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There has been several recent comments stating that Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook might have Asperger's Syndrome. Speaking as someone with Asperger's, and the parent of someone with Asperger's, I can be sure that Zuckerberg does not have Asperger's.
The reason people think Zuckerberg has Asperger's is because he demonstrates some of the main symptoms. Mainly because he doesn't think the way most people do, and he doesn't seem to understand that other people don't think the way he does. In an Aspie (someone with Asperger's) this often leads to them unintentionally causing discomfort and harm to other people.
However, there is a big difference. If you confront someone with Asperger's about how they've hurt someone else unintentionally, they will immediately show remorse. My 14 yo, aspie son is often reduced to tears when he finds out he's hurt someone unintentionally. Zuckerberg on the other hand, not only shows no remorse, but refuses to acknowledge that he's done any damage.
I propose that Zuckerberg does not have Asperger's, but is instead mildly psychopathic and delusional. I have no proof of this, but he seems to have a complete disconnect with reality that will probably destroy Facebook in the next few years. We are already starting to see it start to fray at the edges as people realize that Zuckerberg has no intention of protecting our privacy or allowing us to protect it while using his service.
27 comments:
I have Asperger's and hate to accidently harm people - and have remorse and in the past low-self-esteem because of such errors.
However - I have to disagree with the assumption of placing this requirement on a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome - from the books I have read it seems to me that different people with AS present different reactions to it - including the denial+control types.
I agree with Davros - my 17yo son has Asperger's and I was amazed to see the similarities in the character as played by Eisenberg and my own child.
He (my son) shows very little remorse when he has been hurtful. He is learning the rules of social engagement and what is right and wrong, and he does display disappointment with himself when he has hurts others. He is upset that he must deal with the consequences of being hurtful. But as far as displaying any signs of real remorse or empathy for the hurt party, this is something we have not yet seen in him. He seems honestly shocked when someone is angered by his behavior, and believes most of the time that the fact that they are upset constitutes some character flaw on THEIR part.
I am aware that some of this is simply the self-centeredness typical for a teenager, especially an emotionally immature one. However, I strongly suspect that he will retain this attitude to a lesser degree in his adult life, much the way the Zuckerberg character does in the film.
I think that you're missing the main point here- Zuckerberg doesn't have Asperger's BECAUSE HE KEEPS CHANGING SHIT with Facebook.
You are SO wrong! I have lived with a man with Asperger's for years and know his symptoms inside out. One of the MAIN symptoms is he CANNOT be confronted or told he has hurt anyone or done ANYTHING incorrect, hurtful, upsetting, etc. in fact he will NEVER admit he has done anything wrong! He is a kind man otherwise, but for you to say this definitively is naive. My guy's most hurtful behavior is cold, unfelling and cruel to a fault, like leaving me alone over Christmas for 10 days without calling- when he is in an Asperger's episode, all bets are off, and he still won't acknowledge really cruel hurts he has caused. Wake up!
I wonder if his lack of willingness to admit being wrong is his Asperger's or if he's just conceited. I have Asperger's syndrome and so does my son. We are both very willing to admit when we are wrong. That's not a function of his Asperger's.
You couldn't be more wrong. I have aspergers and a psych degree. What you claim is in no way a definitive symptom of aspergers. It's a non related personality trait.
"Speaking as someone with Asperger's, and the parent of someone with Asperger's, I can be sure that Zuckerberg does not have Asperger's."
What a moronic statement. Just because someone's Asperger's doesn't mean it manifests itself like your's does. Where did you get your medical degree again?
I don't know about Mark Zuckerberg. I did have a five year relationship with a AS man and he had no remorse at all when he said and did harmful things to me time after time.
Lack of remorse is not a symptom of AS. These people may be using their AS as an excuse for not being remorseful, but the two are not related. One of the symptoms of AS is an inability to properly demonstrate the emotions you do feel, but that is different than not feeling them. People with AS tend to actually feel stronger emotions than NT (neuro-typical) people, but since they don't know how to display those emotions people think they don't have emotions.
If you have seen one person with Asperger's, you've seen one person with Asperger's.
He could most certainly be an Aspie. Autism does not manifest itself the same in every person, and no two people have the same co-morbidities. So while your son could show one thing, someone else's could show another, and yet another could be an entirely Different way from that.
I never said that a person can't have a lack of remorse and be an aspie. I only said that the two aren't related. A lack of remorse is not a symptom of asperger's. Just because zuckerburg doesn't have any remorse for his actions doesn't mean he's an aspie.
When I look up the definition of "psychopath", there's a big overlapse between "psychopaths" and both people with Asperger's and people with Borderline Personality Disorder. To me, an Aspie myself, a psychopath seems to be nothing but an Aspie or person with BPD who doesn't care...
So really, does Zuckerberg have Asperger's or not? I personally can't tell. If he is, he's obviously very high functioning and to me he seems fairly smooth when I hear him in an interview. I can't say he's a psychopath either, since it's hard to distinguish fact from fiction when it comes to Zuckerberg. As such, I have to be undecided on both matters.
I don't appreciate foul language on my blog. You want to swear, feel free, just take it elsewhere.
I still think he have Asperger's
and I have it myself. (if not, then I have something else very similar)
I'm also that kind that can't stand hurting others feelings.
You may be right. The more I think about it, the more I realize he may have Asperger's syndrome. What annoys me is what people point to as "proof" of his Asperger's. They say he must have Asperger's because he doesn't care about other people's feelings. This, in fact has nothing to do with Asperger's. If they said he must have Asperger's because he doesn't think about others, I might be more accepting, but even that wouldn't be accurate.
