How to thrive as a visual thinker in a verbal world by celebrated author, academic and autism-rights activist Temple Grandin. Do you think in pictures, patterns or words? Do you have a keen sense of direction, a love of puzzles, the ability to assemble furniture without crying? You are likely a visual thinker. In a world engineered for the verbal thinker, those of us with a visual brain can often be overlooked and underestimated. In this landmark book, bestselling author of The Autistic Brain Temple Grandin delves into the world of the visual thinker and reveals the hidden powers of this remarkable ability. With her genius for demystifying science, Temple Grandin takes us inside the brains of these thinkers, who constitute a far greater proportion of the population than previously believed, from the photorealistic "object visualizers" like Grandin herself, with their intuitive knack for design and problem solving, to the abstract, mathematically inclined "visual spatial" thinkers. Drawing on the latest research and her own experience as a visual thinker, Grandin makes us understand how a world increasingly geared to the verbal tends to sideline visual thinkers, and she proposes new approaches to educating, parenting, employing, and collaborating with them.
This is a perspective shifting book that will open your mind to the value of a life in picture.
"Grandin has helped us understand autism not just as a phenomenon, but as a different but coherent mode of existence that otherwise confounds us
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- The New York Times
"Ms. Grandin has. . . written an indictment of America for its witting or unwitting dismissal of those hidden gifts. . . . Ms. Grandin crafts a strong depiction of visual thinking, assembling personal history, historical anecdotes, scientific studies and societal trends. At stake is more than manufacturing, but a vivid recognition of the full breadth of human ingenuity."
- Wall Street Journal
"All of us could benefit from realizin that we need different kinds of minds to solve society's biggest problems. Hopefully this book will inspire readers to look at the world in different ways so that we might better recognize the many assets each of us brings to the table."
- Science
"Drawing on cutting-edge research, the history of science, recent discoveries in creativity and innovation, and her own lived experience, Grandin has created a powerful and provocative testament to the diverse coalition of minds we'll need to face the mounting challenges of the twenty-first century."
- Steve Silberman, author of NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity
"Those who believe that human intelligence rests on language are in for a sophisticated lesson from Temple Grandin, who better than anyone knows all the other ways of grasping the world. An absolute eye-opener."
- Frans de Waal, author of Mama's Last Hug and Different
"Temple Grandin has concocted a delicious dish of provocative ideas and new research, served in clear, logical, fluid prose. What I love most about her work is her seamless fusion of scientific detachment and passionate empathy."
- Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind
"If you want to understand how a self- described 'visual thinker' apprehends, understands, and explains the world, Temple Grandin's fine book is for you."
- Howard Gardner, author of Multiple Intelligences and Frames of Mind