Did you test positive for autism? You may have autism. Or you could just be a philosopher

It used to be called Asperger's Syndrome. A new suggestion for the upcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association and expected to appear in May 2013, is to get rid of that term and include the condition under the label 'high-functioning autism'. Now take a look at some of the characteristics of high-functioning autism:

1. Obsession with a particular subject matter
2. Extremely good memory for details that seem quite irrelevant or uninteresting to others
3. Excellent theory of mind but inability to apply it to their own social encounters, unless trained
4. Exaggerated eye contact or lack of eye contact, unless trained
5. Poor face recognition skills
6. Difficulties remembering names
7. Show unusual attachment to objects or locations
8. Prefer to spend time alone and are often lost in their own thoughts
9. Hypersensitivity in sight, hearing, touch/body sensation, smell or taste (super-sensers)
10. Show unusual distress when routines are changed

A good number of these ten criteria apply to about 90 percent of philosophers I know... Go figure!