Thursday, April 17, 2014

Dyslexics as big picture thinkers

In recent weeks it dawned on me that some of my favorite books have enormous scope -- and appear to the work of authors who are either dyslexic themselves of may have dyslexic near relatives.

I thought I would just post the basic idea here. Full list and documentation to come.

How to compare several big picture tasks with the extremely limited tasks that academic tradition requires?

Preliminary list --

Nigel Calder, Time Scales

Wally Broecker, Harvard course book on building and habitable planet

Broecker, W. (2010). The Great Ocean Conveyor: Discovering the Trigger for Abrupt Climate Change. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. 


3 comments:

  1. This morning, struggling my way around my computer, I discovered this site, and the information on Tom West. It is my hope that through this site I may learn to better understand myself, and also help others to better understand themselves.
    On the day our LORD God created me He used the very best parts available. The problem being, they were not the normal parts. My first memory was when I was 4.5 months of age, and my memory started up again when I was 2 yrs old. My mind is visually dyslexic, and photograph. I remember everything that interests me that I read, hear, or see - except - I can never remember what I write, so I keep hard copies. I see and hear things that others don't, and often know what is going to happen in the near future. My brother tells me I should not tell others that I sometimes hear voices, yet I do, as if from a friend. Several times I have heard warnings which saved my life. It is a friendly voice. I am presently 70 years of age, and still trying to figure myself out. I would appreciate any help you can give.

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  2. Hello. What you describe does not sound like classic dyslexia. But there may be some similarities. The neurologist I quote most often in my books says dyslexia is nature's way of creating a variety of brains -- that we all need sooner or later. Maybe you can find useful insights in the other blog postings here and in my books (available in many libraries as well as Amazon, etc.) Good luck, Thomas West

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    1. Hi again, I took the online test to see if I was dyslexic, and of the 37 major categories I related to 23 of them. My dad forced me to read from the Bible every night, out loud, so although I did learn to read, I understand better when I read to myself-so I do not have to struggle with the pronunciation. Although it has improved with the use of the computer, my spelling was horrendous when I was younger. My mind spins constantly, going from idea to idea. When I am trying to come up with a new invention, I can throw an idea into my mind, spin it and look at all sides of it, dissect it, and put it all back together. (I can also add color if I want.) Then I will know if it will work. I designed an instant cold pop can back in the 80's, but at the time it was not cost effective. I am extremely good at solving problems. Although I can multitask, I do better if I only deal with one or two things at a time. I failed my way through high school, made a B+ on the ACT, and then failed out of college. Wanting to know everything, yet not being able to do it through higher education, I started job hopping. In the last 50 years I have changed jobs more that 65 times. Every thing from Explosives to heavy equipment operation to plumbing to electrical to handiman to program director to truck driver to... you get the idea. Now, at age 70 I know how to do many things, yet I still crave to know more. Overall, since high school I have attended 14 different colleges, universities, and trade schools. Although my I.Q. is high, my smarts is low. If I am not the typical visually dyslexic person - what am I? Thanks for your time.

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