We argue that
hyper-systemizing predisposes individuals to show talent, and review evidence that hyper-systemizing is part of the cognitive style of people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). We then clarify the hyper-systemizing theory, contrasting it to the weak central coherence (WCC) and executive dysfunction (ED) theories. The ED theory has difficulty explaining the existence of talent in ASC. While both hyper-systemizing and WCC theories postulate
excellent attention to detail, by itself excellent attention to detail will not produce talent. By contrast, the hyper-systemizing theory argues that the excellent attention to detail is directed towards detecting ‘if p, then q’ rules (or [input–operation–output] reasoning). Such law-based pattern recognition systems can produce talent in systemizable domains. Finally, we argue that the excellent attention to detail in ASC is itself a consequence of
sensory hypersensitivity. We review an experiment from our laboratory demonstrating sensory hypersensitivity detection thresholds in vision. We conclude that the origins of the association between autism and talent begin at the sensory level, include excellent attention to detail and end with hyper-systemizing.
Savantism is found more commonly in autism spectrum conditions (ASC) than in any other neurological group (see
Howlin 2009), and the majority of those with savantism have an ASC (
Hermelin 2002). This ‘comorbidity’ (or to use the more neutral term ‘co-occurrence’, since comorbidity is a strange term to use when one of the characteristics is not a disability) shows us that these two profiles are associated well above chance. This forces us to ask: why the link between talent and autism?
In this paper, we argue that while savantism (defined as prodigious talent) is only seen in a subgroup of people with ASC, a universal feature of the autistic brain is
excellent attention to detail (
Shah & Frith 1993;
Jolliffe & Baron-Cohen 1997;
O'Riordan et al. 2001). Furthermore, we argue that excellent attention to detail exists in ASC because of evolutionary forces positively selecting brains for
strong systemizing, a highly adaptive human ability (
Baron-Cohen 2008).
Strong systemizing requires excellent attention to detail, and in our view the latter is in the service of the former. Attention occurs at an early level of cognition, while systemizing is a fairly high-level aspect of cognition. Next, we argue that one can trace excellent attention to detail to its basis in
sensory hypersensitivity in ASC. Finally, in this paper, we review an experiment from our laboratory in vision, which points to sensory hypersensitivity in ASC, and briefly describe our research programme exploring this in other modalities (olfaction, hearing and touch). But first, what is systemizing?
Talent in autism comes in many forms, but a common characteristic is that the individual becomes an expert in
recognizing repeating patterns in stimuli. We call this systemizing, defined as the drive to analyse or construct systems. These might be any kind of system. What defines a system is that it follows
rules, and when we systemize we are trying to identify the rules that govern the system, in order to predict how that system will behave (
Baron-Cohen 2006). These are some of the major kinds of system
- collectible systems (e.g. distinguishing between types of stones or wood);
- mechanical systems (e.g. a video recorder or a window lock);
- numerical systems (e.g. a train timetable or a calendar);
- abstract systems (e.g. the syntax of a language or musical notation);
- natural systems (e.g. the weather patterns or tidal wave patterns);
- social systems (e.g. a management hierarchy or a dance routine with a dance partner); and
- motoric systems (e.g. throwing a Frisbee or bouncing on a trampoline).
In all these cases, one systemizes by noting regularities (or structure) and rules. The rules tend to be derived by noting if p and q are
associated in a systematic way. The general formulation of what happens during systemizing is one looks for laws of the form ‘if p, then q’. If it is Friday, then we eat fish. If we multiply 3 by itself, then we get 9. If we turn the switch to the down position, then the light comes on. When we think about the kinds of domains in which savants typically excel, it is those domains that are highly systemizable.
