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Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Nonfiction (2022)A landmark book that reveals, celebrates, and advocates for the special minds and contributions of visual thinkers
A quarter of a century after her memoir, Thinking in Pictures, forever changed how the world understood autism, Temple Grandin—the “anthropologist on Mars,” as Oliver Sacks dubbed her—transforms our awareness of the different ways our brains are wired. 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.
With her genius for demystifying science, Grandin draws on cutting-edge research to take us inside visual thinking. Visual thinkers constitute a far greater proportion of the population than previously believed, she reveals, and a more varied one, from the photo-realistic object visualizers like Grandin herself, with their intuitive knack for design and problem solving, to the abstract, mathematically inclined “visual spatial” thinkers who excel in pattern recognition and systemic thinking. She also makes us understand how a world increasingly geared to the verbal tends to sideline visual thinkers, screening them out at school and passing over them in the workplace. Rather than continuing to waste their singular gifts, driving a collective loss in productivity and innovation, Grandin proposes new approaches to educating, parenting, employing, and collaborating with visual thinkers. In a highly competitive world, this important book helps us see, we need every mind on board.
A quarter of a century after her memoir, Thinking in Pictures, forever changed how the world understood autism, Temple Grandin—the “anthropologist on Mars,” as Oliver Sacks dubbed her—transforms our awareness of the different ways our brains are wired. 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.
With her genius for demystifying science, Grandin draws on cutting-edge research to take us inside visual thinking. Visual thinkers constitute a far greater proportion of the population than previously believed, she reveals, and a more varied one, from the photo-realistic object visualizers like Grandin herself, with their intuitive knack for design and problem solving, to the abstract, mathematically inclined “visual spatial” thinkers who excel in pattern recognition and systemic thinking. She also makes us understand how a world increasingly geared to the verbal tends to sideline visual thinkers, screening them out at school and passing over them in the workplace. Rather than continuing to waste their singular gifts, driving a collective loss in productivity and innovation, Grandin proposes new approaches to educating, parenting, employing, and collaborating with visual thinkers. In a highly competitive world, this important book helps us see, we need every mind on board.
340 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2022
1501 people are currently reading
38485 people want to read
About the author
Temple Grandin
160 books1,792 followersMary Temple Grandin is an American academic and animal behaviorist. She is a prominent proponent of the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter and the author of more than 60 scientific papers on animal behavior. Grandin is a consultant to the livestock industry, where she offers advice on animal behavior, and is also an autism spokesperson.
Grandin is one of the first autistic people to document the insights she gained from her personal experiences with autism. She is a faculty member with Animal Sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University.
In 2010, Time 100, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, named her in the "Heroes" category. She was the subject of the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning biographical film Temple Grandin. Grandin has been an outspoken proponent of autism rights and neurodiversity movements.
Grandin is one of the first autistic people to document the insights she gained from her personal experiences with autism. She is a faculty member with Animal Sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University.
In 2010, Time 100, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, named her in the "Heroes" category. She was the subject of the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning biographical film Temple Grandin. Grandin has been an outspoken proponent of autism rights and neurodiversity movements.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 573 reviews
December 10, 2022
I was SO excited to read this. I wanted to learn more about how my own brain works, since I am a deeply visual thinker. What a disappointment. Right away, with NO evidence, Grandin firmly states that writers and those with humanities degrees are categorically verbal thinkers. This becomes the basis of her argument: some people think verbally, and some people think visually. For her, these are firm distinctions (although she reluctantly admits that sometimes it’s a spectrum.) But she never addresses the range; it is almost exclusively painted as either/or, and she confidently assigns thinking types to people she has never interviewed or tested.
While her argument that education and job training pathways should account for more ways of thinking is an essential point that I fully support & believes needs to be explored in policy discourse, there’s no way to trust it because of how insubstantially she builds this point. It’s really just her insistence, and is woefully light on research and evidence.
Worse, she is consistently wrong in her sweeping generalizations. I am a writer by profession—an editor, no less (a job she specifically highlights as being held exclusively by the unimaginative.) I rely on my visual thinking to do my job: I translate what I see so visually and vividly into words. How does she think a novel gets written if the writer is not able to visualize? Additionally, she says (repeatedly and redundantly) that visual thinkers cannot do algebra. Uh… I excelled at algebra *because* I was able to picture how to move pieces of equations around to balance and reduce them. As Grandin constantly excluded me from the category of visual thinkers, I wondered if maybe I wasn’t one after all, but took the online test she mentions, and indeed, I scored the highest visual thinking score possible, so I have evidence (although Grandin does not) that her categorical lens is deeply flawed.
She also offers educational solutions that are not rooted in research and evidence; for instance, she thinks she can make better writers by having them stare at grammar until they can see it. Unfortunately for Grandin, a host of academic research (see Mike Rose, to start) shows that this is outmoded and ineffective; good writers see the task holistically and imaginatively—skills a visual thinker very much has. The research tells us we should help visually thinking writers by tapping into imagination and picture-thinking, not grinding away at rules. It’s just another place where it’s clear the book is off the top of Grandin’s head when it could be researched and rich.
For me, the experience of reading this book was that it is constantly and pointlessly wrong. The essence of the argument is good, but the black and white thinking and sweeping guesses ruins it.
The awful cherry on top is the repeated moments where Grandin waxes rhapsodic on Elon Musk as a genius, whose brain she claims to fully understand despite not interviewing him. Sorry, but when you venerate the Twitter monster, I’m out.
Two stars only because the topic and core discussion has so much potential. I hope someone rewrites this book with actual research and curiosity in mind rather than spewing personal opinions & categorical generalizations.
While her argument that education and job training pathways should account for more ways of thinking is an essential point that I fully support & believes needs to be explored in policy discourse, there’s no way to trust it because of how insubstantially she builds this point. It’s really just her insistence, and is woefully light on research and evidence.
Worse, she is consistently wrong in her sweeping generalizations. I am a writer by profession—an editor, no less (a job she specifically highlights as being held exclusively by the unimaginative.) I rely on my visual thinking to do my job: I translate what I see so visually and vividly into words. How does she think a novel gets written if the writer is not able to visualize? Additionally, she says (repeatedly and redundantly) that visual thinkers cannot do algebra. Uh… I excelled at algebra *because* I was able to picture how to move pieces of equations around to balance and reduce them. As Grandin constantly excluded me from the category of visual thinkers, I wondered if maybe I wasn’t one after all, but took the online test she mentions, and indeed, I scored the highest visual thinking score possible, so I have evidence (although Grandin does not) that her categorical lens is deeply flawed.
