Who here doesn't have Asperger's?

[elsmere241]

As an actual physicist, it sorta drives me up the wall a bit when I meet someone, they ask what I do, and they respond, "Oh, so you're like the guys on The Big Bang Theory."

My father is a chemist, and Sheldon and Bernadette remind me of him a bit too much.

[vdeane]

I'm not on the spectrum in any way, shape, or form. If anything, people have told me that I actually pick up social cues better than the average person does.

However, I have some social anxiety brought on by depression. I've never been bullied per se, but I often feel like everyone I talk to secretly thinks that I'm stupid or that I'm not worth their time. I really think I'm a good person, but I constantly worry about the mistakes I make as if they aren't forgivable. In a nutshell, I beat myself up because I worry what others perceive me as. I love all of my friends dearly, but it's like my own conscience always haunts me and I frequently apologize for things that aren't my fault or don't need apologies.

Being "too good" at reading social situations can actually CAUSE social anxiety and depression.  Having a "normal" social life requires a bit of obliviousness.  If everyone avoided interacting with other people whenever they thought the other person might not want to be bothered or might perceive something negatively, humans would be a very solitary species.

[Scott5114]

On the other hand, Sheldon Cooper is an extreme (or more appropriately, caricatural) aspie, with OCD thrown into that.

"That's MY spot!"

The word you seek is "stereotypical." That show pisses me off tremendously because it portrays nerds in such a stereotypical light. Having spent five years among them, I can vouch that the show is completely inaccurate. Also, it makes fun of someone with a speech impediment for no reason at all.

The first thing I thought when I saw this show (aside from "this is awful") was that I have lived near MIT for years and even worked there for several, and nobody I met there was as dull as the people on that show.  The real nerds are a far weirder group, in a good way.

As an actual physicist, it sorta drives me up the wall a bit when I meet someone, they ask what I do, and they respond, "Oh, so you're like the guys on The Big Bang Theory."

Try mentioning owning a business without getting a recommendation that you go on "Shark Tank".

The problem with The Big Bang Theory is not that it portrays nerds. Its problem is that it portrays what people who aren't nerds think nerds are like. That and the fact that for much of the timespan that the label "nerd" has been a thing, it's been an excuse to marginalize or pick on people, so having a whole show about it feels like more of the same.

[dgolub]

The problem with The Big Bang Theory is not that it portrays nerds. Its problem is that it portrays what people who aren't nerds think nerds are like. That and the fact that for much of the timespan that the label "nerd" has been a thing, it's been an excuse to marginalize or pick on people, so having a whole show about it feels like more of the same.

This.  I've never watched The Big Bang Theory, but the use of "nerd" and "geek" as slurs is very real, especially directed against children by other children.

[Pete from Boston]

The problem with The Big Bang Theory is not that it portrays nerds. Its problem is that it portrays what people who aren't nerds think nerds are like. That and the fact that for much of the timespan that the label "nerd" has been a thing, it's been an excuse to marginalize or pick on people, so having a whole show about it feels like more of the same.

This.  I've never watched The Big Bang Theory, but the use of "nerd" and "geek" as slurs is very real, especially directed against children by other children.

As has been beaten to death here already, these terms are now embraced by adults in the same way "queer" is embraced by gay and lesbian people.  It is fashionable to do so, in fact.

[KEK Inc.]

I find many of these 'autism' diagnostics are more damaging since people get locked into a mindset that it's a psychological disorder they can't change or handle.  People definitely have personalities, and some people don't like to socialize.  I don't really consider that abnormal, even though society favors social behavior. 

[Pete from Boston]

Pentagon 2008 study claims Putin has Asperger's syndrome

A study from a Pentagon think tank theorizes that Russian President Vladimir Putin has Asperger's syndrome, "an autistic disorder which affects all of his decisions," according to the 2008 report obtained by USA TODAY.

Putin's "neurological development was significantly interrupted in infancy," wrote Brenda Connors, an expert in movement pattern analysis at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, R.I. Studies of his movement, Connors wrote, reveal "that the Russian President carries a neurological abnormality."

For what it's worth, there are lots of articles debunking this theory as well.  I just thought it was amusing given its timing here.