Several weeks ago, a Facebook friend mentioned this test, which seems to indicate a person's proclivity toward details and systematizing quotient (whatever that is). He had scored 56 and noted that the designers of the test report that people who are high-functioning autistics or who have aspergers syndrome are quite likely to score in the 40s or 50s or higher on the test.
When I took the test, I scored 48. I retook it, emphasizing my more extreme tendencies, and scored 55. Then I retook it, de-emphasizing them and scored 39. So I figure the score of 48 is probably about right for me. The average for men is about 36 and for women is about 29. Friends scored all over the place, with my son and Jack scoring in the mid-20s, a PR friend in the 40s, an artist friend in the 20s and another friend in the teens. Here is a graph of the results of people who have taken the test:
The test seems more to focus on attention to detail and what I think of as curiosity or zest for learning. I certainly am not autistic and do not have aspergers syndrome; and I never really thought of myself as very obsessive or compulsive (maybe a bit, but not very.... really).
The same site has several other tests, including one which might be more indicative of whether a person is a high-functioning autistic or aspey. My results:
Your score: 22
0 - 10 = low
11 - 22 = average (most women score about 15 and most men score about 17) [EE: huh? see below]
23 - 31 = above average
32 - 50 is very high (most people with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism score about 35)
50 is maximum
and here is a graph of the results for everyone who has taken that test:
As you can see, my score of 22 on this test is slightly below the male average and slightly above the female average.
So why the high score on the first test? I think it has something to do with some (not all) aspects of my life in which I'm curious about things or in which I pay attention to details. Some people have said that when I manage something I tend to micro-manage; and yet in other aspects I seem almost oblivious to details.
In the end, the tests were interesting to take and to discuss with friends, but they didn't really tell me much about myself that I didn't already know.