Elon Musk admitted that he has Asperger's syndrome: what it is and how it manifests itself

Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk guest-hosted the legendary comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) on the American NBC channel. During the show, he admitted that he had Asperger's syndrome, and in three words brought down the Dogecoin cryptocurrency, which he wrote about on his Twitter several times. Writes about it Air force.

Photo: frame from the show Saturday Night Live / YouTube

“My performance today is truly historic as I am the first person with Asperger's syndrome to host SNL. Or at least the first one to admit it,” Musk said at the beginning of his speech.

He also admitted that he sometimes posts "weird things."

“But that’s just how my brain works,” Musk explained and apologized to those whom he may have offended with his statements.

“I reinvented electric cars, and I'm sending people to Mars in a spaceship. “Did you think I would be a calm and normal guy?” he said.

Elon Musk is known for his extraordinary behavior, his statements on social networks have repeatedly led to strong fluctuations in the price of Tesla shares and cost him hundreds of millions of dollars. Musk was sued for libel, he also used drugs on the air.

In 2018, the American financial regulator took up arms against him because he announced on Twitter that he planned to take Tesla out of the market and make it a private corporation. And when the Covid-19 pandemic led to the closure of the Tesla plant in San Francisco, he began to publicly protest against quarantine restrictions. On Twitter, he called the coronavirus scare “stupid” and the recommendations to stay home “involuntary confinement,” describing them as “fascist” and a violation of constitutional rights.

Last summer, he announced plans to get rid of everything he owns because his possessions were “burdening him down.” And a few days after that, Musk delighted Twitter with the news that his newborn son would be called “X Æ A-12 Musk.”

On the subject: 30 books worth reading: Elon Musk's recommendations

What is Asperger's Syndrome

As the site explains aspergers.ruAsperger's syndrome (also known as Asperger's disorder) in adults is a mental condition that is associated with social developmental disorders. People with Asperger Syndrome are also called Aspies, Aspergers, or Asperger Autists. Asperger's syndrome includes several basic symptoms as well as many additional symptoms that may be present in some cases. If a person does not have underlying symptoms, then they probably do not have Asperger's Syndrome.

Basic symptoms include:

Social difficulties, including at least two of the following:

• Problems with non-verbal communication, including eye contact, facial expressions, and other body language. These issues relate to both non-verbal self-expression and understanding other people's non-verbal communication. (For example, a person does not notice that his interlocutor is bored with the conversation).
• Difficulty establishing and maintaining friendships. Most people with Asperger Syndrome are not antisocial and want friends, but they often find it difficult to fulfill this desire.
• Lack of interest in other people's hobbies, experiences, or interests.
• Reduced ability to engage in two-way social or emotional communication with others.

Repetitive and bounded behavior, including at least one of the following:

• The tendency to follow the same rigid course of action, which often makes no practical sense. Any violation of this order can be very traumatic for people with Asperger's syndrome - they are very difficult to adapt to any changes.
• Repetitive body movements that have no practical meaning, such as tapping your fingers or rocking back and forth.
• Fixation on individual objects or parts thereof, for example, door handles or car wipers.

Some other symptomsthat are often associated with Asperger Syndrome include:

• Extremely organized: People with Asperger Syndrome can plan their time very carefully or arrange all their belongings in a strict order. People with Asperger Syndrome often pay extra attention to detail.
• Clumsiness and poor coordination of movements, which can lead to problems with activities such as handwriting, walking, or playing sports. People with Asperger's Syndrome often have strange posture or movement.
• Although many people with Asperger's syndrome have a very rich vocabulary and above average verbal skills, they may have trouble understanding figurative language. For example, a person with Asperger's syndrome may have difficulty understanding what the phrase “one foot here and one foot there” means.
• Slow or monotonous speech.
• Difficulty with certain sensory sensations, such as bright lights, loud noises, or rough clothing.
• Although people with Asperger Syndrome can find it difficult to understand and empathize with others' emotions, their own emotional responses are usually as strong as those of other people, if not stronger. However, they find it difficult to express their feelings, and what triggers a strong reaction in a person with Asperger Syndrome may seem trivial to other people.
• Difficulty learning, especially with abstract ideas such as numbers. In some cases, people with Asperger's syndrome have difficulty making generalizations - they do not understand that this or that rule applies to other similar situations. For example, a person does not understand that the rule “don’t talk with your mouth full” applies to any food.
• Successful completion of highly structured assignments with a specific goal, but confusion and disorientation if the assignment requires creativity and flexibility of mind.
• People with Asperger Syndrome usually have average or above average IQs. Moreover, it is likely that high intelligence is more common among people with Asperger Syndrome than among the general population.

The above signs are considered significant symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome only if they interfere with the person's ability to function effectively in daily life.

Some experts believe that several prominent historical figures may have had Asperger Syndrome, including:

• Albert Einstein
• British writer Jane Austen
• American artist Andy Warhol
• Charles Darwin
• Marie Curie
• Lewis Carroll, author of "Alice in Wonderland"
• Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates
• Isaac Newton.

Among our contemporaries, according to the statements of some sources, the famous American director Steven Spielberg and the Canadian actor Dan Ackroyd were diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. The fact that she has Asperger's syndrome was announced by the Swedish eco-activist Greta Thunberg.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York

Three words that crashed Dogecoin

The SNL program also featured Musk's mother May Musk.

“I’m looking forward to my gift for Mother’s Day (in the USA it is celebrated on May 9 - BBC note). I hope it’s not Dogecoin?” she asked her son.

“Yes, that’s him,” Musk replied.

Elon Musk has repeatedly mentioned Dogecoin in his tweets this year, which had a positive effect on the rate of this cryptocurrency.

For example, on April 1, Musk announced SpaceX's plans to send Dogcoin to the moon. Half an hour after his tweet, the value of the cryptocurrency on the Binance crypto exchange rose by 20% to $ 0,062, and then continued to grow.

Before the start of the SNL show featuring Musk, Dogecoin was priced at $ 0,66, and fans of this cryptocurrency hoped that Musk would say something on the air that would raise its price even higher.

During the broadcast, Musk actually talked about Dogecoin - and at first everything was good for this cryptocurrency, until something went wrong. The presenters asked him many times what Dogecoin was, and Musk explained that it began as a joke based on an Internet meme, but grew stronger over time.

“This is the future of currency. This is an unstoppable financial instrument that will take over the world,” the businessman said.

Then one of the program participants asked him: “So, this is a scam?”

“Yes, it’s a scam!” - Musk agreed and laughed.

The market reaction was not long in coming. After the show, the Dogecoin rate collapsed to $0,5 - and then continued to fall. As of 15:56 Moscow time, the rate of this cryptocurrency was $0,45.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Elon Musk used a Neuralink chip to teach a monkey to play on a computer with the power of thought

The global shortage of computer chips is not slowing down: what does it threaten

Tesla would have been different without her: Russian woman told about work for Elon Musk

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.