HBO is about to release a biopic about Temple Grandin. Dr. Grandin, despite being autistic, is a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. In a pre-movie interview, she mentioned that autism is a spectrum disorder, which means that there are various manifestations of it, some more severe, some less. Among the less severe is Asperger's Syndrome, and among the least severe is the nerdy, geeky, kid.
That rang a bell. I've always had to insist that my wife just tell me what she wants or what she is thinking. "I'm a scientist, not a mind reader," I always say. It turns out that my other scientist friends say the same thing to their spouses. Now I realize that there must be all sorts of subtle cues that most people pick up, but I don't. Oh well, being a nerd has its limitations, but it keeps me in a job with good pay and benefits.
When I mentioned this realization to my wife, the nearly licensed psychologist, she said she had known about it for a long time. She just didn't want to be the one to tell me. Gee. I feel lucky to have gotten married at all. Thank God that some women like nerds, and are willing to do what it takes to get them to realize they are interested.
1 comment:
One of the benefits of being a nerd is the ability to concentrate on whatever it is you're doing. The downside of this is social interactions sometimes get left in the lurch. I've known a lot of "nerds" and a few Asberger's and they are rarely aware of the impact they have on others. That doesn't mean they don't feel the slights and slings of arrows that come their way.
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