Thinking in Pictures

A book that changed how I think is that by Temple Grandin, Thinking In Pictures. Grandin has autism and her book describes her incredible array of abilities as a result. She is also honest about her disabilities, but her abilities far outweigh the struggles she has.

I did not recognize my own Asperger Syndrome at the time--I only knew that I had some kind of connection to Grandin and that I understood what she had to say. At the time I was doing my dissertation, which was in part based on semiotic theory. Through reading Grandin's book, I realized that semiotic theory is logocentric. Or to put it in a way that folks who are not familiar with semiotic theory will understand: the theories about how we make meaning are based on language and yet we make meaning in other ways. Grandin's primary way of making meaning and remembering things (representing things in her brain) is pictorial, not word-based.

In some areas of my life, I am a pictorial thinker. When Apple Computers created the icon-based Macintosh, I bought one and really enjoyed using it. Later when I had to teach other people how to use a computer, I discovered that I felt irritated--I was having to put something in language when I "think in pictures" while using a computer. Thinking in pictures feels like a far deeper way of thinking for me--I just do things and I have a profound sense of concentration when I am doing those things--when I am working on the computer. It's frustrating to have to come out of that deep wonderful space to help someone else who needs words and who can't just see how things work the way I see them.

I am also a musical thinker. That's how I met my husband--playing music. I remember we were both playing fiddles--he was playing melody and I was playing a harmony. It was a powerful form of communication for me and I think that's when I fell in love!

Anyway, there are lots of ways to think and each way to think has its advantages and disadvantages. If language could do everything, we wouldn't need paintings, sculptures, music, or dance.