She also offers educational solutions that are not rooted in research and evidence; for instance, she thinks she can make better writers by having them stare at grammar until they can see it. Unfortunately for Grandin, a host of academic research (see Mike Rose, to start) shows that this is outmoded and ineffective; good writers see the task holistically and imaginatively—skills a visual thinker very much has. The research tells us we should help visually thinking writers by tapping into imagination and picture-thinking, not grinding away at rules. It’s just another place where it’s clear the book is off the top of Grandin’s head when it could be researched and rich.
For me, the experience of reading this book was that it is constantly and pointlessly wrong. The essence of the argument is good, but the black and white thinking and sweeping guesses ruins it.
The awful cherry on top is the repeated moments where Grandin waxes rhapsodic on Elon Musk as a genius, whose brain she claims to fully understand despite not interviewing him. Sorry, but when you venerate the Twitter monster, I’m out.
Two stars only because the topic and core discussion has so much potential. I hope someone rewrites this book with actual research and curiosity in mind rather than spewing personal opinions & categorical generalizations.
February 11, 2023
Wonderful book talks about Visual Thinking thinking through pictures and most of the time we do not notice the hidden gifts in every people including our family members, friends, and colleagues around us.
There are visual object thinkers, visual-spatial thinkers, verbal thinkers, and so on.
Sometimes we need people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, physical disabilities, and so on to work together on projects. Some disasters that we cannot see and miss to visualize them.
She mentioned many stories about inventors and famous people such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Einstein, Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, etc.
I recommend this book to open your extra senses toward others.
There are visual object thinkers, visual-spatial thinkers, verbal thinkers, and so on.
Sometimes we need people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, physical disabilities, and so on to work together on projects. Some disasters that we cannot see and miss to visualize them.
She mentioned many stories about inventors and famous people such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Einstein, Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, etc.
I recommend this book to open your extra senses toward others.
October 20, 2022
Ugh. I loved the first chapter of this book because it was actually about visual thinking! The rest was unrelated stories and a lot of lauding Elon Musk… my main issue though was, quite frankly, I found Grandin’s views on autism and disability to be outdated. This book was a big letdown.
November 19, 2022
5.5 Stars for Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns and Abstractions (audiobook) by Temple Grandin Ph.D. Read by Andrea Gallo and the author.
It’s refreshing to hear someone talk about seeing the world in a similar way as I do. And that there is another kind of visual thinker that sees the world a little differently.
I got to see Temple Grandin many years ago at a local book signing. She is such an amazing person.
It’s refreshing to hear someone talk about seeing the world in a similar way as I do. And that there is another kind of visual thinker that sees the world a little differently.
I got to see Temple Grandin many years ago at a local book signing. She is such an amazing person.
April 5, 2023
Grandin’s discourse on the IKEA test to discern visual and verbal thinkers was illuminating. If you’ve ever bought some of their furniture you will notice that the instructions consist of a series of illustrations rather than written instructions. This is because “the man who created the company was dyslexic, privileging pictures over words.”
Visual thinkers are in their element when putting together IKEA furniture, however verbal learners quickly grow frustrated at the lack of written instructions. To counter this problem for a specific group of verbal thinkers “IKEA partnered with Task Rabbit, employing visual thinkers to help English majors assemble their bookshelves.”
“Spatial visualizers” see the world in patterns and abstractions. They are the music and math minds – the statisticians, scientists, electrical engineers, and physicists.”
“The object thinker builds the computer. The spatial thinker writes the code.”
One example Grandin uses to illustrate how important hands-on learning is over book learning is medical interns who are training to be surgeons, yet they have never used a pair of scissors. They struggle with learning to sew a wound closed.
“Dr. Maria Siemionow, a transplant surgeon at the University of Illinois, has trained many surgeons. She credits their dexterity to hands-on activities in their early years.” Children who play video games only and don’t explore in the great outdoors or arts and crafts are missing out on developing a variety of skills and thus narrowing their potential for satisfying work in later life.
Then, I learned that “School field trips have been another casualty of the “teach to the test” approach,” which is truly saddening to me. Travel, both near and far stimulates interest and personal growth. It broadens our horizons and challenges us to think beyond ourselves and our immediate surroundings. School field trips are a way of equalizing opportunity to travel for children of all backgrounds and socio-economic groups.
“Museum visits promote critical thinking, historical empathy, and interest in art.” I vividly remember visiting the Roman baths in Bath on a school trip in the UK about 45 years ago! It was truly amazing to see in person. We also visited Hampton Court Palace, the home of King Henry VIII. These visits and others truly enriched my life.
We need to encourage child to explore their world from a young age. In fact, “finding and training the engineers, machinists, welders, architects, and public planners begins on the nursery floor. The children who are drawn to blocks, Legos, tools, highly detailed drawing, who like to take things apart and put them together; these are the visual thinkers.”
We are screening these children out through teaching to tests only, which serves the verbal thinkers but leaves the visual thinkers behind. “If we don’t provide these kids with a more visually based education, we are decimating our talent pool.”
“If we want to engineer a safer, more inclusive, more advanced society that leads in manufacturing, technology, and finding solutions to the challenges of a rapidly changing and complex world – we need to make room for our visual thinkers and their remarkable gifts.”
I leaned in and absorbed what Grandin had to say about animals - how they explore and experience their world. She concludes that they have emotions and self-awareness. They may not be able to tell us how they feel, but Grandin “believes animals have consciousness. They are visual thinkers.”
Overall, what I learned was - after acknowledging that different ways of thinking exist and they are equally important, we need to learn to collaborate with one another. People tend to be “attached to the way they do things because it emanates from how they see the world. It’s not just habit or training, though habit and training make the ways we think more entrenched.” Research shows us that the most successful teams are groups of diverse thinking people, in other words a mix of verbal and visual thinkers.
Visual thinkers are in their element when putting together IKEA furniture, however verbal learners quickly grow frustrated at the lack of written instructions. To counter this problem for a specific group of verbal thinkers “IKEA partnered with Task Rabbit, employing visual thinkers to help English majors assemble their bookshelves.”
“Spatial visualizers” see the world in patterns and abstractions. They are the music and math minds – the statisticians, scientists, electrical engineers, and physicists.”
“The object thinker builds the computer. The spatial thinker writes the code.”
One example Grandin uses to illustrate how important hands-on learning is over book learning is medical interns who are training to be surgeons, yet they have never used a pair of scissors. They struggle with learning to sew a wound closed.
