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ASPartOfMe
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14 Jan 2023, 11:37 am

Society is failing visual thinkers, and that hurts us all

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When I was younger, I believed that everybody thought in photo-realistic pictures the same way I did, with images clicking through my mind a little bit like PowerPoint slides or TikTok videos.

I had no idea that most people are more word-centric than I am. For many, words, not pictures, shape thought. That’s probably how our culture got to be so talky: Teachers lecture, religious leaders preach, politicians make speeches and we watch “talking heads” on TV. We call most of these people neurotypical — they develop along predictable lines and communicate, for the most part, verbally.

I was born in the late 1940s just as the diagnosis of autism was being applied to kids like me. I had no language until age 4 and was first diagnosed as brain damaged. Today, many people would say that I’m neurodivergent — a term that encompasses not only autism but also dyslexia, ADHD and other learning problems. The popularization of the term neurodivergence and society’s growing understanding about the different ways that brains work are unquestionably positive developments for many individuals like me.

Still, many aspects of our society are not set up to allow visual thinkers — which so many of us neurodivergent folks are — to thrive. In fact, many aspects of our society seem set up specifically so we will fail. Schools force students into a one-size-fits-all curriculum. The workplace relies too much on résumés and GPAs to assess candidates’ worth. This must change not only because neurodivergent people, and all visual thinkers, deserve better but also because without a major shift in how we think about how we learn, American innovation will be stifled.

We hear a great deal about the need to fix the infrastructure in this country, but we are too focused on the things that need improving and updating rather than the people who will be able to do the work.

I often get asked what I would do to improve both elementary and high school. The first step would be to put more of an emphasis on hands-on classes such as art, music, sewing, woodworking, cooking, theater, auto mechanics and welding. I would have hated school if the hands-on classes had been removed, as so many have been today. These classes also expose students — especially neurodivergent students — to skills that could become a career. Exposure is key. Too many students are growing up who have never used a tool. They are completely removed from the world of the practical.

Despite my accomplishments, if I were a young person today, I would have difficulty graduating from high school because I could not pass algebra. It was too abstract, with no visual correlations. This is true for many of today’s students who get labeled as bad at math, students who might otherwise pass alternative math courses such as statistics that would also apply to real-life work situations. There is too much emphasis in school on testing and not enough on career outcomes. The fact that I failed the SAT in math prohibited me from getting into veterinary school, but today I am a university professor in animal sciences and I am invited to speak to groups of veterinarians to advise them on their work. The true measure of an education isn’t what grades a student gets today, but where they are 10 years later.

I am often invited to give talks at corporations and government agencies, and the first thing I tell managers is that they need a neurodiverse work force. Complementary skills are the key to successful teams. We need the people who can build our trains and planes and internet, and the people who can make them run. Studies have shown that diverse teams will outperform homogeneous teams. If you’ve ever attended a meeting where nothing gets solved, it may be because there are too many people who think alike.

Today, Taiwan produces the majority of the world’s highest tech silicon chips. Much of the specialized mechanical equipment used for processing meat is made in Holland and Germany. When I visited the Steve Jobs Theater in California, pre-COVID, I discovered that the glass walls were created by an Italian company. The massive carbon fiber roof that looks like a spaceship was imported from Dubai. The reason this equipment is coming from outside the United States can be traced in part to differences in educational systems. In Italy and the Netherlands, for instance, a student at about age 14 decides whether to go the university route or the vocational route. The vocational route is not looked down on or regarded as a lesser form of intelligence. And that’s how it should be everywhere, because the skill sets of visual thinkers are essential to finding real-world solutions to society’s many problems.


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kitesandtrainsandcats
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14 Jan 2023, 2:25 pm

Makes sense to me.
At both the personal experience and observations of others levels.

Yep, do relate so very deeply to that,

Quote:
I would have difficulty graduating from high school because I could not pass algebra. It was too abstract, with no visual correlations. This is true for many of today’s students who get labeled as bad at math, students who might otherwise pass alternative math courses such as statistics that would also apply to real-life work situations.


In Geometry class is was, "Yeah baby, NOW we're talking my language!"

But the NT adults who administrated my childhood and education (parents) were very much the kind mentioned earlier, "For many, words, not pictures, shape thought."

That bit,
Quote:
The first step would be to put more of an emphasis on hands-on classes such as art, music, sewing, woodworking, cooking, theater, auto mechanics and welding.

is a thing I eventually saw should have been my path.

But by the time it was realized and available in concrete thought, my defective body had brought my iffy health down to the point where career paths were no long an option. :(

What's funny, is that even with plenty of that "thinking in pictures" going on, I also had and have skills with words.

At this point I suspect the aforementioned administrators of childhood latched on to that aspect of me and my being and overlooked, misunderstood, and there is evidence of the outright dismissing of, the thinking in pictures half of my being.

:arrow:

We had our weekly creative writers group meeting this morning at a local bake shop.
The rest of the gang have said several times that I can paint very vivid "mental movie" images with words.

And then I come home and work on scratchbuilding the sci-fi spaceship from the pictures in my thoughts.


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Juliette
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14 Jan 2023, 6:25 pm

Thanks for sharing, ASPartofMe.

Kites, knowing you as I do, that’s a terrible shame you were dismissed, overlooked & misunderstood. Especially, as you are in actual fact, incredibly talented & I would consider you “gifted” in both your writings & your outstanding craftsmanship, which you so generously share. I don’t say that lightly, either.

My experiences in education are similar. I was far better at Geography, both Modern & Ancient History, Home Economics(loved sewing & cooking) than Algebra! I enjoyed Economics though & latertaught Maths at both Primary & Secondary level. I was & remain very much a visual thinker. I similarly excelled in writing, and books remain incredibly important. University was something I particularly excelled at, as “thinking in pictures” especially helped in Human Biology(& Nursing subjects), not to mention, all the Childcare Arts & Crafts, Environment & Schedule/Activity Planning. I continue to design clothing & quilts, homemade jointed mohair bears with musical mechanisms & growlers. For these interests, being a visual thinker is a wonderful thing!

For teachers to underestimate the outcomes of students based purely on a particular learning style, not only does a dis-service to the student, but also to society. On the face of it, a student may appear to struggle greatly with Maths, but taking the time to find the teaching method that works best for the individual student can make all the difference.



kitesandtrainsandcats
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14 Jan 2023, 7:48 pm

Juliette wrote:
For teachers to underestimate the outcomes of students based purely on a particular learning style, not only does a dis-service to the student, but also to society.


Yeah, but on the other hand, it does reduce the work involved in mass-producing moderately educated workers for the economic powers to exploit like some kind of consumable resource.
Take a broad brush, slap a coat of minimal smarts on them, and kick 'em out the door.

Oh my, am I getting cynical and jaded in my old age?

Quote:
Kites, knowing you as I do, that’s a terrible shame you were dismissed, overlooked & misunderstood. Especially, as you are in actual fact, incredibly talented & I would consider you “gifted” in both your writings & your outstanding craftsmanship, which you so generously share. I don’t say that lightly, either.

Aww, thanks. :D
And I'm holding you fully responsible for my blushing at the moment. :wink:


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