Well, Tom, I'm not gonna lie, I'd really actually like to believe that autistic people are people who really are incredibly more intelligent than other people are. As I said, they do use more of their brain, so maybe the so-called imaginary world they live in is really what is there, but "normal" folks don't see. Plus, with the whole "lack of pruning" bit, they technically have access to neural pathways that are normally cut out because their particular culture does not use them... Those pathways are still THERE so, in theory, they could access them.

But again, I've read more studies that show no link in brain size to intelligence as it is generally defined than otherwise. I've read studies that say that more myelin on the neurons can contribute to higher level of intelligence... technically, this does increase the size of brain, so I suppose that could be what you meant? I particularly meant brain size at birth. A lot of the reason I say this is because men are generally born with a slightly larger brain than women. And there is not one study that shows integrity and is accredited that claims that men are smarter than women. Period. There are plenty of studies that show that women actually use MORE of their brain. Men tend to have a heavily myelinated "novelty" hemisphere of the brain, with fewer connections to the "reasoning" hemisphere-which, in men, is also less myelinated than the average woman's "reasoning" hemisphere. (Please forgive that I've forgotten exactly which hemisphere is which, I don't want to misquote). This is why men are generally more capable of taking orders and just DOING something-it's where the stereotypical man who does not ask for directions or read the instruction booklet comes in. Women-for the most part-have to really think everything out. They over-analyze... and this can come about with women being less creative about solutions. Perhaps this is why there are more male "geniuses" than female? Anyways, the point is, that technically, while the majority of men have bigger brains, they actually use less of their brain on a regular basis, but score relatively the same as women on IQ tests. I do mean this as "most" women and men... not all. There are always exceptions.

-Myelin, btw, for anyone that doesn't know, is a fatty coating over neurons that allows for a quicker passing of the electrical impulse we call a "thought". They make up "white matter" in the human brain.