An explanation for my astronomy obsession

[Macavity]

Nice to see such diversity in a (I suspect) rather Neurotypical sample.

[Dimitris]

You guys scared the hell out of me, so I tried it again. I got a 10 again! Looks as if I am doomed.

[jaquesnoir]

Doomed to what? A life of rational normality? It just means that you can spend as much as you feel you can afford on a scope that you can use when you feel like it rather than (if you scored 30 or more) having to do the entire Messier catalogue in order on your £10000 rig.

[PortableAstronomer]

Tried the test again after 10 bottles of Heineken.

Got a *much* lower score..... 33

Maybe I should switch to another brand...

[yesyes]

score of 29 for me. The article doesn't really explain what the score means though. The higher the more autistic?

[haitch]

30 for me but I think I've got a split personality that kicks in after alcohol.

[PortableAstronomer]

This is going a bit off-topic but I'll keep it brief... I mentioned the effect of 10 bottles of Heineken on my AQ score; here's a funny advert we have here in the Netherlands, showing the effect it had on another group of guys...

YouTube - Heineken - Girls, Eat Your Heart Out! (Walk in Fridge)(w/ English Sub)

[BAZ Senior]

I got 32,

get the next question right and you get Bullies star prize! A caravan!

[jaquesnoir]

Presumably that fridge could be used to cool scopes too. Ripper.

[PortableAstronomer]

I got 32,

get the next question right and you get Bullies star prize! A caravan!

At that score I think Bullie's Star Prize would be a book of computer algorithms.

[Casus belli]

I scored 29. Same as my IQ. And my age.* Spooky huh?

*A lie to make my post seem more interesting

[Ogri]

I got a 9.

Is that why I am really happy with an ST120 on an AZ3?

[PortableAstronomer]

The missus scored 13.

I read that asperger's in women is rarer than for men, but the few that are, I wonder if they are still passionate about fashionable but totally unwearable ladies' shoes?

:-)

[Worzsel]

I scored 30. I've always been a bit odd

[angusb1]

If you want to see how effective a strategy this can be watch this:

You might guess he would be towards the higher end of the Autistic Spectrum but its incredible how he has perfected his imitation of "normal behaviour". Daniel Tammet is a synaesthete and autistic savant who calculated/remembered pi to 22514 places. He also learnt Icelandic in a week, yet when you see the difference between him and Kim Peek (the guy Rain Man was based on) you wouldn't believe Daniel was autistic to anything like the same degree.

Dunno whether Daniel has an interest in astronomy though .

26 - But I have spent many years perfecting

what other people term "normal behaviour".

I do prefer post text to be justified though.

[Mouse on the Moon]

18 for me, which is handy 'cos that's my mental age.

[polydoros]

36 for me....i always knew i was left field.........eh

[Doug]

I only scored 7

Doug

[matt c]

I scored 45 but then I already knew I'm probably an aspie

[slartylite]

i got 35,no surprise i suppose. dont know if to be pleased or v worried.

[astro_al]

I got 24.

[anthony]

36 here. Not quite sure what that means though. I may well have rattled through it a bit quick mind - so not the sort of personality trait that a 36 might imply. Gonna go do it again!

Like any such complex condition there wont be any one definitive marker or diagnostic test. Lots and lots of little parts of a great big puzzle. Interesting but all by itself not a lot can be concluded

[Si W]

12 for me

[Trillian]

25 for me

[mark7331]

I also scored 47, but then I was diagnosed with Aspergers a year and a half ago.

P.S. I just searched for Aspergers here and found this thread so thanks PortableAstronomer - it's good to know I'm not alone here!

Mark