Great Minds Are Not All The Same, 3rd Edition

March 18, 2024

Temple Grandin

Hosted by Department

Abstract

Temple Grandin is a world-renowned animal scientist and outspoken advocate for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She has published dozens of books and guides (Temple Grandin publications) on her personal and professional experiences with “being on the spectrum” and how that has served her in her chosen career path. She is often credited with helping shine a spotlight on ASD, and neurodiversity in general, in mainstream society via her ground-breaking publication: “Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism” (1995). Dr. Grandin also calls attention to the removal of public-school curriculum to which many visual thinkers are drawn, such as the fine arts and mechanically oriented hands-on courses. Her books, such as “Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions” (2022), enlighten and educate those unaware of this loss to our public education system and the resulting disservice to society. As she likes to say: “We need the skills of people who think differently” and “where are all of the clever engineers?”! She argues the world needs all types of thinkers working together to solve both minor and major problems (e.g., world food shortages, sickness and disease, climate change) and create a better society for all.

In this seminar, Temple will walk us through what it means to “think differently” (e.g., object visualizers, spatial/patterns/mathematicians, verbal thinkers) and provide lessons learned from her long and illustrious career in both animal husbandry, engineering, and autism advocacy. She will explore tips for “working with minds that are different.” We (members of the ATS/CIRA Neurodiversity Club) encourage the broader ATS/CIRA community to join us as these topics will likely resonate with those who are neurodivergent, work with neurodivergent colleagues, navigate life with neurodivergent children or family members, or are simply interested in learning more about how different brains work.

Dr. Grandin received a bachelor’s degree in human psychology from Franklin Pierce College (1970), a master’s degree in animal science from Arizona State University (1975), and a doctoral degree in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1989). Dr. Grandin is a professor in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University.