What People Think You Can’t Say in Silicon Valley
My impression is that it is not only about topics, but also <i>perceived</i> intentions (and if you step, however unintentionally, on a trigger (of a landmine)).<p>I wrote Dating for Nerds: Gender differences (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;p.migdal.pl&#x2F;2017&#x2F;09&#x2F;30&#x2F;dating-for-nerds-gender-differences.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;p.migdal.pl&#x2F;2017&#x2F;09&#x2F;30&#x2F;dating-for-nerds-gender-differ...</a>) and got no backlash (much to my surprise, though).<p>From my experience nerds (and aspies in particular) talk mostly to exchange information (learn, share). Same questions are being understood by neurotypicals as expressing intentions, in a covert way.<p>Nerd: I read that X, on the average, are less interested in tech.<p>A non-nerd reads it as: I want to kick out all X from tech. &#x2F; I consider X inferior.<p>A non-nerd disagrees with the perceived intention and fights back, while a nerd perceives it as immunity to facts and unwillingness for a discussion.<p>That said:<p>- not all nerds are well-intentioned and open-minded<p>- workplace is not a place for all possible talks (or other social activities); if it makes people feel bad, excluded or less productive - it may be an argument to keep such discussions outside of the workplace; in particular, workplace is not an evolutionary biology discussion club<p>And BTW, from &quot;Interpersonal Traits of Aspies Placed in Context&quot;: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;gist.github.com&#x2F;stared&#x2F;00ce50e95f9bcecc8965feb04650c19d" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;gist.github.com&#x2F;stared&#x2F;00ce50e95f9bcecc8965feb04650c...</a> see &quot;Not Recognizing &#x27;Yellow Light&#x27; Conditions&quot; and even more: &quot;Doesn&#x27;t Apologize Readily&quot;.