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Visual Thinking summary

Name: Visual Thinking
Rating: 4 (76 reviews)
Author: Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin

The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions

4 (76 ratings)

20 mins

Brief summary

Visual Thinking by Temple Grandin is a book that dives into the power of visual thinking and how it can be harnessed to enhance creativity, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Topics

Neuroscience Creative Flow Critical Thinking & Problem Solving The Human Condition Inspiration Design

Table of Contents

Visual Thinking
Summary of 6 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 6

What’s in it for me? Discover the power of neurodiversity.

Ever find yourself wondering why others don’t think the same way you do?

This is a typical human problem. After all, our only frame of reference is our own mind. But the more accurate stance is to recognize that no two people think exactly alike.

Like a lot of human traits, our way of thinking can be seen to exist on a spectrum. In this case, it’s a spectrum of verbal thinkers and visual thinkers. For some people, tackling an issue is done with the help of words and language. For others, it’s about sorting things out visually through patterns and abstractions. And then there are those who do a little of both.

But as we’ll explore in this Blink, places like the US tend to champion verbal thinkers over visual thinkers. And not just that, but visual thinkers are often considered to be in need of remedial treatment.

In an attempt to right this wrong, we’ll highlight the importance of understanding and appreciating different cognitive styles – and the diverse strengths they bring to various domains.

What is visual thinking?

Growing up, Temple Grandin believed that everyone thought like her – in pictures. It wasn’t until she was much older that she realized many people think in words. They were verbal thinkers, while she was a visual thinker.

Later still, through the work of researchers like Maria Kozhevnikov, she found out that there are two kinds of visual thinkers: object visualizers, who think in pictures, and spatial visualizers, who see patterns and abstractions. Grandin is an object visualizer – as are many artists, graphic designers, architects, inventors, and mechanical engineers. Conversely, many statisticians, scientists, engineers, and physicists are spatial visualizers.

Visual thinking is a unique cognitive style that involves creating mental images and associations. It allows individuals to quickly make connections – like having an internal GPS for navigating their surroundings.

As a person’s visual database grows with age and experience, they become even better problem-solvers. They can make more connections and see solutions more clearly, benefiting from their rich reservoir of visual data.

Research indicates that the brain's visual and verbal systems develop differently as children grow. And people’s thinking exists on a spectrum; individuals may have a mix of visual and verbal tendencies. This balance varies from person to person and can manifest in different strengths and weaknesses.

But one thing is certain: visual thinking is a valuable asset, particularly in creative and problem-solving fields. Object visualizers excel in practical tasks, while spatial visualizers thrive in abstract thinking. The merging of these skills, and combining them with verbal thinking, is crucial for innovation.

So then why is it that society often prioritizes verbal thinking? In the following sections, we’ll find out.

Screening out bright thinkers

Around the turn of the century, a major change was underway in the US school system. Classes that emphasized hands-on learning were disappearing, and being replaced by those that emphasized standardized testing. This was reinforced in a major way by the No Child Left Behind Act, which was introduced in 2001. The consequence was the loss of opportunities for visual thinkers to explore their interests and talents.

Many schools have since eliminated hands-on classes like shop, welding, and mechanics that, for decades, had allowed visual thinkers to thrive. Nowadays, many visual thinkers are considered poor academic performers and placed in special education. But they may just have a thinking style ill-suited to current teaching methods biased toward verbal, linear thinkers who test well.

Disappearing engineers

So, what happens when a nation’s education system emphasizes standardized testing and screens out visual thinkers? Well, we can actually see the effects of this already. In the larger global context, the US is facing challenges in innovation and manufacturing.

Much of the manufacturing and industrial infrastructure that’s used in the US comes from Europe, with innovative designs coming from countries like Denmark or Germany. And it’s hard to argue that it doesn’t have something to do with the way in which trade schools and visual-thinking students have been neglected.

When great minds meet

So far, we've learned that there are different types of thinkers – including verbal, object, and spatial. Understanding this diversity is the first step toward successful collaboration in a variety of fields, like scientific research, computer science, engineering, and the arts.

Great ideas often emerge when different thinkers join forces. It may sound like a cliché, but there’s some truth to the idea that “suits,” or businesspeople, tend to think alike, while original ideas come from those with unique perspectives. Tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook all started when diverse minds got together and dreamed, resulting in groundbreaking innovations.

Genius ingredients

Edison, Einstein, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk. If we look at their personalities and characteristics, we can see that many of the people we hold up as geniuses share more in common than just entrepreneurial success. Like many visual thinkers, these people all struggled at school – and they ended up revealing their great potential once they engaged in hands-on activities.

It’s not hard to see that neurodiversity, including autism and visual thinking, has been crucial for human progress. But it’s also important to note that gifts can come at a cost: when one sense is heightened, it’s often at the expense of others. If, say, a person is autistic, has Asperger’s, or is on the extreme spectrum of visual thinking, their heightened awareness of sensory details can coincide with things like a lack of empathy, social awareness, or personal hygiene.

Anticipating problems and empathizing with animals

For this last section, let’s shift gears to look at the critical role visual thinkers can play in two areas: identifying potentially dangerous situations and recognizing animal consciousness.

We’ve already mentioned that visual thinkers are especially adept at noticing the fine details. Now, this doesn’t mean that visual thinkers can predict the future – but it does mean that they excel at identifying design flaws and system failures that can lead to disasters. The world needs both scientists and hands-on problem-solvers to tackle twenty-first-century problems.

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What is Visual Thinking about?

Visual Thinking (2022) offers an authoritative view on different ways of thinking, and how those differences have been crucial to many of our biggest creative advancements. It shows how society tends to be biased toward verbal thinkers – and how visual thinkers, albeit typically underserved in society, bring an array of crucial skills to various domains.

Who should read Visual Thinking?

Anyone curious about autism
Artists and creative minds
People interested in team-building

About the Author

Temple Grandin is an activist, professor, and animal behavior expert. Her work in improving animal welfare and her unique perspective on autism have made her an influential figure in both fields. Her previous books include The Way I See It and Thinking in Pictures.

Categories with Visual Thinking

Motivation & Inspiration Science Psychology Creativity

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