Delving Deep Into Different Kinds of Minds: An Interview with Dr. Temple Grandin

About a year ago or so the New Yorker ran an article called How We Should Think About Our Different Styles of Thinking? Subtitle: “Some people say their thought takes place in images, some in words. But our mental processes are more mysterious than we realize.” Maybe you’ve seen that meme going around, along the same lines, about how different kinds of people visualize:

This meme got a fair amount of attention after author John Green confessed that he was a five.

For those of us that are ones or twos, the idea that an author could be a five is baffling. But what made the New Yorker article so interesting was that not only has this information been out there for a while, folks have written entire studies on it. Heck, folks have written entire books on it. Folks like Temple Grandin.

Dr. Temple Grandin is known for any number of things but here’s her biography according to Britannica online:

“Temple Grandin (born August 29, 1947, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) American scientist and industrial designer whose own experience with autism funded her professional work in creating systems to counter stress in certain human and animal populations.”

This year, 2023, Dr. Grandin released a young reader’s combination of some of her books called Different Kinds of Minds: A Guide to Your Brain. It talks about this way of seeing the world, but also the larger applications to learning and schooling. Its description reads:

“Do you like puzzles, coding, and taking things apart? Do you write stories, act in plays, slay at Wordle? The things you are good at are clues to how your brain works. Are you good at math? Working with your hands? Are you a neat freak or a big mess?

With her knack for making science easy to understand, Temple Grandin explains different types of thinkers: verbal thinkers who are good with language, and visual thinkers who think in pictures and patterns. You will discover all kinds of minds and how we need to work together to create solutions to help solve real-world problems.”

I was given the chance to talk to Dr. Grandin about this book recently. Enjoy our talk about the brain and beyond:

Filed under: Interviews, Videos