Valleywag
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crime
Pentagon hacker latest to use the Asperger's defense
Gary McKinnon, the U.K. citizen trying to avoid extradition to the U.S. to stand trial on multiple counts of criminal trespass for using a 56k modem to hack into the Pentagon's network in search of UFO evidence, is trying a new tactic. Having lost his appeal, his attorneys are now pointing to a recent diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome as a reason to indefinitely delay his flight across the pond. While the Asperger's defense is nothing new, it has become particularly popular as a gambit by lawyers to excuse the behavior of geeks gone bad. Though not without much success — it certainly didn't work for convicted murderer Hans Reiser. (Photo by AP/Lefteris Pitarakis) -
silicon valley users guide
Coping with Asperger's: A survival manual for Mark Zuckerberg
After Mark Zuckerberg's awkward Lesley Stahl interview on 60 Minutes, after his infamous SXSW keynote with Sarah Lacy and, finally, after yesterday's halting CNBC interview, it's time the poor suffering Facebook CEO got some help. Getting a copy of Marc Segar's "Coping: A Survival Guide for People with Asperger Syndrome and pointing out the relevant bits might do the trick. Even brassy Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg isn't gutsy enough for the job, we're betting, so we will. To be sure, we're not doctors. We don't know if Zuckerberg has Asperger's. But experts would agree, his obvious brilliance is as much a symptom as his inability to hold a conversation. And the advice below would seem to apply whether or not the diagnosis does.
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hans reiser
Is the Asperger's Gambit today's Twinkie Defense?
Attorneys for software developer and convicted murder Hans Reiser are now trying to convince a judge and jury that their client is "mentally incompetent," having portrayed what looked like attempts to cover up a crime as the misunderstanding of social cues. Their suggestion: Reiser has the mild form of autism known as Asperger's syndrome. If successful, Reiser would be jailed at a mental institution instead of with the general population, where the resemblance to Tobias "Toby" Beecher on HBO's Oz would not serve him well. Sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday, July 9th. (Photo by AP/D. Ross Cameron) -
Publicity-starved Portland doctor pimps Asperger's symptoms as Internet addiction
"Dr. Block says about 86 percent of Internet addicts have some other form of mental illness, but that unless a therapist is looking for it, Internet addiction is likely to be missed." By "other form of mental illness," we're guessing Asperger's sufferers like BitTorrent's not-so-adorably quirky founder Bram Cohen. [Canada.com] (Photo by Irina Slutsky)
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videogames
I would've written this earlier, but I'm about to beat Rainbow Six Vegas 2
Apparently being addicted to videogames is like being addicted to crack, with addicts going through physical withdrawal when they couldn't play. Gaming addicts have personality traits similar to people with Asperger's syndrome. So they'd do well on Wikipedia? [The Telegraph]
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