'Idiot-Savant' Traders?

[archimedes]

I got a 32.

What's interesting is that if I had taken the test ten years ago, I probably would have gotten a 37 or a 38.

I am now an "outgoing" person who can make casual smalltalk easily and give presentations to hundreds of people at a time. But I chose to intentionally develop those skills, and I still use them deliberately rather than naturally... like a prosthetic extension of my more introverted self. Deep down, I still think humanity itself is a granfalloon.

In my opinion, "the gift" mostly comes down to an intersection of strong analytical ability and keen emotional sensitivity. That can be a debilitating combo, but it doesn't have to be.

There is a reason why creativity, passion and insanity are all linked. There are also evolutionary reasons why the average individual is unintelligent, uncreative and only middling-level passionate. In a world where 99% of the populace has to grind it out their entire lives, mediocrity is a survival trait. The creative-passionate types are less interested in breeding and more subject to flameout.

 

[agtrader777]

Does easily distracted come in this mix? I can work on a half dozen different projects at once and still become totally distracted by something like a ceiling fan clicking in the next room!

BYW, my score was in the mid-30's but I recognized the pattern in the test.

 

[Rearden Metal]

Quote from agtrader777:

Does easily distracted come in this mix?

Big time, in my case.

Have you seen "The Aviator"? I bet most people couldn't even relate to how DiCaprio's character/Howard Hughes became completely distracted over the slightest details.

Remember the scene where Hughes couldn't close an $18 mil business deal until the other guy removed a speck of lint from his lapel? That's so <i>me</i>, it's sick.

 

[naz9403]

anyone ever watch monk

 

[marketsurfer]

Quote from archimedes:

I got a 32.





There is a reason why creativity, passion and insanity are all linked. There are also evolutionary reasons why the average individual is unintelligent, uncreative and only middling-level passionate. In a world where 99% of the populace has to grind it out their entire lives, mediocrity is a survival trait. The creative-passionate types are less interested in breeding and more subject to flameout.

<i> mediocrity is a survival trait</i>

that is a brilliant statement. one must fit in, or face the wrath of the masses therefore being average is the way to survive for most. like schooling fish or lemmings--- it works, untill it doesn't.

surf

 

[maxpi]

Quote from naz9403:

anyone ever watch monk

Monk is funny. The popularity of the show tells me that there are enough "Monks" around so that the general public recognizes them.

I read a fantastic article on Aspergers syndrome recently. Essentially what is going on is that the brain developes each individual section just fine but the interconnects are not there or not there enough to function. To compensate for the lack of interface between brain parts they develope a huge number of intraconnects.

My wife and I are fixing up a house for an old relative that is very ill. He definitely is the Asperger person of the year. I was taking some directions from him and trying to follow very closely what he said and at one point I was standing there looking at my hands and I could not tell my right/left apart and the hands were not working together!! To follow his directions I had to uncouple the brain hemispheres!! It was scary, I stopped following so close and just took a little more initiative in the work after that. My wife grew up around this guy and she has anxiety attacks, almost, just going over to the house. He is a real bastard for the most part. Now that I understand what is up with his brain I can get along with him a lot better, he can't piss me off or anything, before I wanted to hunt him down and kill him sometimes.

In the last 25 years he has turned his house into an absolute shit hole. He is a packrat and he has a zillion tools, machines, etc. and a stock of spare parts for everything, and old furniture, and broken plumbing to the point where one bathroom had a working toilet but to wash your hands you had to go to the other bathroom, [and the drain was too slow]. There was nowhere to sit in the entire house except about 5 square feet on the edge of his bed, providing he was not sorting stuff there, or in front of the computer in another room. We tossed out food that was 15 years past the date code. We have worked weekends and afternoons for about 6-7 weeks to clean up and fix up and there is still one room that you cannot get into. We cleaned up the living room first and he has actually started to clutter it up again, all the while telling us how much better the house is when the clutter is out!!

