Philosophy
For quite a long time, autism was investigated by researchers who did their very best to explain a phenomenon with which they had no personal experience. While their research was helpful, it did not manage to capture or understand the personal subjectivity of those afflicted with this disorder... that is, until Temple Grandin came into the scene. Through her public appearances, Grandin gave a voice to the hitherto silent patients whose families had never managed to understand or relate to them, and radically changed their lives in the process.
In this TEDTalk presentation, Temple Grandin advocates for the practical need to cultivate mental diversity, and explains some of the ways in which we can foster the natural typology of minds already present in children, whether autistic or not: visual thinkers, pattern seekers, verbal communicators, geeky minds, problem-solvers, integrators, etc. Because of their particularity, she argues, each set of specialized thinkers has the potential to solve problems that the rest of our neurotypical brains might fail to solve.
I'll be posting more on Temple Grandin's work with animals soon.
- Daniel Wolpert - The Real Reason For Brains
I know what you're thinking, but no, it's not for feeding zombies... but it's also not "for" thinking either because brains evolved long before any organism developed the ability to think and reason. So, while thinking is a great adaptation...
- You Are Not So Smart - Pro-cras-ti-nation
One of my favorite blogs out there is You Are Not So Smart. Based on scientific developments in fields like cognitive psychology and behavioral economics, it's a fun and accessible exploration of the many ways in which our minds predictably fail us...
- Jonathan Drori - The Beautiful Tricks Of Flowers
In the game of evolution, the winners are those who successfully manage to survive and reproduce, and one of the best ways to do the latter is sexually. If you simply made perfect copies of yourself, there wouldn't be enough genetic diversity in your...
- Neil Degrasse Tyson - The God Of The Gaps
There are many reasons why lots of otherwise reasonable people don't 'believe' in the theory of evolution. Yes, some of it has to do with their religious background and with a lack of basic education concerning science generally and evolution...
- Laurie Santos - Your Financial Advisor Might As Well Be A Monkey
Are economic crises the result of poorly thought out financial institutional design, or are they the natural consequence of having the kinds of minds we have? To try to get to the bottom of this question, psychologist Laurie Santos and economist Keith...
Philosophy
Temple Grandin - The World Needs All Kinds of Minds
In this TEDTalk presentation, Temple Grandin advocates for the practical need to cultivate mental diversity, and explains some of the ways in which we can foster the natural typology of minds already present in children, whether autistic or not: visual thinkers, pattern seekers, verbal communicators, geeky minds, problem-solvers, integrators, etc. Because of their particularity, she argues, each set of specialized thinkers has the potential to solve problems that the rest of our neurotypical brains might fail to solve.
I'll be posting more on Temple Grandin's work with animals soon.
In the meantime, learn more about autism, or check out other fascinating TEDTalks.
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- Daniel Wolpert - The Real Reason For Brains
I know what you're thinking, but no, it's not for feeding zombies... but it's also not "for" thinking either because brains evolved long before any organism developed the ability to think and reason. So, while thinking is a great adaptation...
- You Are Not So Smart - Pro-cras-ti-nation
One of my favorite blogs out there is You Are Not So Smart. Based on scientific developments in fields like cognitive psychology and behavioral economics, it's a fun and accessible exploration of the many ways in which our minds predictably fail us...
- Jonathan Drori - The Beautiful Tricks Of Flowers
In the game of evolution, the winners are those who successfully manage to survive and reproduce, and one of the best ways to do the latter is sexually. If you simply made perfect copies of yourself, there wouldn't be enough genetic diversity in your...
- Neil Degrasse Tyson - The God Of The Gaps
There are many reasons why lots of otherwise reasonable people don't 'believe' in the theory of evolution. Yes, some of it has to do with their religious background and with a lack of basic education concerning science generally and evolution...
- Laurie Santos - Your Financial Advisor Might As Well Be A Monkey
Are economic crises the result of poorly thought out financial institutional design, or are they the natural consequence of having the kinds of minds we have? To try to get to the bottom of this question, psychologist Laurie Santos and economist Keith...