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<blockquote data-quote="rounser" data-source="post: 3513519" data-attributes="member: 1106">I think it attracts systems thinkers.Aspergers syndrome is a continuum, with autism and it's savants who specialise in an extremely discrete system at one end, and I suspect that many of those called geeks and nerds are somewhere on that continuum.Aspergers and autism have been called hyper-masculine thinking, because the male brain tends to be wired to specialise in systems thinking.&nbsp; The &quot;pocket universes&quot; of fantasy, sci-fi, a programming language or a computer are a lot more discrete than the real world, which is just too big a system to fully understand, and full of things that seem to happen quite randomly and (yes) uncontrollably.&nbsp; This is why emotions exist, I think; they provide a roadmap in what can sometimes be an illogical-seeming world.&nbsp; Without them you end up with the social equivalent of mutually assured destruction Dr Strangelove situations, or have no barometer of how far to take others into your trust, or empathise with them (which is basically understanding how they think and feel - something that autistic people are notoriously bad at).For a systems thinker aka a geek, RPGs offer some recreational relief from that.&nbsp; No worse than wasting your life watching TV, and more social and creative to boot.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="rounser, post: 3513519, member: 1106"] I think it attracts systems thinkers. Aspergers syndrome is a continuum, with autism and it's savants who specialise in an extremely discrete system at one end, and I suspect that many of those called geeks and nerds are somewhere on that continuum. Aspergers and autism have been called hyper-masculine thinking, because the male brain tends to be wired to specialise in systems thinking. The "pocket universes" of fantasy, sci-fi, a programming language or a computer are a lot more discrete than the real world, which is just too big a system to fully understand, and full of things that seem to happen quite randomly and (yes) uncontrollably. This is why emotions exist, I think; they provide a roadmap in what can sometimes be an illogical-seeming world. Without them you end up with the social equivalent of mutually assured destruction Dr Strangelove situations, or have no barometer of how far to take others into your trust, or empathise with them (which is basically understanding how they think and feel - something that autistic people are notoriously bad at). For a systems thinker aka a geek, RPGs offer some recreational relief from that. No worse than wasting your life watching TV, and more social and creative to boot. [/QUOTE]

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