“Dr. Maria Siemionow, a transplant surgeon at the University of Illinois, has trained many surgeons. She credits their dexterity to hands-on activities in their early years.” Children who play video games only and don’t explore in the great outdoors or arts and crafts are missing out on developing a variety of skills and thus narrowing their potential for satisfying work in later life.
Then, I learned that “School field trips have been another casualty of the “teach to the test” approach,” which is truly saddening to me. Travel, both near and far stimulates interest and personal growth. It broadens our horizons and challenges us to think beyond ourselves and our immediate surroundings. School field trips are a way of equalizing opportunity to travel for children of all backgrounds and socio-economic groups.
“Museum visits promote critical thinking, historical empathy, and interest in art.” I vividly remember visiting the Roman baths in Bath on a school trip in the UK about 45 years ago! It was truly amazing to see in person. We also visited Hampton Court Palace, the home of King Henry VIII. These visits and others truly enriched my life.
We need to encourage child to explore their world from a young age. In fact, “finding and training the engineers, machinists, welders, architects, and public planners begins on the nursery floor. The children who are drawn to blocks, Legos, tools, highly detailed drawing, who like to take things apart and put them together; these are the visual thinkers.”
We are screening these children out through teaching to tests only, which serves the verbal thinkers but leaves the visual thinkers behind. “If we don’t provide these kids with a more visually based education, we are decimating our talent pool.”
“If we want to engineer a safer, more inclusive, more advanced society that leads in manufacturing, technology, and finding solutions to the challenges of a rapidly changing and complex world – we need to make room for our visual thinkers and their remarkable gifts.”
I leaned in and absorbed what Grandin had to say about animals - how they explore and experience their world. She concludes that they have emotions and self-awareness. They may not be able to tell us how they feel, but Grandin “believes animals have consciousness. They are visual thinkers.”
Overall, what I learned was - after acknowledging that different ways of thinking exist and they are equally important, we need to learn to collaborate with one another. People tend to be “attached to the way they do things because it emanates from how they see the world. It’s not just habit or training, though habit and training make the ways we think more entrenched.” Research shows us that the most successful teams are groups of diverse thinking people, in other words a mix of verbal and visual thinkers.
Read
October 14, 2022This book was a fascinating look at how people think differently.
December 24, 2022
DNF at 40%. I am a painter. A visual thinker. I relate to a lot of the descriptions of visual thinkers in the first chapter of this book. But I hated this.
The author should absolutely stick to more memoir-style books, because that’s clearly what this wants to be. I don’t mind a memoir format to explore a broader topic, but this was a little bit much. This book was definitely not the scientific, research informed argument for recognition of a new type of thinking that I expected it to be. It was really a thinly veiled pat on the back for her own self proclaimed uniqueness. It was pretty unbearable to read. I understand her personal motivation and investment in the topic, but at every turn it seemed like she was showcasing how she is not only different by being a visual thinker- but she’s also in a super special league of super special visual thinkers above all other visual thinkers. Which maybe that’s harsh. But it was just annoying that with every example she felt it was necessary to include asides like “I aced this test for xyz”.
I feel like unnecessary subtle hierarchy imposed by the author on the spectrum of visual thinkers diminishes the ultimate goal of uplifting a misunderstood group of people & reinforces the same binary views of the world she claims we need to abolish.
Unsurprisingly, the author has a very strong bias towards what she deems visual thinking. I mean I get that it’s not called Verbal Thinking for a reason, but it was just pretty un-nuanced overall. Supposedly visual thinking is a spectrum that blends with verbal thinking, but that spectrum is never explored in depth. It seems she has a more hierarchal view rather than a gradient type view.
The examples used in this were odd. I understand her animal behavioral background, but the meat packing industry and animal agricultural references are just truly kind of odd & out of place. But I’m not going to knock that too much because they do work for what they’re used for. They’re just kinda bizarre. Also, on the topic of examples used, this author really loves Elon Musk. Lol. I personally think the man is a spectacular idiot, so that definitely skewed my opinion of an example involving him.
The research of this is also weak in my opinion. Very few studies are directly referenced, and a lot of the “research” is anecdotal or unofficial and rooted in personal opinion. The author also seems to cherry pick stories that support her theory that visual thinking is a valid form of thinking, rather than presenting hard scientific facts. I agree with other reviewers that her view of things like autism and psychology is outdated. I also question the validity of this book being written by someone who does not have a neuropsych degree? Sure she got a psychology degree many years ago, but this simply is not her field. Her field is animals and animal behavioral studies.
She seems like a very intelligent and brilliant woman. I just feel like the whole book could have been a single chapter/case study for a greater book on visual thinking- rather than a whole memoir disguised as research book that this is.
The author should absolutely stick to more memoir-style books, because that’s clearly what this wants to be. I don’t mind a memoir format to explore a broader topic, but this was a little bit much. This book was definitely not the scientific, research informed argument for recognition of a new type of thinking that I expected it to be. It was really a thinly veiled pat on the back for her own self proclaimed uniqueness. It was pretty unbearable to read. I understand her personal motivation and investment in the topic, but at every turn it seemed like she was showcasing how she is not only different by being a visual thinker- but she’s also in a super special league of super special visual thinkers above all other visual thinkers. Which maybe that’s harsh. But it was just annoying that with every example she felt it was necessary to include asides like “I aced this test for xyz”.
I feel like unnecessary subtle hierarchy imposed by the author on the spectrum of visual thinkers diminishes the ultimate goal of uplifting a misunderstood group of people & reinforces the same binary views of the world she claims we need to abolish.
Unsurprisingly, the author has a very strong bias towards what she deems visual thinking. I mean I get that it’s not called Verbal Thinking for a reason, but it was just pretty un-nuanced overall. Supposedly visual thinking is a spectrum that blends with verbal thinking, but that spectrum is never explored in depth. It seems she has a more hierarchal view rather than a gradient type view.
The examples used in this were odd. I understand her animal behavioral background, but the meat packing industry and animal agricultural references are just truly kind of odd & out of place. But I’m not going to knock that too much because they do work for what they’re used for. They’re just kinda bizarre. Also, on the topic of examples used, this author really loves Elon Musk. Lol. I personally think the man is a spectacular idiot, so that definitely skewed my opinion of an example involving him.
The research of this is also weak in my opinion. Very few studies are directly referenced, and a lot of the “research” is anecdotal or unofficial and rooted in personal opinion. The author also seems to cherry pick stories that support her theory that visual thinking is a valid form of thinking, rather than presenting hard scientific facts. I agree with other reviewers that her view of things like autism and psychology is outdated. I also question the validity of this book being written by someone who does not have a neuropsych degree? Sure she got a psychology degree many years ago, but this simply is not her field. Her field is animals and animal behavioral studies.
