A blog of a writer with high-functioning autistic savant syndrome
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Scientific American Interview
I recently did an interview for Scientific American, discussing some of the ideas in my new book 'Embracing the Wide Sky: A Tour Across the Horizons of the Mind'. Here's the link:
Hi Daniel, I've just ordered your book and I look forward to reading it. I saw a special on television some time ago about you. Though I share none of your language abilities, I've always wondered if a vastly more efficient language than English would be possible, or if it already exists. One with shorter words, more compact sentence structure, fewer letters even; all without losing meaning. Have you any thoughts on this? Thank you, Logan
I just read your article from New Scientist. I am far from savant in any respect, however, I have experienced in small scale a like experience with numbers and words.
When I find myself trying to remember a number I don't necessarily search for an image of the number itself or the name of the number but rather I the color,texture or shape (not physical shape - associative shape) of the number etc.
As for words, I write poetry, and seeing words as entities with dimensions beyond their meaning and sound seems to me to be at the very least part of the definition of poetry if not the very heart of it.
That was a long way of saying that I agree with the idea that the savant and non-savant mind have more commonality than is generally acknowledged.
Does your book address ways to enhance these skills in the non-savant mind?
Hi, Daniel- I just finished reading Born on Blue Day and just ordered your newest book. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself with all of us! I am a teacher in the US and work with students between the ages of 11 and 14 who are on the autism spectrum. I am also the extremely proud mother of a son who has recently been diagnosed with PDD. He is only two years old and stories like yours give me wonderful hope for his future! Thanks again for being such a clear and positive voice for people with autism spectrum disorders.
I would like to thank you Daniel for writing the book "Born on a Blue Day" For someone with a life quite different from mine I was able to find interesting similarities to my own very out of the ordinary childhood in which I was isolated from others and as a result had difficulty interpreting and interacting with people and emotions later on and to this day. An example that stands out is I would ignore other people or pass time by pacing in a large circle or rectangle while taking specifically measured steps as close to 12 inches as possible then count the steps and relate that into feet, then miles and laps and how long it would take me to travel whatever distance I ended up at. I believe I went 8.5 miles the last time. This was at times much more interesting than trying to fit in with other people.
Daniel, I have just finished reading "Born on a Blue Day" and I absolutely loved it. Many aspects of your childhood (including your interests and experiences with other children) are almost identical to mine. I am on the autistic spectrum also (though I was not diagnosed as such until very recently) and as we were born just one day apart (what colour is a Tuesday?) and I am also gay, so our childhood experiences and our experiences were very similar and happened at almost exactly the same time, so I felt like I was reading a book about myself at some points.
I also find languages very easy to learn and I found your chapters on language very interesting.
Thank you so, so much for writing such a beautiful book and I am very excited about your new book and look forward to reading it. xxx
ég las Born on a Blue Day fyrir nokkru síðan, og er svo þakklát fyrir hvað þú getur lýst þér og hugsunum þínum vel, svo að við fáum að skilja heim þinn. Ég veit að þú hefur hjálpað mörgum foreldrum og fjölskyldum fólks með einhverfu (autism) og gefið þeim von, þó ég viti vel að það er kannski ekki alveg það sama og autistic savant syndrome.
8 comments:
Hi Daniel, I've just ordered your book and I look forward to reading it. I saw a special on television some time ago about you. Though I share none of your language abilities, I've always wondered if a vastly more efficient language than English would be possible, or if it already exists. One with shorter words, more compact sentence structure, fewer letters even; all without losing meaning. Have you any thoughts on this? Thank you, Logan
Hi Daniel,
I just read your article from New Scientist. I am far from savant in any respect, however, I have experienced in small scale a like experience with numbers and words.
When I find myself trying to remember a number I don't necessarily search for an image of the number itself or the name of the number but rather I the color,texture or shape (not physical shape - associative shape) of the number etc.
As for words, I write poetry, and seeing words as entities with dimensions beyond their meaning and sound seems to me to be at the very least part of the definition of poetry if not the very heart of it.
That was a long way of saying that I agree with the idea that the savant and non-savant mind have more commonality than is generally acknowledged.
Does your book address ways to enhance these skills in the non-savant mind?
Thank you,
Cassandra
Hi, Daniel-
I just finished reading Born on Blue Day and just ordered your newest book. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself with all of us!
I am a teacher in the US and work with students between the ages of 11 and 14 who are on the autism spectrum. I am also the extremely proud mother of a son who has recently been diagnosed with PDD. He is only two years old and stories like yours give me wonderful hope for his future!
Thanks again for being such a clear and positive voice for people with autism spectrum disorders.
Melissa
I'm just listening to your interview now on NPR and look forward to picking up your book.
May I say that you have a very beautiful and compelling voice.
I would like to thank you Daniel for writing the book "Born on a Blue Day" For someone with a life quite different from mine I was able to find interesting similarities to my own very out of the ordinary childhood in which I was isolated from others and as a result had difficulty interpreting and interacting with people and emotions later on and to this day. An example that stands out is I would ignore other people or pass time by pacing in a large circle or rectangle while taking specifically measured steps as close to 12 inches as possible then count the steps and relate that into feet, then miles and laps and how long it would take me to travel whatever distance I ended up at. I believe I went 8.5 miles the last time. This was at times much more interesting than trying to fit in with other people.
Daniel,
I have just finished reading "Born on a Blue Day" and I absolutely loved it. Many aspects of your childhood (including your interests and experiences with other children) are almost identical to mine. I am on the autistic spectrum also (though I was not diagnosed as such until very recently) and as we were born just one day apart (what colour is a Tuesday?) and I am also gay, so our childhood experiences and our experiences were very similar and happened at almost exactly the same time, so I felt like I was reading a book about myself at some points.
I also find languages very easy to learn and I found your chapters on language very interesting.
Thank you so, so much for writing such a beautiful book and I am very excited about your new book and look forward to reading it.
xxx
Hæ Daniel,
ég las Born on a Blue Day fyrir nokkru síðan, og er svo þakklát fyrir hvað þú getur lýst þér og hugsunum þínum vel, svo að við fáum að skilja heim þinn. Ég veit að þú hefur hjálpað mörgum foreldrum og fjölskyldum fólks með einhverfu (autism) og gefið þeim von, þó ég viti vel að það er kannski ekki alveg það sama og autistic savant syndrome.
Kærar þakkir fyrir allt!
Kveðja,
Steinunn Björk.
Hi Daniel i read your book (Born in Blue Day ) and i think your a great person .......... And im going to order your new book
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