Is The Bill Gates Having Asperger's Story A Myth

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I know it's probably a part of the popular mindset among the Asperger's Community that Bill Gates has Asperger's Syndrome. But I cannot be the only one who thinks that this may simply be an urban myth/urban legend based on wishful thinking.

How many rumors about famous people do you see floating around? A whole bunch of them.

A whole lot of people believe that Bill Gates was the author of those now famous "Rules Kids Won't Learn in School". And a whole lot of people are wrong. Bill Gates never authored it. It's an urban legend.

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/liferule.asp

He seems a cold hard case of Asperger's to me. Nothing really to make me think otherwise.

He just got really REALLY REALLY lucky considering for every person that drops out there is like 1 Bill Gates and 10 million people in dead end jobs.

It shows that if you pursue your passion you can achieve great things; well at least in an economical sense .

Me too. Maybe BG doesn't see any advantage to linking himself to the AS community, I don't see why he would myself.

I don't really see why people with AS/autism wish to associate themselves with people who've "made" it; said making it is antithesis to all those who don't give a damn for social conventions and socioeconomic constructs. The therapists at Attwood's drone on about "normal" achievements, blah, blah and blah; we aren't normal you normal people. We don't give a damn about money, status and power; Attwood told me so, so why do his therapists say so?

Yes, I'm being completely subjective here and not seeing anyone else's view; I do that sometimes.

"I don't really see why people with AS/autism wish to associate themselves with people who've "made" it; said making it is antithesis to all those who don't give a damn for social conventions and socioeconomic constructs."

Because it behooves them to have us buy into the rat race. As Pink Floyd wrote in "Welcome to the Machine," "It's allright, we told you what to dream...".

Because its a big "F-U" to those that denigrate aspies. If we cannot succeed on their terms, we forge our own path. If we can hold up a pillar of society and call him our own, we belie their claims that we are not functional people.

"If we cannot succeed on their terms, we forge our own path."

*****

I agree-- that is what we do, right? And whether we like it or not, public perception affects all of our worlds. Better to have some positive references to AS than the usual news story about some kid who got picked on too much and ends up turning to violence in his/her school ("oh yeah," says the news anchor, "He had Asperger's"). I cringe everytime I read/hear this.

But I guess, I've digressed-- I don't know if BG has it or not. Maybe saying he does without his own affirmation just plays to the stereotypes of AS. I don't know (I do think it'd be cool if he said he did!). =)

I believe he does have Asperger's. He certainly seems to meet the criteria. If Gates was really bothered by the "rumor" it isn't like he couldn't get a dx saying he wasn't and publish it to the public.

However, I think it does a genius good, to say he has a brain just like Albert Einstien, Sir Isacc Newton, and many other highly intelligent people through out history.

AS or no AS, Bill Gates is not my hero: his "achievment" lies in doing his damnedest to fix the market so that everybody has to own his damned Windows. You can't support that kind of monopoly capitalism even if it is perpetrated by one of us.

Orson Welles, on the other hand...

Wow. What a coinky-dink... My brother and I were just talking about that guy...

We both think that the possibility exists that he has aspergers (or at least some form of high functioning autism). I, myself, have to wonder about some of the details behind it, but it might be a bit "pandantic" (sp??).

One thing is for sure, is that if he did have aspergers, then it definitely demonstrate that aspies can succeed in life.

Windows user, but Proud Mac Supporter and soon to be user here.

Interesting debate, I know some of my colleagues have met him and tell me he seems "An OK chap" but then I have not discussed AS with my colleagues.

I am just jealous that when he was leaning to program on the schools computer club computer my school would not buy a simple set of parts for my class to build (between us) a simple 1 transistor radio receiver.

I know an aspie ex-collegue of his who hates his guts and says that yes he is and he wishes that Bill wasn't. He says that Bill has not bought into the whole Aspie Community thing and saw and sees no benefit in association.
Different folks different strokes I say.

Well, Bill Gates only got all that money through a crazy perseveration on something really weird and unworkable called "DOS 2"

Sounds Aspie to me...

Just very low function...

M

Nothing like the luck of being born into a rich family, being given the best schooling money can buy, and having daddy finance all your first ventures.

I am not trying to discount Gates' accomplishments, but when he was born he was worth more than most people in America. It's a lot easier to turn 16 million into a fortune than it is to turn $1 into a fortune. Bill Gates is a shrewd businessman, one of the first people to understand the personal computer/software market. He is not, however, a rags to riches story.

All that being said, from observing bill gates in the rare times that he is not acting under the tutelage of a handler/image consultant he seems very aspie to me.

As far as I'm aware it's been all but confirmed. My mother works with autistics, and in doing so works with the people who give diagnoses... all of them are convinced he has it, and most go so far as to say they're sure he probably has a diagnosis but doesn't see any point in making it public. Which I wouldn't either, to be honest.

As for all the knocking him... he's worked his butt off to get to where he is, and as of 2 years ago (so the figure will be much higher now) he'd given away what would be the equivalent of $1million every day for 15 years to charity!! He's also going to stop being so involved in the day-to-day running of Microsoft as of July 2008 so he can be more involved in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Not so bad, huh?