On Saturday 23 April 2005 20:19, Rod Engelsman wrote: > Culture question: Why are some people on the Linux user's lists > such assholes? I know you get a few everywhere, but they seem > particularly prevalent there. They're like children.
It is probably a matter of finding the right Linux user group (LUG) for you. I suppose that it's like any other club affiliation: you just have to find the right group for you. The linux mafia group I have found is pretty accepting of a simple end user like me. You might want to try going here and lurking for a while: http://linuxmafia.com/cabal They have a odd sense of humor. As I say, I would recommend that you lurk for a while, and then introduce yourself, and let them know your skill level, and then go ahead and ask them a question, if it is answers that you are after. It is possible that many members of Linux users groups have what might be referred to as a "too male" brain. I recall reading a reasonably well researched magazine article recently which showed that 9 out of 10 autism patients are male. Dustin Hoffman's character in Rainman was autistic. Autistics are referred to as having a "too male" brain. Apparently, there are structures in the hardwiring of the human brain which can form the partial basis of social sophistication, or lack thereof. Autistics have a reduced inability to anticipate or process subtle cues in interpersonal behavior, and in extreme cases, have trouble recognizing other human beings as being other than mere automotons. And yet autistics often have a remarkable ability to recall quantity associations, like Dustin Hoffman's ability to recall precisely dates and times on which hundreds of airplane crashes happened, the airliner, and the number of people who died in the crash. They can count cards in multiple card decks. They can remember the names of capitols of countries who many people can't correctly place on a continent. Computer skills tend to play to these same type of requirements. I recently met a genius level hacker who was able to remember the kinds of memory cards in ancient, obscure computers. I was at an installfest, and this guy was able to go from computer to computer, answering questions off the top of his head that other seriously talented computer hackers had to research. This guy was literally easier to use than Google. And yet he was very very socially awkward, even though he was extremely highly regarded by the entire group. Richard Stallman is a classic example of this. The man is an absolute genius, and probably will earn a place in history up there with some of the greatest thinkers of all time. And yet in person, he is cranky, demanding, ill-humored and often condescending. But he is also very generous with his time and a great teacher, if you are able to get past his personal foibles. I bet that Windows user groups just have bigger numbers, and draw from a broader cross-section of society. Also, since Windows is designed for very very simple end users, it probably draws in people who don't need the kind of rigorous analytical skills which, until recently, was required of Linux users. That's just my guess. Autism is not a threshold syndrome, where you either have it or you don't; it's a granular syndrome, which exists in varying degrees in many men. So it's possible that you might be dealing with low-grade autistics. So when you encounter problems in LUGs, look for parallels between their behavior and Dustin Hoffman's Rainman character. So if people on computer lists are abrupt and socially awkward, mentally flag them as potential autistics. Be very clear with them; anticipate sudden course changes; and when they display socially awkward behavior, try to look past the socially awkward part to the merits of what they are saying. > > Rod
