<p><a href=“http://www.bostonmagazine.com/ArticleDisplay.php?id=517[/url]”>http://www.bostonmagazine.com/ArticleDisplay.php?id=517</a></p>
<p>Evidently some on the Harvard campus are noting that the recent remarks many found offensive seem to be part of a pattern that includes bad manners, lack of eye contact, and other symptoms of this disorder.</p>
<p>Wow! Great article! Thanks for the link.</p>
<p>Well if he does have it, I guess his job is safe, under the Americans with Disabilities Act!</p>
<p>So…</p>
<p>When an everyday Joe acts like a jerk…he’s a just a jerk. </p>
<p>When Summers acts like a jerk, he must have Asperger’s. </p>
<p>Is this similar to calling wealthy people “eccentric” instead of “crazy”?</p>
<p>I suspect…</p>
<p>ya know I don’t think there is anything wrong with recognizing that many of the differences that make up individuals can also be catagorized under a “syndrome”, and that if it impacts their daily life enough, hopefully behavior modification or even medication can help them function.
I remember when I was in school, was before ADD & ADHD were used as a diagnosis ( in my area anyway). I had ADD- couldn’t pay attention in class, and I can’t even get motivated to take medication that allows me to function today.
One boy- in my 6th grade class I remember very vividly. He was a “bad” boy, always disruptive, couldn’t seem to sit still or to be quiet. Always in the principal office, just long enough to get sent home.I sensed that it was very frustrating for him, he didn’t really understand these outbursts, why he felt compelled to do things like stick a cow lens for dissection into his mouth, or talk back to the teacher. If the teachers/parents/schools had known about ADHD and strategies to break up school day as well as support for students grappleing with learning challenges, the classroom and school life might have been different.
Toxic materials are in everything, our food, our air, our water…
These things may be impacting an increase in disorders, just as much as a percieved increased diagnosis or what some call an overdiagnosis in the population.</p>
<p>There is a good book called “Shadow Syndromes” which suggests that most people have "a touch " of what would be disorders IF they were in their full-blown form. We can understand ourselves and others better if we explore the tendencies that these shadows of known syndromes can cast on our personalities and behaviors.</p>
<p>I would have found the article more interesting if it wasn’t so blatantly negative. Starting with the title, “Lawrence of Absurdia.” Then you get a rehash of everything bad that has ever been reported about Summers. The infamous World Bank memo, which he didn’t even write. Everything has a negative spin on it, finally working up to the present - he talks while he eats and sprays saliva on people. Oh, and by the way, he might be autistic. Somehow I missed the part about how Summers has introduced programs to increase recruitment of minority and low income students at Harvard. Oh right, the author didn’t mention that. It is just a smear article, and the “diagnosis” of Aspergers is not meant to explain his behavior. The author threw that in at the end as just another negative. I am not a big fan of L Summers. He does sound like a jerk to me, but I don’t like being manipulated by writers with agendas. I also believe much of the fuss about his comments re women’s apptitude is overblown and motivated by people that already dislike the guy for other reasons.</p>
<p>Actually, I think Larry Summers has foot-in-mouth disease.</p>
<p>Larry Summers is the happy, good natured one. When he does something bad, it’s Harry Winters, his evil twin. Just as there are two sides to every story, there are two sides to every personality.</p>
<p>Here is an article in Wired magazine about the growth of Asperger’s among brainy, techy folks: <a href=“http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aspergers.html[/url]”>http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aspergers.html</a></p>
<p>A person with Asperger’s is not the same as an ordinary “jerk.” He or she has an array of pretty specific traits that, taken together, tend to lead others to describe him or her as “obnoxious.” However, the “Aspie” tends to be utterly clueless as to why, because he is focused on his particular kind of logic, not feelings. “Aspies” are insensitive but they can be tremendously loyal and dependable people.</p>