Elon Musk and Neurodiversity
TED 2022. Among many highlights was Chris Anderson’s interview with Elon Musk. You can watch the entire interview here. I could talk about his Tesla Factory and its levels of automation, and scaleability. I could talk about the tidbits he shared regarding his plans to purchase Twitter and his reasoning behind the decision. I prefer to focus on his insights into his neurodiversity. (He referred to having Asperger’s syndrome, though today it is more common to say someone is on the autism spectrum.) He shared a lot about growing up: missing social cues, taking things literally and having a challenging childhood. He discussed how his love of books and movies helped him develop more awareness of social cues. I was most excited that he acknowledged it as a gift (e.g, it meant that he had the ability to code all night!). Chris and he also talked about the power of him having an inward understanding rather than obsessing on external cues. Another aspect of the superpower? How exciting to to have witnessed this conversation on the mainstage of TED, and now having the interview available for millions to view online. Neurodiversity is starting to get the recognition that it deserves. It is a real form of diversity. What progress that we are finally recognizing the superpowers alongside the challenges.