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In reply to the discussion: Autism 'caused by genetics', study suggests [View all]hunter
(40,318 posts)Everything from "eccentric" engineers to people who were entirely dysfunctional in ordinary society, back in the dark ages when these sorts of family secrets were kept hidden as some kind of moral failing or punishment from God.
It's not a stretch to speculate these traits persist in the population because they are frequently beneficial to both the individual and communities that are accepting of this diversity. The same is true of LGBT people. Communities that rejected this sort of natural human diversity, who tortured their eccentric engineers, homosexual artists, etc., were stagnant places of little progress.
Autism seems to be one of those traits like sickle cell anemia that has a positive side, and a negative side. The good side of sickle cell anemia gene is that it makes people more resistant to malaria. The bad side is that it can be deadly.