She seems like a very intelligent and brilliant woman. I just feel like the whole book could have been a single chapter/case study for a greater book on visual thinking- rather than a whole memoir disguised as research book that this is.
June 6, 2023
Visual Thinking provides new insights for parents whose children might be outside the typical education for verbal and math thinkers. Policymakers might take note as well if only to realize the focus on verbal/math skills is vital to the economic well-being of the American economy. However, ignoring the geniuses that arrive on the scene whose skills are visual is a cardinal sin.
Artists like my daughter are easy to identify; musicians, too.
Others, not so much. They are builders of ideas visualized and in need of a different toolkit.
Inventors like Da Vinci, Tesla, Edison, Jobs, and Gates did not have the verbal expertise of a typical college graduate. Still, they had the visual talents to build an idea from nothing. So, too, do artists, welders, draftsmen and women, tinkers, inventors, and entrepreneurs.
Einstein, a genius by any measure, did not think in words but visualized the world in ways that Newton’s equations did not.
Grandin fills her work with innumerable examples of visual thinkers. This caste of woebegones are often marginalized in schools, but later find their creative legs in life because of dogged persistence.
For readers that sometimes feel they have not succeeded in the neurotypical world or SATs and A’s, you may, like me, find yourself in this book.
For parents and educators, it’s important to understand that the continued job of improving education in the typical verbal/math outcomes is very important. It is, however, just as important to identify potential visual thinkers and find illuminating paths for their visual thinking.
Great book. You’ll be glad you choose it.
~Tom L.
Find a Copy at Scottsdale Public Library
Artists like my daughter are easy to identify; musicians, too.
Others, not so much. They are builders of ideas visualized and in need of a different toolkit.
Inventors like Da Vinci, Tesla, Edison, Jobs, and Gates did not have the verbal expertise of a typical college graduate. Still, they had the visual talents to build an idea from nothing. So, too, do artists, welders, draftsmen and women, tinkers, inventors, and entrepreneurs.
Einstein, a genius by any measure, did not think in words but visualized the world in ways that Newton’s equations did not.
Grandin fills her work with innumerable examples of visual thinkers. This caste of woebegones are often marginalized in schools, but later find their creative legs in life because of dogged persistence.
For readers that sometimes feel they have not succeeded in the neurotypical world or SATs and A’s, you may, like me, find yourself in this book.
For parents and educators, it’s important to understand that the continued job of improving education in the typical verbal/math outcomes is very important. It is, however, just as important to identify potential visual thinkers and find illuminating paths for their visual thinking.
Great book. You’ll be glad you choose it.
~Tom L.
Find a Copy at Scottsdale Public Library
December 13, 2022
There's a lot to criticize here but the thing that really sticks in my craw is the risk assessment chapter where the analysis of several major catastrophes reads like "had I been present, I simply would have noticed the flaw and prevented the disaster in the first place."
November 9, 2023
I had only vaguely been aware of Temple Grandin before. When I found out about this book, as you can see below, I was immediately intrigued. Having ‘aphantasia’, I do not mentally visualize at all; and yet, here was a book examining the advantages and prowess of being able to do so. It’s inevitable that I would want to check it out. Granted, Grandin is a prodigy when it comes to visual thinking—she doesn’t deny the ‘benefit’ of greater visual thinking abilities due to her autism (compared to the neurotypical population). Even so, she highlights various elements and stories that champion the power of visual thinking and argue for a renewed interest in and incorporation of visual thinking, particularly in schools and in the workplace.
The structure of the book is laid out clearly, and the writing is straightforward and easily digestible. Grandin begins by discussing the idea of visual thinking itself—including a fun survey to test where you lie on the continuum of ‘visual—verbal’ thinking. She also critically examines the current state of modern education, which she argues prioritizes skills that shortchange visual thinkers. On this point, I am not sure I fully agree—lacking this ability, I experienced difficulty in quite a lot of subjects and teaching methods in school that rely on visual thinking, even when it pertained to not obviously ‘visual’ subjects. Even so, I was able to excel in my niche as a verbal thinker (thank goodness for the reading/writing-heavy humanities). Nowadays, the focus on STEM, and in particular computer science, seems to emphasize parts of the brain that visual thinkers excel at.
Other parts of the book also discuss, in addition to areas where visual thinkers excel, the ways in which different types of visual thinkers can collaborate and work well together. Grandin identifies that visual thinking itself is a plurality; some-people are better at visual-spatial skills, which lean into object visualization and tangible reality. Others are more attuned to visual-spatial skills, which can include a proclivity for abstract patterns—these are the mathematicians and engineers.
One point of contention I had with Grandin is that she admits a continuum between verbal and visual thinkers, and then further identifies subtypes among visual thinkers. However, she seems steadfast in her view that visual and verbal thinkers are mutually exclusive, or even that the subtypes are mutually exclusive. This book led to me to a lot of great discussions about ways of thinking with friends. I noticed, especially among my more math and STEM-aligned friends, that they often fall into a mixed bag of traits from both subtypes. Grandin doesn’t delve into this ‘combined’ nature as much, and also doesn’t seem to grant that some people can excel both verbally and visually (those lucky ducks).
Some of the book is also devoted to discussing the ‘genius’ type and the effect that neurodiversity can have on different ways of thinking, with a focus on visual thinkers, of course. This was an interesting section to read; although I already read a few things on a similar subject, Grandin has a way of describing things in simple, concise language that is very engaging. The discussion is somewhat surface-level, good for beginners, but not really going as in-depth as I would have appreciated. More research could have supplemented this section, though the anecdotes were nice to read.
I want to give a final mention to the last, but not least, chapter of the book, which delves into animal consciousness and ways of thinking. Here, Grandin posits that animal thinking has more in relation with human visual thinkers than verbal thinkers; I can understand this argument, since language itself is a contentious thing that some argue characterizes human beings, while others begrudgingly admit some animals to have forms of communication. But, even in those cases, it seems to align with Grandin’s view—for example, the noted ‘hive dance’ of bees to communicate locations of nectar has its roots in some kind of spatial understanding.