People waste a lot of energy and time trying to figure these people out because they are so rude and incomprenensible sometimes, but good at things. This guy had a lot of people reporting to him in a technical department in a Defense industry plant. His main bitch in life back then was about all the people that quit!! They probably could not get out of there fast enough. I am thinking that if my wife was not going to inherit from this guy we would probably be ignoring his plight and laughing at his inability to cope with the mess he lives in.

 

[Brandonf]

Interesting. One of my friends wives is a clinical psychologist and she has always said that she figured I have Asperger. I took the survey for myself and scored 36, Toni took it on her perception of me and scored a 34 for me.

I would agree with what most of RM has said that it rather sucks in most cases. I'm very fortunate to have found a person who can accomadate me and put up with me as until I met Toni I could not.

Brandon

 

[indahook]

30

Most of my Idiot savant type scores probably came from the anti-social side of me. Growing up as an only child with one absent working parent made me very self sufficient on social basis. Thus I have always gravitated toward individual pursuits. My fav activities are surfing, biking and hiking. Everynight I take a 4 mile walk just to have some alone time...funny thing is I need this alone time even though its just me, my wife and two dogs at home. And only 3 others traders in my office.

Also, I have been fighting certain OCD type disorders since I was a kid. I use to check to make sure the lights were off and doors closed ALOT....I knew they were locked but I had to keep going back until they "felt right"..make any sense? I still do that sometimes. Just like I am always thinking about money and numbers...mostly the numbers though. On my walks i`ll just crunch trading numbers until it exhausts me......f`n nutjob I am!

 

[archimedes]

Anyone read "The Davinci Method" by Garret Loporto?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0977486001/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product/104-9224319-2402360?ie=UTF8

Are you: - Impulsive? - Risk-taking? - Distractible? - Sensation-seeking? - Insightful or Intuitive? Do you: - Crave risk and excitement? - Have an addictive personality? - Rebel against authority? - Think differently?

Then you are a DaVinci. Discover the secret genius that drives risk-takers, rebels, entrepreneurs, artists and ad/hd-ers to achieve greatness. Learn how to express this fire and harness it productively.


Money quote: The behaviorally repressed Davinci type suffers greatly from anxiety, hysteria, ADD, ADHD, addiction, compulsiveness, procrastination, dishonesty, depression and lack of true success.

 

[MrsSavant]

No... your not a nut job...I have learned to live with it for 19 years...

Electric has come back from walks and I have had to work on spreadsheets with him..sometimes exceeding many hours..I will not tell you how many as you would not believe me. Electric does not need as much sleep as I.

At 4:00 am this morning, we were cleaning the top of the refrigerator and vacuuming the air conditioner intake...

When Electric drives, he goes into deep deep thought...sometimes it takes hours for him to find his way. One time I sent him out to the grocery store and I did not see him for hours...He came back all excited about something in one of the spreadsheets from months ago...he photographs them in his mind somehow. AND GET THIS...he forgot to go to the store.

In one of his dreams he saw an abondened house in the mountains...do you know how many hours we have driven to search for it...?????

One time he told me to get the phone and it didn't even ring...then it rang with the wrong number...now this is just weird crap...I phoned Art Bell, but could not get through.

Sometimes Electric is a perfectionist where other times he is sloppy...like a box of chocolates in which he is the nut...But
I love the man and my life would have never been so interesting without him.

Wifey

Quote from indahook:

30

Most of my Idiot savant type scores probably came from the anti-social side of me. Growing up as an only child with one absent working parent made me very self sufficient on social basis. Thus I have always gravitated toward individual pursuits. My fav activities are surfing, biking and hiking. Everynight I take a 4 mile walk just to have some alone time...funny thing is I need this alone time even though its just me, my wife and two dogs at home. And only 3 others traders in my office.

Also, I have been fighting certain OCD type disorders since I was a kid. I use to check to make sure the lights were off and doors closed ALOT....I knew they were locked but I had to keep going back until they "felt right"..make any sense? I still do that sometimes. Just like I am always thinking about money and numbers...mostly the numbers though. On my walks i`ll just crunch trading numbers until it exhausts me......f`n nutjob I am!