Bill Gates: ‘I would be diagnosed with autism if I were a kid today’
He says that if he were aged child, he would now be diagnosed with autism.
Bill Gates has stated that, had he grown up in present-day society, his intense obsession and socially inept behaviour as a child would likely have been identified as a symptom of neurodiversity.
The tech tycoon reminisces about his "neuro divergent" behaviour from his youth in his recently released autobiography, Source Code.
Gates acknowledged as a child he would sometimes appear to be lacking in social awareness, frequently "rocking in place" and being able to concentrate intensely on specific subjects.
In conversation with the Times, it was stated that he would nowadays be considered to be on the autism spectrum, with his parents saying, “We didn't have any guidance or educational materials to help us understand why their son became fixated on certain hobbies, missed social hints and sometimes came across as impolite or inconsiderate, without appearing to be aware of the impact on others.”
Research in 2021 showed a 787 per cent increase in the number of people in the UK diagnosed with the condition between 1998 and 2018.
The founder of Microsoft has said that, until recently, he didn't realise he was different, having submitted a 200-page report on Delaware's state as part of a school project, whereas his classmates were only producing 10-page assignments.
The person said: "I found I could concentrate when I was interested in something. But this curiosity made me stand out from others as being a bit odd. It also meant my social skills were a bit behind those of my friends."
Bill Gates concentrated on academic interests, leaving college to build Microsoft.
He now regards himself as founder of disease research, stating he would never switch to a more "normal" way of experiencing life for such "autistic traits".
He said: "If they ever came up with a pill that made you able to think clearly and focus, but not change your personality, I wouldn't take it."
I may be forgetting just how difficult it was, but I required my unique thought processes to create that software; I was able to accomplish all that mentally. That demands a great deal of focus.
Gates is not the only notable figure in the technology sector to exhibit symptoms of autism. In 2021, Elon Musk announced on an episode of Saturday Night Live that he had been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.
He further described this experience in 2022, noting that "the social cues were not instinctively understood".
He noted: “I found it very satisfying to spend an entire night programming computers, alone by myself.… But I think that is most definitely not typical.”
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