The Random Cluster Argument
I was having a deep dive with Claude today about the evolutionary origins of autism, and it made a point that stopped me cold:
"Autistic traits don't cluster randomly. They cluster in ways that look suspiciously like cognitive specialization."
Think about it. If autism were just "brain damage" or a "genetic mistake," the symptoms would be random. But they aren't. We consistently see the same package:
- Intense focus.
- Deep pattern recognition.
- Resistance to social conformity.
- Heightened sensory processing.
- Preference for truth over social lubrication.
That isn't a "grab bag of deficits." That is a Job Description.
The Hunter-Gatherer Lens
In a modern office, these traits are annoying. In a tribe of 50 people on the savanna, these traits kept everyone alive.
You needed the person who would obsessively track seasonal patterns. You needed the person who could knap a flint blade better than anyone because they'd done it ten thousand times and noticed micro-variations in the stone.
You needed the loner who mapped the stars while everyone else was gossiping around the fire. You needed the person who wouldn't just nod along with the Chief's bad idea because of social pressure.
We weren't the "broken" members of the tribe. We were the R&D department.
The Balancing Selection
Genetically, this makes sense. Autism is highly polygenic—hundreds of genes contribute small effects. That is the signature of something evolution is maintaining, not eliminating. If it were purely harmful, natural selection would have scrubbed it out thousands of generations ago.
It persists because it is necessary.
The Tragedy of the Open Office
The tragedy isn't the neurology. The tragedy is that modern environments are uniquely hostile to this profile.
We built a world of open offices, fluorescent lights, small talk as social currency, and constant context-switching. We built a world designed for the Generalist, not the Specialist.
As Claude put it perfectly: "It's almost like saying a deep-sea fish has a 'disorder' because it struggles on land."
The Protocol: You are not a broken land animal. You are a perfectly functioning deep-sea creature. Stop trying to climb trees and go find your water.
