Autism and the Clash of Cognitive Cultures

How a particular cognitive style reshaped organizations and is now reshaping the US government

In the summer of 2022, Elon Musk acquired Twitter (now X). Mainstream media outlets buzzed with narratives about his erratic leadership style—from loosening content moderation to firing 6000 people—80% of the organization. What they failed to grasp was what his actions represented: the rise of a management model rooted in autistic cognitive style. A cognitive style that clashes with the cultures created by the 98% of neurotypical people, but one being re-embraced by other technology companies and now spreading beyond Silicon Valley into the US government and the many organizations it supports.

The exchange between then-CEO Parag Agrawal and Musk epitomizes the clash between neurotypical and autistic cognitive styles—Agrawal emphasizing social cohesion and Musk favoring directness - “what did you get done this week?”.

Text exchange between then-CEO Parag Agrawal and Elon Musk; April 9, 2022

The Rise of Autism Culture

Autism, once framed as a deficit in social cognition, is associated with enhanced rationality. In their 2021 review of the literature in Trends in Cognitive Science, Rosenkrantz conclude that the

“empirical evidence strongly suggests that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) display enhanced rationality: judgments that are more objective and decision-making that is less biased than that of neurotypical individuals.”

Less emotional decision making, less reliance on intuition, more logic and consistency in decisions, less sunk-cost bias, less effect of how information is presented, less focus on desirable information over undesirable information, less blindly following norms, and less likely to fall for the Linda problem:

Linda is 31 years old, single, outspoken, and very bright. She majored in philosophy. As a student, she was deeply concerned with issues of discrimination and social justice, and also participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations.

Which is more probable?

1. Linda is a bank teller.

2. Linda is a bank teller and is active in the feminist movement.