<p>Yes, that would be a good example of the trend of: “Hey, that successful man had a couple of the traits linked with autism . . . He MUST have been autistic! There is just no other possible explanation!” Having read his books and letters, I don’t see any evidence of social discomfort in Darwin aside from regular old shyness. He had hosts of friends and acquaintances whom he regularly invited people to visit him at the Downs. He kicked off his first inkling of natural selection by conducting extensive interviews of animal breeders. Most people interested in observing nature are prone to long, solitary walks–the more people you have along, the fewer animals you see! I guess hunters and bird watchers are all autistic too? Yes, he collected beetles. I collected rocks and seashells as a kid, without cataloging or organizing them (just like Darwin didn’t catalogue his beetles.) It was because . . . I liked rocks and seashells. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. (Incidentally, having worked for several wildlife biologists, most of them collect something . . . shed antlers, weird fungi, wasp’s nests, things like that. They like nature, that’s why they became wildlife biologists. They also tend to be excellent at social interactions, far more buddy-buddy than, say, chemists.)</p>