Were we the Artisans of Old?

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Indeed, Prof. At the job-search institute, we were given a workshop on how to manage these young girls, how to talk to them so they'll understand at least a bit of what our work entails, and how to dumb down to them.

We (the Aspies) are the yeast that has made the loaf rise.

By the way: you forgot to mention Isaac Newton.

ruveyn

Don't forget the man who invented alternating current .....

I think it is not so much towards extraverted people, as people with good social skills. Some introverts have excellent social skills, and some extraverts can still have many social difficulties. Being an extraverted aspie never helped me at work, it just seemed to amplify my social problems because I said twice as many stupid things as a quieter aspie.

Do you mean Tesla? I think that's him. I'll have to check it out.

Economics might end up biting NTs in the prosterior end when it comes to social games taking precedence over hard work, dedication, and qualitiy. Look at what is happening to Chrysler and GM.They are going broke because the quality of the work has diminished. One can sit and blame the unions, BUT something tells me deep down, that the whole NT game of networking and fitting in is backfiring and the economic repercussions are beginning.NTs in the auto industry are now paying dearly for how they let their social abilities take priority over skills and the ability to do the work.

Consumers want and are paying for quality, and they don't give a damn how well the workers can gossip by the coffee machine.

This NT game being applied in the workforce can only last for so long, before it comes crashing down.

Politcs is another one.NTs are sheep and vote for the politcians with the better social skills than those who are more dedicated and qualified.That too is also having an effect on our economy and society.

NTs have only themselves to blame for the current economic and societical mess everyone is in today.

Artisans of the old are NEEDED in order for a society to function and the world economy to flourish.The world will soon realize that as things change.

Tory, I've discussed this with the makers of this ridiculous policy, but they tell me that it's been proven that a product made by a bunch of gossippers comes out better than one made by hard-working people who don't particularly have a friendship between them. What they fail to see and to believe is that coworkers are friendly to each other only when managers are looking, and the rest of the time they go for each other's throats. So all the friendly teamwork that the Management claim makes a difference in the quality of the final product DOES NOT EXIST and the more it's pushed down the staff's throats, the more coworkers hate each other at work.

Very interesting thread. I appreciate the perspectives presented, and find them relevant to my own situation.

I have found the translation for what I have been hearing, that I am over-qualified. What that really means is I am competent and have a demonstrated record of success with similar jobs duties, and therefore will have difficulty fitting in because I will try to leverage that knowledge and experience and thus expose the lack of competence in the existing staff. Which, I think perhaps is what they look for in a consultant, not an employee.

Time to de-emphasize my skills and experience <sigh>... I already have higher expectations of others' competence than is useful, now I must not just lower my standards for them, but myself as well.

Were we the Artisans of Old?

Probably, but I still think the best b*llsh*tters would have got the best jobs even in olden times. Here's my experience of being gifted at a particular skill.

I'm a carpenter and did a 3 year apprentiship which consisted every week of 4 days on building sites and 1 day at college. At the end of the 3 years everyone does their final exams. I got a grade 1 distinction in both the practical and theory exams. I was told later by a friend who did a 4th year at college (he later gave up carpentry and became a professor of mathematics at a university in the UK) that I had got the highest exam scores ever anywhere in the country since these exams had started. I don't know how long these particular "City and Guilds" exams had been going but to get the best scores ever was still pretty impressive to me anyway.
As an apprentice I would turn out better work than most of the carpenters, infact all of them even with years of experience but I still didn't have the speed which was good for the experienced chippies, because they could always say they could turn out the same quality if they took as long.
When I was 20yrs old I left England and worked in Holland for a year as a carpenter, earning 3 times what I had been earning in England and most importantly realy enjoying the work. I realise now that that is a typical aspie thing to do, working with foreign speakers makes socialising a lot easier and gives you a excuse for not understanding what is said and my sometimes odd behaviour.
After tiring of holland I moved to London where I was lucky to get work with a firm that turned out high quality work. The bosses soon realised how good I was and I was always given the most difficult jobs to do but some other chippies got more money (because I wasn't good at negotiating rises. Being valued as a good worker meant I could work the winter months and spend 6 months every summer travelling around Europe, working at anything for pocket money.
Got married, settled down, got divorced, got married again and moved out of my comfort zone in London and settled in Portsmouth.
Now this is when getting work first became a problem for me, despite being the fastest and best carpenter at all of the firms I work for I still end up being laid off when other slower, rougher, less knowledgeable people than me are kept on. The last company I was working for (3 years) has had less and less work every year as the recession bites so I was expecting to get the bullet some time but I never realised I was so far down the pecking order. I was working with 2 other carpenters when the boss had to get rid of one of us. We were working in identical houses and I was completing the internal carpentry in each house in 4 days, the other 2 chippies were taking 11 days to finish their houses. So when I was told I was going I couldn't believe it and the way I questioned his judgement to his face means I think I've burnt my bridges, still I was telling him the truth so it's his problem if he prefers sociable, easy going people over people who actualy bring money into the firm.

I think I might have wandered a bit there but yes we probably were the Artisans of Old but the b*llsh*tters of old probably got the most work, money and love interest.

I'm still working BTW but hating every minute of it.

I believe it! I believe is was some Aspie or a Nerd who painted the cave pictures in France. I believe it was some Aspie who figured out how to make the best spear and the axalatl that the NT hunting jocks used when they went out to get the meat. Socrates was possibly an Aspie and maybe even Plato. Where ever there was a need that only a single minded obsessed person could deliver, there was the Aspie who brought it home for the NTs.

ruveyn

Ask not what you do for the firm but what you do for your immediate boss. Chances are the other two were bringing less for the firm and more for the boss (in any kind of goods, be it fun, money, whatever).

I am an artisan. I'm also well aware that a lot of NTs can do what I do too. We're not the only ones with the necessary skills but some of them may come easier to us certainly.

Thing is NTs can be single minded and obsessed too. I know it must be comforting to think that but it's unlikely in reality. Necessity breeds invention not obsession.

True, the other two are actualy nice people, always joking and sending texts to each other and they would both bend over backwards to offer help to anyone, while at the same time back stabbing anyone in their way as nicely as possible. Very Machiavellian.

It didn't help that over the last 3 years I've constantly told this particular boss how bad he is at his job. I didn't volunteer this information, I only told him when he asked.

CORRECTION:

It was FTM, not CerebralDreamer, who had written that. My apologies.

The boss will keep those who make HIM look good and have a good time. What I find that NTs are good at is both endearing themselves to their direct boss AND further their own agendas. We Aspies find it hard, and often impossible, to do two things at once. Because we don't act on intuition but analysis, we make bigger efforts, and therefore need to focus on one thing at a time. These guys are able to endear themselves to their bosses and at the same time endear themselves to their boss's boss (who'll approve the choice of who'll be fired) and at the same time be OK workers, if not excellent. This is what I've observed in my work experience. And since pleasant + professionally OK wins over professionally excellent nowadays, there you have it: the Aspie is fired.

That sounds like lawsuit fodder, to be honest. Just imagine how the Lawyers would portray it: "You fired this guy who is twice as productive as any other employee, because he has Asperger's Syndrome?" I can see the compensation for violating the American Disabilities Act now...

I'm jumping in from page 2 and have not read the post between that page and this. yet

I do communicate and cooperate. My mother has visited the store where I work, mentions my name and people light up and say, "Yeah, I know Robert." They can be white or black, young or old, male or female. Thing is, there seems to be something that holds me back from jobs suitable to my talents or positions of greater responsibility.