Why is it common for people with Asperger’s/HFA to have higher-than-average IQs?

[Tesseract]

Just wondering is it is a well-known fact that Aspie traits are common within people in science and engineering fields.

Your title question is, "Why is it common for people with Asperger's/HFA to have higher than average IQ's?". Why do you seem to be associating "high IQ" with "works in science/engineering"? Many people who have Asperger's/HFA are, and contrary to what many believe, completely disinterested in science, and have other "obsessions" like geography or history, or architecture or politics.

 

[Tesseract]

I have never taken a formal IQ test and don't know what my score is, but I'm sure that I'm of at least average intelligence. People tell me that I'm intelligent.

I've completed quite a few online, and the results have been all over the place, between 110 and 143. I don't believe they truly measure intelligence at all, but so many people like to have something neat and handy to brag about to their "friends" whenever the opportunity, and their desire, arises. I've been told by many that I am intelligent as well, but that's probably just because I tend to like, and be interested in, subjects that most people probably find boring (ex. computer strategy games, Byzantine history, theology...). That doesn't make me intelligent, just different, but I guess most people are just easily impressed.

 

[Relm]

When I'm interested in something, it's an all or nothing sort of deal. I spend all my free time researching the hell out of it.

I got an A in my chemistry courses because I was overly obsessed with the subject. I'd read the book, read more on wikipedia, watch youtube videos on the subject, get bored in class because I had read ahead and knew the material.

But in my English class, I couldn't have cared less about what ever books we were reading and ended up with a B.

Because I was good at chemistry, others considered me very smart. But I still feel like I'm at best average? If I wasn't interested in chem I would probably have gotten a C in the class.