There have been a lot of jokes about JM being Rain Man and a lot of disbelief that anyone could be so socially awkward and clueless about the true motives of those who pretend to be his friends. But I can't help wonder if Daniel
actually is autistic.
I should say up front that I've had no psychiatric or other medical training. But I have young children, and after the vaccine/autism bull**** that was in the news I've done a bit of research on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Take a look at some of the things I found tonight in a quick Wikipedia search (lol wikipediaments). Below is the section on characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders, in its entirety, although the bolded parts were obv chosen by me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wikipedia
AUTISM SPECTRUM - CHARACTERISTICS
The defining characteristics of autism spectrum disorders are qualitative impairments of social communication and interaction, along with restricted and repetitive activities and interests. Individual symptoms occur in the general population and appear not to associate highly, without a sharp line separating pathological severity from common traits. Other aspects of ASD, such as atypical eating, are also common but are not essential for diagnosis; they can affect the individual or the family.
An estimated 0.5% to 10% of individuals with ASD show unusual abilities, ranging from splinter skills such as the memorization of trivia to the extraordinarily rare talents found in autistic savants.
Making and maintaining friendships often proves to be difficult for children with autism. For them, the quality of friendships, not the number of friends, predicts how lonely they are, despite the common belief that they prefer to be alone. Being on the autism spectrum does not keep children from understanding race and gender stereotypes in a society; like normal children they can learn aspects of stereotypical behaviour by observing their parents' actions.
So maybe Daniel's shy, awkward demeanor actually goes much deeper. It sounds like he's had difficulty building and maintaining meaningful relationships, and he's also shown extraordinary abilities in a restricted interest (poker). If this is the case, it's imperative that we take it into account when considering his role in this drama.
Here we have someone who is arguably the best HU player in the world and filthy rich as a result, but who might be utterly incapable of the social interactions we take for granted, and who might find it impossible to judge the true motives of those around him. And what kinds of people might gravitate to a rich, talented guy who can't judge character? Scumbags who want to leech off of him. He's got a publicist who used to run ponzi schemes and a "best friend" who, if the mounting evidence is correct, was trying to siphon off Daniel's wealth and talents for his own.
Despite his admitted inconsistencies and questionable behavior, Daniel could very well have been both a victim and a mark.