All in all, this was an eye-opening reading and an enjoyable one at that; Temple Grandin’s research and background as a visual thinker and an advocate for autism (especially for the notion of ‘not preemptively limiting kids because of their diagnosis’) lends credence to her arguments here about visual thinking and educational and workplace reforms. Certainly, I agree that more energy could be invested in collaborating with and elevating visual thinkers, rather than forcing these children into the traditional careers-focused rat race. Grandin would not have found her life’s work without chance encounters on her relatives’ farm, working with cows and other farm animals. I definitely benefited from the modern structure of schooling, with its emphasis on written work, but I can also see that this is far from a ‘one size fits all’ solution for every child.
The human mind, in all of its variance, is incredible. Definitely recommend giving this one a read if you are at all interested in the subject.
--
Curious about this book precisely because I am very much not a visual thinker.
The structure of the book is laid out clearly, and the writing is straightforward and easily digestible. Grandin begins by discussing the idea of visual thinking itself—including a fun survey to test where you lie on the continuum of ‘visual—verbal’ thinking. She also critically examines the current state of modern education, which she argues prioritizes skills that shortchange visual thinkers. On this point, I am not sure I fully agree—lacking this ability, I experienced difficulty in quite a lot of subjects and teaching methods in school that rely on visual thinking, even when it pertained to not obviously ‘visual’ subjects. Even so, I was able to excel in my niche as a verbal thinker (thank goodness for the reading/writing-heavy humanities). Nowadays, the focus on STEM, and in particular computer science, seems to emphasize parts of the brain that visual thinkers excel at.
Other parts of the book also discuss, in addition to areas where visual thinkers excel, the ways in which different types of visual thinkers can collaborate and work well together. Grandin identifies that visual thinking itself is a plurality; some-people are better at visual-spatial skills, which lean into object visualization and tangible reality. Others are more attuned to visual-spatial skills, which can include a proclivity for abstract patterns—these are the mathematicians and engineers.
One point of contention I had with Grandin is that she admits a continuum between verbal and visual thinkers, and then further identifies subtypes among visual thinkers. However, she seems steadfast in her view that visual and verbal thinkers are mutually exclusive, or even that the subtypes are mutually exclusive. This book led to me to a lot of great discussions about ways of thinking with friends. I noticed, especially among my more math and STEM-aligned friends, that they often fall into a mixed bag of traits from both subtypes. Grandin doesn’t delve into this ‘combined’ nature as much, and also doesn’t seem to grant that some people can excel both verbally and visually (those lucky ducks).
Some of the book is also devoted to discussing the ‘genius’ type and the effect that neurodiversity can have on different ways of thinking, with a focus on visual thinkers, of course. This was an interesting section to read; although I already read a few things on a similar subject, Grandin has a way of describing things in simple, concise language that is very engaging. The discussion is somewhat surface-level, good for beginners, but not really going as in-depth as I would have appreciated. More research could have supplemented this section, though the anecdotes were nice to read.
I want to give a final mention to the last, but not least, chapter of the book, which delves into animal consciousness and ways of thinking. Here, Grandin posits that animal thinking has more in relation with human visual thinkers than verbal thinkers; I can understand this argument, since language itself is a contentious thing that some argue characterizes human beings, while others begrudgingly admit some animals to have forms of communication. But, even in those cases, it seems to align with Grandin’s view—for example, the noted ‘hive dance’ of bees to communicate locations of nectar has its roots in some kind of spatial understanding.
All in all, this was an eye-opening reading and an enjoyable one at that; Temple Grandin’s research and background as a visual thinker and an advocate for autism (especially for the notion of ‘not preemptively limiting kids because of their diagnosis’) lends credence to her arguments here about visual thinking and educational and workplace reforms. Certainly, I agree that more energy could be invested in collaborating with and elevating visual thinkers, rather than forcing these children into the traditional careers-focused rat race. Grandin would not have found her life’s work without chance encounters on her relatives’ farm, working with cows and other farm animals. I definitely benefited from the modern structure of schooling, with its emphasis on written work, but I can also see that this is far from a ‘one size fits all’ solution for every child.
The human mind, in all of its variance, is incredible. Definitely recommend giving this one a read if you are at all interested in the subject.
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Curious about this book precisely because I am very much not a visual thinker.
February 17, 2023
I received an ARC from goodreads in exchange for an honest review.
I was motivated to read this book for two reasons 1. I enjoy Oliver Sacks work and Ms. Grandin was one of his patients and 2. without giving names I'm pretty sure a close individual in my life is a visual thinker even though they haven't explicitly expressed this to me yet.
I found value in learning about visual thinking from the perspective of a person living the experience rather than a scientist studying it clinically. Ms. Grandin offered insight for how we (verbal thinkers) can adjust our world to take advantage of this unique perspective in a variety of situations (as parents, managers, etc.).
I was motivated to read this book for two reasons 1. I enjoy Oliver Sacks work and Ms. Grandin was one of his patients and 2. without giving names I'm pretty sure a close individual in my life is a visual thinker even though they haven't explicitly expressed this to me yet.
I found value in learning about visual thinking from the perspective of a person living the experience rather than a scientist studying it clinically. Ms. Grandin offered insight for how we (verbal thinkers) can adjust our world to take advantage of this unique perspective in a variety of situations (as parents, managers, etc.).
November 10, 2022
Bookended with interesting anecdotes and information, I’ve learned a lot about the different ways in which people think. The middle of the book became repetitive and the same stories were brought up in different contexts- primarily the meat industry. Some hot takes on Elon Musk and questionable one-sided views on autism and disability.
April 11, 2023
Edytuję tę opinię tydzień później i daję jednak 4⭐️, bo obejrzałam film o Temple Grandin i to zmieniło moje postrzeganie jej pracy jako zootechnolożka i tego, w jaki sposób książka jest napisana. Nadal uważam, że ma słabsze momenty, że Grandin się powtarza, ale tego jak ta książka jest napisana nie postrzegam już jako drażniącego stylu lekko zadzierającej nosa osoby. Edytuję o dopisek i ocenę, ale resztę tekstu pierwotnej opinii zostawiam.
Świeżo po lekturze pisałam o tej książce tak:
Książkę oceniam na 3,5 i początkowo chciałam podciagnąć pod 4, ale nie mogę tego zrobić z czystym sumieniem. Niestety drażni mnie styl autorki,
są fragmenty w książcę, które moim zdaniem przesadnie podkreślają wyższość myślenia wizualnego (łatwo być mądrym, kiedy sytuację ocenia się już
po szkodzie i wytyka "oczywiste" błędy, które autorka od razu zauważyła... już po szkodzie właśnie).
