New Temple Grandin video. Different kinds of minds process information differently. Autism is a spectrum that goes from Silicon Valley CEOs to people who cant speak and end up disabled. Albert Einstein would have been diagnosed as autistic if he were born today, and Steve Jobs too probably. Autism is like a mixing board. Geeks have to sell they work rather than themselves. Grandin is a visual thinker; she thinks in specific images; connections to her visual cortex are larger than in most people. But the price she paid is developmental speech delay. She has cerebrospinal fluid in the math area, and could not learn computer programming. People good at math are pattern thinkers, not visual thinkers like her. There are verbal thinkers, which is normal people; actually normal people are mixtures of all of these. Origami is made by pattern thinkers who are visualizers but not photorealistic object visualizers like Grandin. STEM emphasis worries her because the engineering mind needs the art mind because theres many things the engineering mind doesnt see. The engineering mind misses the emergency generators being in a non-waterproof basement. Steve Jobs wasnt an engineer. He was fascinated by calligraphy. He was an artist. Language can cover up mathematical and artistic thinking, and be uncovered if there is Alzheimers or some other brain disease. Some people think bottom up and others think top down, some think in an associative manner and others think in a linear manner. Top down thinkers tend to overgeneralize. People who are eccentric need to start learning job skills at age 12. Not allowed to become a recluse. Taking out hands on classes is the worst thing schools ever did. Get kids involved in activities with animals, art and robotics clubs, and things that make connections between the virtual world and the real world. Use online resources like Khan Academy and Udacity. Rural internet is awful. 3D printers are great. Autism often occurs with sensory processing disorders (cant stand 60-Hz flourescent lights). Problems need to be treated at its source rather than treating a symptom of a problem.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 03:27:39 +0000