Bill gates autism?

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To me it's quite posible that bill gates is Asperger's. I think half of the people in the computer/technology world are autistics it takes a person that doesn't think like everyone else to me to come up with stuff like that. Most are, most aren't. I think what there tryin to say that people for example like bill gates,albert einstein, etc are smart individuals & most aspies were smart people but just are socially awkward (like me, lol) & to give people like us aspies/auties alike hope that would overcome our disablities & make great things out of it pretty much make a good thing out of a bad situation.

I agree with that one.^

I've spent a lifetime trying to figure out the differences between autism, giftedness, and unconventiality, since most of the unconventional and/or gifted people I've known haven't had any real problems getting on in life, and I'm still stuck at home looking out the window. And I'm high functioning. (I did fine in school, which was structured, but got lost as soon as I finished school.)

So when people talk about someone being on the spectrum, I'd like to see specifics.

For example, I suspect that the actress Greta Garbo may have been autistic. Why? In summary:
• Her relationships seemed to be dependent on who adopted her, e.g. Stiller, D'Acosta, Schlee.
• She worked well in a structured environment, but work dried up as soon as she was turned loose to fend for herself.
• She didn't create a new career for herself once she was set adrift. Instead she drifted and was unhappy. She basically killed time for 50 years from her "retirement" at age 36 until her death.
• The strangeness with which other people regarded her is worth noting. She was strange even among strange people. That's not diagnostic, all by itself. But it did seem odd to me.

She participated in society (work, social) when other people organized it. When no one organized her life, she stayed at home and went for long walks. Fortunately she was independently wealthy by the time MGM dropped her from their roster.

I do not see this sort of thing for Bill Gates. To the OP: rocking doesn't mean anything, although if someone wanted to make a claim that Gates has some other neurological condition that does not affect the ability to participate in society, I'd be interested in hearing more. What I know about Bill Gates:
as kid:
• high energy, gawky even as a kid; obviously gifted
• not into team sports; good at individual stuff, esp stuff involving focus
• independent from age 7-8 onwards (parents couldn't control him)
• part of math/science clique at school
• scientific/enterpreneurial personality
• preferred to hack computer time rather than pay for it
• lifelong obsession with Napoleon

as adult:
• very focussed about lots of things but scattered about personal care and cash in wallet
• at heart a businessman not a scientist (Henry Ford rather than Thomas Edison), though smarter than most businessmen, with a better technical grasp, at least in the early days
• encouraged frat boy culture at work
• drove like a maniac, ruined his Porsche (may have slowed down since then)
• several girlfriends before marriage
• built a business empire
• big on power and organization

Obviously Gates is gifted. Obviously he's a bit weird. But I've read over 300 biographies of famous people and I can tell you that most of them are pretty weird - that's how they get to be famous rather than blend in. I didn't see anything in Gates' biography that made him look autistic in addition to gifted. Ditto for Einstein. And there are a lot of people who don't believe Einstein was on the spectrum.

LabPet and others, I'm not going to believe Gates is actually on the spectrum without some sort of argument that differentiates him from other exceptionally gifted people. If you're doing presentations, then surely you must have some details I don't know about. Where's the autism? And if you're not going to present details that are actually diagnostic, then you can't expect anyone to believe you. All you can say is that you think he's on the spectrum. Which is fair. We all have our opinions.

I think the main problem here is that there is so little research on what adults on the spectrum are like. If even 10% of Autism Speaks research funding went to research on what adults are like, we'd know so much and it would clear up a lot of confusion (though I'd lobby for 25% ). But right now we're basically stumbling around in the dark. So of course people have their differing view points.

The article by Oliver Sacks on Henry Cavendish can be found through the Wikipedia "people speculated to have been autistic" page. I think there's also a good case for the Canadian golfer listed there. Not convinced about most of them, though.

I can't speak to whether Bill Gates has been diagnosed with Aspergers or any other PDD-NOS because I was never rude enough to ask him directly. But I did work for him, spent numerous hours in meetings he spoke at, and had a few personal meetings with him. He definitely has some strong characteristics on the Autism Spectrum. Almost all the characteristics that Anemone listed could be argued for an AS diagnosis... but there are a couple that, in my personal experience of him, are not accurate:

B. Gates does not have a consummate businessman or entrepreneur mindset -- his business success is down to his extreme focus on systems (computer, business and financial) not necessary the manipulative or speculative accumen of other business successes. It is extremely unlikely that Microsoft would have been as successful without the involvment of Steve Ballmer and Paul Allen, who brought "real world" skills to the mix. He is an engineer at heart, not a scientist or businessman. His primary focus is on efficiency.