Ale jednocześnie Grandin fantastycznie przedstawia porażkę edukacyjną m.in. Stanów Zjednoczonych. To, że edukacja jest zafiksowana na jednym typie myślenia, najlepiej pod klucz i wysokie wyniki w testach, które można wykuć na pamięć. Przez to dzieci, które wcale nie są „głupie i leniwe”, a jedynie myślą w innych, niż ogólnie przyjęty, sposób, są karane na starcie mniejszymi możliwościami w życiu przez niedopasowanie do nich edukacji. I Grandin wskazuje konkretne sytuacje, przypadki, gdzie osoby myślące wizualnie, ale ponoszące „porażkę” w szkole, jako dorosłe odnalazły się albo by się odnalazły idealnie. Jako przykład podaję m.in. sypiącą się infrastrukturę w Stanach. To było bardzo ciekawe!
Świeżo po lekturze pisałam o tej książce tak:
Książkę oceniam na 3,5 i początkowo chciałam podciagnąć pod 4, ale nie mogę tego zrobić z czystym sumieniem. Niestety drażni mnie styl autorki,
są fragmenty w książcę, które moim zdaniem przesadnie podkreślają wyższość myślenia wizualnego (łatwo być mądrym, kiedy sytuację ocenia się już
po szkodzie i wytyka "oczywiste" błędy, które autorka od razu zauważyła... już po szkodzie właśnie).
Ale jednocześnie Grandin fantastycznie przedstawia porażkę edukacyjną m.in. Stanów Zjednoczonych. To, że edukacja jest zafiksowana na jednym typie myślenia, najlepiej pod klucz i wysokie wyniki w testach, które można wykuć na pamięć. Przez to dzieci, które wcale nie są „głupie i leniwe”, a jedynie myślą w innych, niż ogólnie przyjęty, sposób, są karane na starcie mniejszymi możliwościami w życiu przez niedopasowanie do nich edukacji. I Grandin wskazuje konkretne sytuacje, przypadki, gdzie osoby myślące wizualnie, ale ponoszące „porażkę” w szkole, jako dorosłe odnalazły się albo by się odnalazły idealnie. Jako przykład podaję m.in. sypiącą się infrastrukturę w Stanach. To było bardzo ciekawe!
November 8, 2022
4.5 stars
This book was quite interesting if not for the fact that the author definitely looked down on verbal thinkers, even though she kept saying that visual vs verbal thinking is not binary. She also talked about herself way too much. If you consider the fact that she’s autistic and pretty famous due to Oliver Sack’s interview with her, and ignore her bias toward visual thinkers, this is definitely a book to add to your neuroscience library.
This book was quite interesting if not for the fact that the author definitely looked down on verbal thinkers, even though she kept saying that visual vs verbal thinking is not binary. She also talked about herself way too much. If you consider the fact that she’s autistic and pretty famous due to Oliver Sack’s interview with her, and ignore her bias toward visual thinkers, this is definitely a book to add to your neuroscience library.
October 16, 2022
I found it slow repetitive and self indulgent
January 14, 2023
DNF. It makes me very sad I couldn't make it through this book. I've loved everything else I read by her. Other than the excellent first chapter, this one was just too all over the place. I agree with most of her conclusions as well as her concerns about our school system, testing, and job training. However, there's nothing here other than her opinion, and after a couple hours of listening, I couldn't stay interested.
The constant cheering of the high-tech oligarchs and their brilliance, (labeling them all autistic) without any of the acknowledgement of the harm from their products and their wealth (everything has 2 sides.) She also buys into the mythology surrounding these men, including proven lies, without a single question. Barely sees the benefit most of them have from coming from rich families and appropriation of the work of others. And not just Musk
The constant cheering of the high-tech oligarchs and their brilliance, (labeling them all autistic) without any of the acknowledgement of the harm from their products and their wealth (everything has 2 sides.) She also buys into the mythology surrounding these men, including proven lies, without a single question. Barely sees the benefit most of them have from coming from rich families and appropriation of the work of others. And not just Musk
October 27, 2022
I'm so sad. That was really, really boring. I skim read through most of it once I realized it wasn't getting any better. I was so excited to read this book, but the topics and writing just didn't captivate me.
One point I did like is about how smart crows are, in that they'll make for themselves hook-like tools to help them get food easier, then store these tools away for future use. Smart!
Anyways, I think I expected this book to be more about the brain and how it works, which is a topic I'm super interested in. But we didn't really get a whole lot of that until one of the very final chapters. Most of the rest of it was just about animals and schooling.
While I did agree with the points being made about schooling and autism and children etc, it almost made me feel depressed because how are we supposed to fix the problems brought out? There aren't easy fixes, these problems have been ingrained into our society for decades, so it made me feel useless and the situation hopeless to read about it. Like the problems with schooling, what can I do? Even if I became a teacher, I'm just one person. And how could I possibly teach every single student in a way that helps them best while still teaching essential life skills to the class as a whole and preparing them and ahh it's just so impossible. This book just didn't make me feel good about myself or the world we live in.
One point I did like is about how smart crows are, in that they'll make for themselves hook-like tools to help them get food easier, then store these tools away for future use. Smart!
Anyways, I think I expected this book to be more about the brain and how it works, which is a topic I'm super interested in. But we didn't really get a whole lot of that until one of the very final chapters. Most of the rest of it was just about animals and schooling.
While I did agree with the points being made about schooling and autism and children etc, it almost made me feel depressed because how are we supposed to fix the problems brought out? There aren't easy fixes, these problems have been ingrained into our society for decades, so it made me feel useless and the situation hopeless to read about it. Like the problems with schooling, what can I do? Even if I became a teacher, I'm just one person. And how could I possibly teach every single student in a way that helps them best while still teaching essential life skills to the class as a whole and preparing them and ahh it's just so impossible. This book just didn't make me feel good about myself or the world we live in.
August 31, 2023
Never before have I picked up book with so much anticipation and been so immediately disappointed.
I found out about Grandin through a podcast episode and was blown away when I heard her say “My mind is not a raft on a sea of words. It’s an ocean of images”. I think in vignettes and thought this a most apt description of my mind. This book was my opportunity to dive into the mind of another visual thinker.
Imagine my surprise when the introduction calls out the reason for manufacturing moving out of the US as lack of accommodation for visual thinking, and that in fact if Fukushima just had a visual thinker on hand, surely that would have caught the reactor design flaw!
There might relations between all of this, and a hundred other things. But to make such causal statements shows sheer disrespect for complex systems and reasoning (something the author apparently admittedly is not good at).
