Visual thinkers see images in their mind’s eye – they include everyone from the photorealist-inclined “object visualizers” with a knack for design and problem solving, to the more mathematically inclined, who excel at abstraction, pattern recognition, and systemic thinking. Even though visual thinkers constitute a far greater proportion of the population than previously believed, we live in a language-dominated world that tends to sideline visual thinkers, screening them out at school and passing over them in the workplace. In the new landmark book Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions, New York Times bestselling author, autism activist, and scientist Temple Grandin, Ph.D. (FAN ’14) explores cutting-edge research to take us inside the world of visual thinking, reframing the conversation on neurodiversity and showing how necessary different types of thinkers are essential for our collective well-being.

Whether by transforming how we think about autism or through her work on animal behavior, Dr. Grandin has never stopped following—and driving—the research on what makes minds tick. A professor of animal science at Colorado State University and the author of the New York Times bestsellers Animals in Translation, Animals Make Us Human, and The Autistic Brain, her bestselling memoir Thinking in Pictures (later turned into an award-winning biopic staring Claire Danes) broke ground on neurodiversity, transforming scientific investigation and public understanding. In Visual Thinking she again leads the way, distilling the latest research, redirecting the conversation, and showing the path forward in her mission to celebrate the different ways our brains are wired, to advocate for the conditions that will let visual thinkers thrive, and to recognize the advantages that follow for us all.

This event suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded but not livestreamed and will be available on our website and YouTube channel.

This event is presented by Family Action Network (FAN). Gorton Center is proud to partner with FAN as a sponsor of this event to bring this programming to our patrons.