By Lou Page
Fido nuked your sofa? What
was Fido thinking?
Snowball minced your favorite chair? What was that all
about?
Animals in Translation, by Temple Grandin and
Catherine Johnson, offers answers. In this national
bestseller, the authors compare the thinking behind animal
behaviors with the thinking behind human behaviors.
Although Grandin is autistic, she holds a Ph.D. in
animal science. She works with industry, the government, and
teaches at Colorado State University. Johnson also holds a
Ph.D. She is a writer specializing in neuropsychiatry.
Grandin’s autism, she says, makes her think more like
animals. That’s because autistics and animals, she says,
rely on their strong visually-based perceptions, rather than
language skills. In contrast, non-autistic humans, rely on
their strong language-based conceptions.
“The trouble with normal people is they’re too cerebral. I
call it being abstractified,” Grandin says.
Being abstractified in thoughts and sensory
perceptions, she explains, non-autistic humans have trouble
perceiving their environment, or “setup,” as it really is.
Instead, they see “the abstract, generalized concept of the
setup” they have inside their heads. In other words, they
see their idea of the thing, rather than the thing itself.
Being abstractified makes non-autistics miss things,
sometimes very crucial things. But, it has its positive
side. Non-autistics have the ability to generalize.
Unconsciously, they sum up the details, then consciously
make a decision and move on. In other words, they can see
the forest for the trees. Autistics, on the other hand,
cannot generalize. They get stuck in the trees.
Animals in Translation tackles animal feelings and
aggression, pain and suffering, and animal genius in
nonscientific terms. The authors present fascinating
research and real-life experiences between people and their
pets, ranch animals, farm animals, even wild animals.
For everyone interested in animal, and human, behavior,
Animals in Translation, is easy to pick up, yet tough
to put down.
wwwP
Dr. Temple
Grandin
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©2006 Virginia Greene
All rights reserved.
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