Getting to “I was astonished to learn that the most advanced equipment for making electronic chips now comes from a Dutch company ASML. How did this happen, when America invented the computer chip” (page 95) was just too much. Instead of bothering to find out how it happened, the author writes as if this is the somehow the direct outcome of No Child Left Behind and not the intricate political and economic history of the semiconductor industry.
Can anyone effectively visualize their way into photolithography machines and integrated circuits? I know I can’t — but at least I know better than to cherry pick facts to support a poorly constructed thesis.
I found out about Grandin through a podcast episode and was blown away when I heard her say “My mind is not a raft on a sea of words. It’s an ocean of images”. I think in vignettes and thought this a most apt description of my mind. This book was my opportunity to dive into the mind of another visual thinker.
Imagine my surprise when the introduction calls out the reason for manufacturing moving out of the US as lack of accommodation for visual thinking, and that in fact if Fukushima just had a visual thinker on hand, surely that would have caught the reactor design flaw!
There might relations between all of this, and a hundred other things. But to make such causal statements shows sheer disrespect for complex systems and reasoning (something the author apparently admittedly is not good at).
Getting to “I was astonished to learn that the most advanced equipment for making electronic chips now comes from a Dutch company ASML. How did this happen, when America invented the computer chip” (page 95) was just too much. Instead of bothering to find out how it happened, the author writes as if this is the somehow the direct outcome of No Child Left Behind and not the intricate political and economic history of the semiconductor industry.
Can anyone effectively visualize their way into photolithography machines and integrated circuits? I know I can’t — but at least I know better than to cherry pick facts to support a poorly constructed thesis.
February 21, 2023
Most of the data presented in Ch. 1 seems like it suffers from confirmation bias (ex: when Grandin took a mechanical aptitude test). She emphasizes a ‘verbal visual continuum’ while also placing very rigid boundaries around the ‘spatial visuals’ and ‘object visuals’ in coordination with which professions fit these methods of thinking. I also wasn’t expecting to listen to so many excerpts about multi billionaires (nor did I want to). Half of this book reads like an Elon Musk / Steve Jobs adoration letter. I was expecting more studies and statistics to be referenced. Throughout, she references seemingly random mechanical disasters and says, “I could’ve prevented that with my visual thinking.” There has to be a better way to highlight the necessity of people on the autism spectrum disorder or other “visual thinkers” in the workplace.
October 27, 2023
This book was so promising and then it became redundant and off-topic. The first couple of chapters are phenomenal, and then the rest of the book becomes progressively pointless because it's repeating a point about what visual thinking looks like and what it can accomplish/what gaps in thinking it fills, so you wonder why the chapter was included (animals) even if it is interesting.
I'd still read this, though since I haven't read Grandin's previous books I'm not sure if I would tell people to read this book anyway or if a prior book does a better job of explaining visual thinking and the needs of visual thinkers.
I'd still read this, though since I haven't read Grandin's previous books I'm not sure if I would tell people to read this book anyway or if a prior book does a better job of explaining visual thinking and the needs of visual thinkers.
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November 1, 2022Why does Temple have beef with the change of DSM criteria? Her definition of autism seems to be defined by those with severe intellectual disabilities, or geeks with Asperger's. I'm pretty sure this is a poor categorical measure and there was a reason the DSM changed its diagnostic criteria.....
We need to change people's minds and show them what autism really is. Saying you're only autistic if you're non verbal etc is very ableist in my opinion.
Got about 90 pages into the book and dropped it.
Not because of the above. Mostly because it was boring and anecdotal opinions of Temple herself, as opposed to citing any studies of any sort.
Although math is certainly a filter in post secondary education yes...agreed there....
We need to change people's minds and show them what autism really is. Saying you're only autistic if you're non verbal etc is very ableist in my opinion.
Got about 90 pages into the book and dropped it.
Not because of the above. Mostly because it was boring and anecdotal opinions of Temple herself, as opposed to citing any studies of any sort.
Although math is certainly a filter in post secondary education yes...agreed there....
December 15, 2023
People might rate it higher if she didn’t dedicate so many pages towards calling Elon a genius.
March 8, 2023
The premise of this book - that visual, non-word-based thinking needs greater appreciation in American society and education - is one that I fully support. However, the author lacks proper credibility to make this argument. She is a trained biological researcher of animals and a professor. She has no experience other than her own in the K-12 educational system. She is not an educational psychologist. She has read numerous research papers, but seemingly lacks a theoretical grid to understand them.
What she does have is her own experience as an autistic child who went on to achieve a PhD. That's quite a feat, yes, but that's the subject for a memoir, not a seemingly "objective" and "scientific" account. She does not work with students that she chooses to opine about.
Over and over again, she creates a false dichotomy by arguing that word-based thinking and visual thinking are two different things. She admits that these dwell in a spectrum, but then repeatedly places them in opposition to each other. In truth, good thinking involves both, not one or the other. We need to nurture both. There are real issues here ranging from policy to pedagogy, but they aren't presented clearly.
I complete about 98% of the books I choose to read. Due to its fundamental philosophical flaws, I am relegating this into the 2% of books I do not complete. There is little rational basis for her suppositions other than personal emotions and experience. Again, these should be rigorously analyzed... in a memoir, not in a seemingly scientific book outside of the author's academic field.
What she does have is her own experience as an autistic child who went on to achieve a PhD. That's quite a feat, yes, but that's the subject for a memoir, not a seemingly "objective" and "scientific" account. She does not work with students that she chooses to opine about.
Over and over again, she creates a false dichotomy by arguing that word-based thinking and visual thinking are two different things. She admits that these dwell in a spectrum, but then repeatedly places them in opposition to each other. In truth, good thinking involves both, not one or the other. We need to nurture both. There are real issues here ranging from policy to pedagogy, but they aren't presented clearly.
I complete about 98% of the books I choose to read. Due to its fundamental philosophical flaws, I am relegating this into the 2% of books I do not complete. There is little rational basis for her suppositions other than personal emotions and experience. Again, these should be rigorously analyzed... in a memoir, not in a seemingly scientific book outside of the author's academic field.
July 17, 2024
Few can deny Temple Grandin can explain complex concepts in a user friendly manner. In DIFFERENT KINDS OF MINDS: A GUIDE TO YOUR BRAIN Grandin explains different ways of conceptualizing the world for a younger audience, likely YA readers.
I’ve read a number of Grandin’s books and DIFFERENT KINDS OF MINDS to be repetitive through different chapters. In trying to show the positive sides of autism and neurodiversity, she implies that hers is a superior way of thinking. In one chapter she speaks of disasters she could have prevented if she had been in charge of building a certain bridge or troubleshooting a design failure. I don’t think her intention was to imply she can prevent any problem but that someone who thinks like she does should have been in charge.
