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largely though the work of many people on what we now call the "autism spectrum"; engineers, programmers and developers, who never had any diagnosis other than "nerd". But as these innovators have met, married and had children, their own childrens' diagnoses of Asperger's autism is often the linchpin to the parent's understanding of their own difficulties and odd behaviors. Medical science has caught up and identified something that has existed all along. Because the autism spectrum does have high heritability and strong genetic components, it's no accident that tech-heavy cities like Palo Alto, California, Portland Oregon and Redmond, Washington have higher autism rates than the rest of the US.

There is a growing body of thought that posits the autism spectrum as a wild-card, a normally occurring variation in the human genotype. That there is talk of an "epidemic" reflects the is growing recognition of a kind of people who are fundamentally different from previous models. The currently dominant group of the human herd seems caught up in the process of eliminating itself with social-pack behavior gone cancerous. The quest for higher social status and power is the hallmark of the dominator-hierarchy, and is the motivation behind every destructive and resource-wasting action on the planet today, from war to changing fashions. Autistics are by their solitary nature, are often immune to these types of illogical peer pressures. Of course they're seen as odd.

Autism is not an epidemic, it's part of the evolution of human consciousness and abilities, a long-misunderstood strand in the bafflingly colourful tapestry that is humanity.

Learn more about this author, Siah Klootchman.
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