun. They're exploring, pioneering, accomplishing, learning. This is the best kind of fun!

I just hosted a gathering of Top Nerds. Having them all together for a long weekend was fun for everyone — who else spends the first more-than-half of the Fourth of July in a conference room going deep into the details of machine learning techniques and applications, solves leading-edge problems in their practical application and discovers new, transformative uses for them, … and has a blast? Well, we sure did!

Naturally, Top Nerds scramble and solve obstacles as they arise. One of our number was too busy saving the day for his company to be able to commit a holiday weekend to being in New York City with the rest of us. But he skyped in (that's him on the screen in the picture), told us what he was doing, how and why, and in the interaction that ensued, everyone ended up ahead of the game, and thoroughly entertained as a side-effect!

Because that's what Top Nerds do!

"Top Gun" is so last-century. Now nerds are on top of the heap, and being "Top Nerd" is best of all.

When the hottest, coolest thing around is fighter planes…

… it makes sense that the coolest dude around would be the best fighter pilot. This is what the 1986 movie "Top Gun" was all about.

Top Gun is macho alpha male behavior to the max. It's competitive guys who look at other capable guys as something in the spectrum of rival to enemy. Everyone else is just stuff to be vanquished in primal combat.

Fast-forward to 2011. When I walk around the streets, everyone who isn't about to be retired (and an amazing number of ones who are) is either plugged in, communicating via their portable device and/or (increasingly on buses and trains) absorbed in their e-readers. Advertising is rapidly shifting to digital media, and similar digital transformations are taking place in other domains. Are fighter planes at the heart of this world-wide, all-pervading transformation? Hardly. It's computers and the software who make them do what we want (mostly). And who's the fighter pilot for the computers? It's the people who write the software; in other words, it's nerds!

This is a really good changing of the guard. With rare exceptions, nerds are much nicer people than "Top Gun" types. Nerds are much more interested in learning and accomplishing things than non-nerds. Cooperation and collaboration are characteristics that are well within nerd-normal behavior. This is illustrated by the fact that when you've got a "Top Gun," you've often got a bunch of bitter, defeated rivals, while "Top Nerd" is normally designated by acclamation by hard-working, admiring fellow nerds.

In my opinion, this is a good thing. Good for nerds, and good for the world.