B. Gates did not, under any circumstances, promote a frat boy culture at work. I don't even know where this idea came from. Certainly, in recent years when Bill was less involved with the day-to-day runnings of the company, the business environment and culture has devolved into this... but I personally blame the touchy-feelie management types who got in the way of pure development progress. The original MS environment and culture was get in, get done, get on with it... no muss, no fuss, no frilly crap. Things have certainly changed since then!

B. Gates is not big on power... he has an anathemic reaction to power-plays in my experience. He is, however, extremely organized and does not tolerate illogical and irrational systems. This made him extremely formidable as a CEO because political manipulation was not a particularly effective method to justify one's inefficient processes! He was not above using his veto power in the name of efficiency.

He also has a few obvious behaviors that freak out the "normies"... he does stare off into space while you're talking (almost impossible to make eye contact with him), he demands that you logically and rationally argue your points and will reject anything inefficient, he walks and talks oddly, he does not do well with reciprocal conversation, he almost completely misses body language and facial cues, he hates public appearances and is very stressed and anxious before and after...

So, I can't vouch one way or the other... but he's definitely displaying some spectrum characteristics.

lau has a point in that I don't believe Bill Gates has overtly stated, and surely not in public (!) - he's a major influence in the IT world. Like PlicketyCat wrote, Bill does exhibit traits, but again, 'we' cannot truly know him (well, exept that PlicketyCat has worked with him directly). But I was informed by a trusted other (my now late professor, that had known/worked with Bill, like PlicketyCat) that Bill has stated his AS and accommodates his needs accordingly. I do trust my professor in this. Subjectively, I could 'see' where Bill's AS exists too - my professor said this would not likely be revealed to others, for obvious logistical reasons, but it's just known amongst those with whom he's closest.

Just have to mention, I'm an Alaskan. When Susan Butcher, one of Alaska's greatest Iditarod mushers, and a female too (!) Bill Gates traveled to Alaska and spoke; a eulogy for Susan who was his personal friend. Bill's wife, Melinda, was present too. I was not able to attend but Bill's tribute was very much appreciated locally.

Oh, I think Bill sounds like Kermit the Frog! Really - listen to their voices, in parallel. Uncanny.

YouTube is certainly NOT a sound source, but I did a presentation (another spoke for me) and the video Autism, Repetitive Rocking and Stimming (or words to that effect!) was shown - Bill Gates does stim. I am leery of typifying 'Aspie-ness' and rely upon what are diagnostic critieria; my late professor is one I do trust as a source.

Hard to account for one's 'true' behavioral aspects, unless one knows that particular individual well and in all capacities.

A backwards study.

First, define Autism. Sure, go ahead and make up a lot of terms, diagnistic critieria, sub sets, exceptions, exclusions, and claim the authority of a Masters Degree in Psychology.

Same problem, define Autism. So far, the only result is, it is broad, a spectrum, and they are all different. So are frogs, are they autistic?

Autistics are people who have traits. "Do they all have the same traits?" "Well no, they are all different."

"What defines them as Autistic?" "They have traits I tell you!" But you just said they were all different.

"Well not all of them have the same traits." OK, so the traits define Autism, but they do not have the same traits. So how do you define Autism?

Traits form groups, take Asperger's Syndrome, a triad of impairments defines it.

Now we are getting somewhere, three traits define Asperger's Syndrome? "What are they?"

Well they are not all the same. "You just said they were, "a triad of impairments." Three traits that define Aspergr's Syndrome.

It is not just three, there are many, but it takes three to define Asperger's.

OK, three out of how many? "Well there are a dozen in the DSM, and if three are present, the person has Asperger's Syndrome.

"Any three out of the dozen?" "Yes, it is Science."

"So out of twelve traits, any three add up to Asperger's Syndrome, now you are making sense."

Thank you for explaining it, I now see that there is one trait under position "A" which leaves 11 possibilities under "B", and 10 more unders "C".

From that I gather there are 12 x 11 x 10 types of Asperger's Syndrome.

What about people who have only two traits, what are they called? "Those people are Neurotypical."

I am not familier with that scientific term, could you define it please, what is meant by Neurotypical?

It means normal people.

"And that includes people with two of Asperger's traits?" Yes, all of the traits are found in normal people, it is only when three are present in the same person that they are diagnosed as having Asperger's Syndrome.

So of the 12 x 11 x 10 = 1320 types of Asperger's Syndrome, are the types consistant? Is Type 872 all the same, exibiting the same behavior?

Not at all, even if they have the same triad of impairments, they are not at all the same presentation, they are very different. It's Science.

Are they as different as the Neurotypical who have two of the traits but are normal?

Yes, they exhibit the same range, but they have a triad of impairments, and so are diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.

Thank you, that clears up my thinking on this important matter of Science.