Subway trains might not always be on time, but they operate on a set of simple and well-known rules governing boarding, payment, transfer, etc. You know exactly where you're going (as long as you pay attention), how you're going to get there, and how much you're going to pay for the trip. It's all algorithmic, mechanical, and quintessentially modernist. Moreover, once you get used to a route, you can memorize every turn, anticipate every loud squeak, know exactly when you will cross a bridge, enter a tunnel, or go past a certain building. No wonder autistic minds love trains.<p>I'm on the spectrum, and the city where I grew up in (Seoul) was in the middle of a major expansion of its subway system while I was a teenager. I'm sure I tried every new line, every possible combination of routes. I knew the entire system by heart; I could tell you in a heartbeat the most efficient way to get from any station to any other station.<p>20 years later, I'm still fascinated by maps and other geographical databases. I built the only FOSS postal code search engine in the country, currently used by over a thousand online stores to validate shipping information. IMHO my program is way better than commercial alternatives because developers who work for $large_corporation simply aren't as familiar as I am with how the various administrative divisions of my country were conceived and have evolved over time.