The broader problem is that academic interviewers, like other interviewers, are trying to learn whether candidates are considerate, empathetic, responsible, and otherwise good to work with in a long-term collegial relationship. Instead, they’re learning about candidates’ temperaments and chatting skills. Price’s student with autism will suffer from this. I have a friend (who will probably interview just fine, honestly, since he’s pretty self-aware) who puts all his flaws upfront. He’s belligerent and loud and (sometimes) comes off as a slightly mean know-it-all. I would want to work with him any day, because when people are actually in distress, he is reliably there to help. You can’t know that in an interview; you can know if people are good conversationalists; so people hire based on the latter when they want to know the former.

Who says this isn’t a funny blog?