My Great-grandfather and Neurodivergence

[stormdog]

As folks may know, I have wondered whether I (and later, some immediate family members) were on the autism spectrum since I first encountered the concept in my 20s. I've been pretty sure that there is neurodivergence of some kind there.

I was told by a family member today that my great-grandfather, who not incidentally was a professional research chemist and a founding member of CalTech's ham radio club, customarily reversed the utensils for his table settings. He thought it would be more efficient if the utensils started out under the hand that they were going to be used by; otherwise there's wasted effort.

I'd often suspected, given his career and interests, that he was neurodivergent, maybe autistic, and somehow that little tidbit goes a long way to confirming that in my mind.

I say this every time I talk about him, but I really wish I could have met him.

Comments

[acelightning73]

I remember there were two diffferent formal ways to set a table - American and COntinental. COntinental style involved setting down your knife and picking up your fork to eat each bite of food, which made it take longer to finish a meal, and where there were implements like the fish fork, the demitasse spoon, the butter knife, and the side plate for disposing of bones, artichoke leaves, and cornsilk and other inedible bits. The switching from knife to fork business would have driven your great-grandfaher mad.