Her target audience may be neurodivergent teens who need help understanding their strengths and seeing their differences as good as or superior to their peers. After a few chapters touching on everything from child development to anthropomorphizing animals to airplane building from Piaget to Elon Musk to Einstein.
DIFFERENT KINDS of minds will be helpful to parents of autistic children and neurodivergent young adults.
I’ve read a number of Grandin’s books and DIFFERENT KINDS OF MINDS to be repetitive through different chapters. In trying to show the positive sides of autism and neurodiversity, she implies that hers is a superior way of thinking. In one chapter she speaks of disasters she could have prevented if she had been in charge of building a certain bridge or troubleshooting a design failure. I don’t think her intention was to imply she can prevent any problem but that someone who thinks like she does should have been in charge.
Her target audience may be neurodivergent teens who need help understanding their strengths and seeing their differences as good as or superior to their peers. After a few chapters touching on everything from child development to anthropomorphizing animals to airplane building from Piaget to Elon Musk to Einstein.
DIFFERENT KINDS of minds will be helpful to parents of autistic children and neurodivergent young adults.
October 13, 2022
I had only read T.Grandin's articles up to this point and it is a pity. Certainly what I learned about visual Thinkers will be, and not only for me, a starting point to implement at least some kind of research, and then hopefully different kinds of school and university curricula as well.
Avevo letto solo articoli di T.Grandin fino a questo momento ed é un vero peccato. Sicuramente quanto ho imparato sui visual Thinker sará, e non solo per me, un punto di partenza per implementare quanto meno un certo tipo di ricerche, e poi spero anche diversi tipi di curricola scolastici ed universitari.
Avevo letto solo articoli di T.Grandin fino a questo momento ed é un vero peccato. Sicuramente quanto ho imparato sui visual Thinker sará, e non solo per me, un punto di partenza per implementare quanto meno un certo tipo di ricerche, e poi spero anche diversi tipi di curricola scolastici ed universitari.
September 20, 2023
This book is a bit polarizing because some of it is so on point and some of it just doesn’t relate. I’m hoping she will expound upon the spectrum because right now I’m feeling partially connected to both but mostly unconnected to either. Most of the criticisms are valid but some of them seem very boomer-ish in their criticism. It’s a good point but the book goes on too long and is very repetitive. I agree with most of what she says but it was just the same thing over and over and I felt like the point had already been made. 2.5 stars.
April 25, 2023
ReedIII Quick Review: Passionate book on visual thinking. Covers concerns, issues, answers, applications, and much more. Temple Grandin is a inspirational personal success example. Positive promotion of the value of visual thinkers.
October 16, 2022
A fascinating, thought-provoking book about how people think. Dr. Grandin posits that there are two major thinking styles, verbal and visual (with visual being subdivided into object-visual and spatial). While she identifies as neurodivergent and exclusively a visual thinker, she theorizes that most people use a combination of verbal and visual thinking, and hypothesizes that much of the world is designed by and for verbal thinkers, to the detriment of visual thinkers. She uses many multidisciplinary examples to argue her points, some arguments better than others, but overall very thought-provoking.
It's interesting reading this in the frame of several recent books I've read about innovating in the education space (see: Disrupting Class by Clayton Christensen, Curtis Johnson, and Michael Horn; Most Likely to Succeed by Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith; Leveraged Learning by Danny Iny; and also for a non-US centric example, Little Soldiers by Lenora Chu about the Chinese educational system). One of Grandin's main arguments is that the US educational system largely favors verbal thinkers and weeds out visual thinkers with conceptual math and science classes that are gatekeepers for many careers in STEM (she mentions algebra -- which I personally didn't find particularly abstract -- I think calculus, parts of organic chemistry, and the quantum portions of physical chemistry are better examples). In my opinion and experience, getting kids who excel at spatial reasoning/thinking exposed to careers that allow them to build and design things is ideal, but as a self-identified predominant object-visual thinker, I thrived as my undergraduate and graduate coursework went from literal to abstract, as I was able to move away from rote memorization and toward visualizing and mentally manipulating principles and systems to derive solutions.
It's interesting reading this in the frame of several recent books I've read about innovating in the education space (see: Disrupting Class by Clayton Christensen, Curtis Johnson, and Michael Horn; Most Likely to Succeed by Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith; Leveraged Learning by Danny Iny; and also for a non-US centric example, Little Soldiers by Lenora Chu about the Chinese educational system). One of Grandin's main arguments is that the US educational system largely favors verbal thinkers and weeds out visual thinkers with conceptual math and science classes that are gatekeepers for many careers in STEM (she mentions algebra -- which I personally didn't find particularly abstract -- I think calculus, parts of organic chemistry, and the quantum portions of physical chemistry are better examples). In my opinion and experience, getting kids who excel at spatial reasoning/thinking exposed to careers that allow them to build and design things is ideal, but as a self-identified predominant object-visual thinker, I thrived as my undergraduate and graduate coursework went from literal to abstract, as I was able to move away from rote memorization and toward visualizing and mentally manipulating principles and systems to derive solutions.
December 20, 2022
I was lucky to see Temple Grandin give a presentation as part of her book tour for this book. She has some great points to be made, and I loved the chapters about our education system and standardized testing. As a middle school art teacher myself I can attest to this: when learning is measured against a test, then failure is seen as a negative outcome, not a method of learning and experimentation in itself, and students become afraid to try new things, to experiment, to tinker, to play, for fear of failure.
The middle of the book sagged with repetitive claims about how Grandin and other visual thinkers could solve so many problems that would have prevented modern technical disasters. She's not entirely wrong, but the claims got tiresome. Same goes for the fawning over Elon Musk.
The middle of the book sagged with repetitive claims about how Grandin and other visual thinkers could solve so many problems that would have prevented modern technical disasters. She's not entirely wrong, but the claims got tiresome. Same goes for the fawning over Elon Musk.
January 1, 2023
There is a lot of information in this book but it appeared that it was more her opinion and not fact based. There was lots of anecdotal information. Her comments about the lack of skilled trades workers in the USA is correct. However, that is well known and has been that way for decades. Her response to that shortage is very simplistic. I started in skilled trades in the 1970s and trained for another career in the 1980s because so many of those jobs went away. I had a career after college that was in a related field and also taught in the field for twenty years. Based on her simplistic suggested resolution to that problem, it caused me to doubt some of her other assumptions in areas that I don't have expertise.
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