Pie Palace

A couple of years back I wrote a javascript version of a quasi-diagnostic test used to help diagnose Asperger syndrome. I wrote it for a lark: I was working with peeps that were socially awkward (like me), and I wanted to play with javascript. I stuck it on this blog and forgot about it.

Today I noticed a link from Common Sense Atheism pissing on some god-botherer’s ebook. It turns out that my AQ test has been tramping around the intertubes and is now moonlighting in theist/freethinker debates.

The apple falls close to the tree.

I occasionally get emails regarding the Asperger test hosted here on PiePalace. Some of them are heartbreaking:

I am trying to find information on how to test my son for Asperger’s. [... he has a hard time socializing... has difficulties with kids his own age...] Our insurance does not provide for testing and I can not afford to have him tested.

I know Canada’s health care system has problems, but at least anyone can get their kid in front of a doctor.

Woohoo! My first hate mail!

So you think Asperger’s syndrome is some sort of fucking joke for you and your jackass nerd idiot friends?

What do you have that we can make fun of? Impotence? A huge ass?

Feel free to mock: my insouciance, my wacky political beliefs, my gadget addiction, not owning a car, the amount of time I spend in front of a computer, the amount of time it takes me to answer my email, etc.

This love-in brought to you by the Pie Palace AQ Test.

Geeks abound in my profession. The geekiest of the geeks are socially awkward, uncoordinated, obsessed with our own narrow interests. It turns out that there’s a medical condition called Asperger syndrome whose list of symptoms are very similar to the behaviour of the stereotypical geek. Interestingly, Asperger syndrome is described as a highly functional form of autism.

One of the diagnostic tests used to determine if someone is an aspie is an Asperger Quotient (AQ) test. The test consists of 50 questions, which quantify problems with social skills, attention switching, communication/imagination, and exaggerated attention to detail.

I’ve webified the AQ test. It allows you to calculate your AQ, and shows your in comparison to those common to certain professions.