In point of fact, Aspies do think about others, but always assume what's obvious to them is obvious to everyone. This is, in fact how just about everyone thinks. The difference is that since Aspies think along completely different lines than NTs (neuro-typicals) what is obvious to one doesn't even occur to the other.
Aspie... maybe. He does has a lot of trouble reading people in the movie, and fixates his conversation on a topic that was becoming tiresome to the girl in the opening scene. Definitely not a psychopath or sociopath. While they have no remorse, they are really, really good at reading people and manipulating them to their own means. If he IS a sociopath he got the world wrapped around his finger through FB... Let's hope he's an aspie.
Totally disagree, I have an Aspie son and he shows very little remorse...because he has a very difficult time seeing something from another's perspective, because his perspective is the right one! But, at the same time, does not mean to be deliberately hurtful and feels badly when he has hurt someone...doesn't change how he feels about the situation or debate that got him there though.
Hmm..I was recently diagnosed with AS. People tend to think I am a jerk, arrogant, conceited - because they interpret what they see on my face and how I act as meaning I think I am better than them. As a result people generally don't like me unless they make an effort to get to know me. It can take a year or two to get to know me.
Most people can't be bothered putting in the effort as they have already dismissed me and have a large selection of people who they can "read" more accurately who are easier to get to know socially.
Usually the look on my face is confusion...which is misread as anger. I have constant anxiety, food allergies, scent sensitivity and avoid socializing as intense stimulation exhausts me. Shaking hands creeps me out.
I watched the Social Network and I kept hearing from others who saw it that "he betrayed his best friend" and no one remembers that the "best friend" was his finance guy and he froze FB's account "to get his attention" (which somehow people seem to think is totally acceptable behaviour for a "best friend").
If my "friend" did that to me...for sure I would get even...eventually. I would un-friend them...literally. Over time the two guys made peace but the movie doesn't really mention it other than a written statement at the end of the movie.
I think Zuckerberg probably has AS, but Eisenberg went a bit over the top in his portrayal of him (and had never even met him until AFTER the film was released.)
The breakup scene at the beginning of the movie is false...Mark was dating Priscilla before Harvard and is still with her now.
Do I feel bad if I have "hurt" people? I think it is too easy to take on the responsibility for other people's feelings. There are some people who's feelings I could not care less about....and others who matter very much to me.
I don't think having AS makes a person "nice" or "kind" or "good" - it's just a different way of seeing the world.
Now if I was dependent on someone...that would be different and I would be very careful about not displeasing them..cause upsetting someone with power over me could be dangerous.
I believe that it is very possible he has aspergers. It is not likely that he feels bad for hurting anyone because he feels he did the right thing. There is a right/wrong, black/white aspect to aspergers. If he feels he is doing the 'right' thing, regardless if he is or not, he will not have much, if any, remorse.
He was also driven by ideas by the man who created Napster. He may have also believed that as he continued to add to Facebook, it then became HIS, because it was much different than the original idea that was suggested. Or he may have even thought that one idea that he added is what made it successful. Regardless, he felt it was somehow his own creation.
My daughter and I also have aspergers. Both of us would feel that we put the largest amount of work into this creation and would have little understanding for others gaining from it (even if it is correct from a legal standpoint).
But I also realize that aspergers is on a SPECTRUM, as I would hope everyone on this blog would realize. But I see the symptoms I have in him.
I am married to an Aspie and it took us a long way to learn about it. Before that it was all about a series of complaints I've made "against"his responses of "_ I don't see it the way you do! You act like a fool!". Today we've found strategies to deal with our different kinds of mind, and he's been doing a considerable effort to deal with people and social situations.
To me, Mark Z. seemed to have Asperger's, according to the portrait the actor showed at the movie. If he is somehow close to that, I'd say he's an Aspie.
There is not a checklist for AS that everyone falls into. Symptoms vary in degree. Just as no two manic depressants are the same. AS is a form of Autism. Autism has varying degrees and out of the spectrum of Autism, AS fits into a more neatly defined symptoms. There is not a perfect checklist that all AS are going to fit into. Even in the spectrum of AS, there is mild to moderate degrees in itself. So what I'm trying to point out is AS is a mild form of Autism and AS also has degrees from mild to moderate symptoms. No one fits into a neatly wrapped basket with all the same ingredients. Mark Zuckerberg seems to have symptoms of AS but only he and his family know to what degree! I do believe he has it!
Aspies DO NOT experience GUILT. As far as remorse if you expect it then you are guilty and do not deserve it hence you are not given it. Take some steps to remove your own butthurt before approaching the aspy then you have proven worthy of their time until you provide an emotional path to fix your own self no person aspy or other wise can fix you.
I do not think the reason you have that Zuckerberg does not have Asperger, is something good. I have Asperger to have met many others with Asperger, sorry if my English is bad
Here's the thing, just because you (and your son) have Asperger's, doesn't mean that any other people with Asperger's have the same characteristics. The fault in your "deduction" is called generalization, which by the way has always been a weak way to support a conclusion. I myself have Asperger's and I can assure you that most of the time I don't feel remorse or guilt. But that doesn't mean that all Aspies are like me. That's why we are all humans, with our own characters, not robots.
I am an adult asperger.
There are some traits that can be seen in photos of aspergers smiling. See some photos of aspergers and hardly notice that they smile. Look at your eyes, they are the secret.
Aspergers do not smile with your eyes.
Mark can smile, I believe he is not asperger.
He knows smile.
The smile of a asperger's different. Take a photo of your children smiling and watch the eyes.
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