Autism and Genius

           Jake Barnett, a slightly autistic child prodigy, has got it made. At age 8, he was accepted into college. At age 13, he is now a paid scientific researcher and a celebrity on his campus. His capacity for memory and understanding of math and science seems to have no bounds. How is this possible, you ask? How can an eight-year-old have such remarkable brain-power that he can learn 200 digits of pi in an afternoon and the entire high-school math curriculum in two weeks? Because of autism.
          As a young child, he showed the usual symptoms of being antisocial, not making eye contact, being lost in his own world, spilling a box of Cheerios on the carpet and sorting through them (apparently). He was in a sort of social bubble, and needed help getting out. His family hired a tutor, and he has overcome his disability to an extent that he can give demonstrations and advice at his university.
          The particular type of autism he has been diagnosed with is called Asperger's Syndrome, whose symptoms include lowered empathy, specific and intense interests, and social ineptitude. It also seems to produce aptitude in math and science, and he attributes his success to it.
          I think Jake has a bright future and I aspire to be like him, an insightful expert in many fields. I sincerely hope he does the world some good.