BS: HOW do you think?

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: GUEST,999
Date: 27 Jan 10 - 08:36 PM

http://www.achieve-goal-setting-success.com/multiple-intelligences.html

Ten miniute read about Gardner's 'Multiple Intelligences'. Note. he originally identified seven but later increased that number to nine. It's ten minutes well spent.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 27 Jan 10 - 05:43 PM

I don't understand your question, Rowan, but I'm sure there are more kinds of intelligence to add to that list.

For example, I have a friend who can watch a complicated mechanical device perform a rapid-fire operation, and she understands immediately which part does what, and what's wrong with it, if anything.

I just stare at it in bewilderment.

On the other hand, where I would say something is 'infinitesimal,' she would have to stop to think and then settle for 'very, very, very small.'

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Rowan
Date: 26 Jan 10 - 10:43 PM

Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")

Some of you are specialists at such things and I have a question you might be able to help me with.

The development of understanding of perspective in graphic representation (drawings, paintings and other pictures) is relatively recent and there have been several versions of representation of "depth" within a picture, at different times and in different cultures. There are other aspects of graphic representation (such as semiotics) that have led me to understand "picture smart" as "graphic smart", whereas other (perhaps 'most', for me) aspects of spatial intelligence involve interpretation of extrapersonal landscape (whether geographic in the old sense or even in the "situational awareness" sense). This would add an extra type of intelligence to the above lists.

Have I got the wrong end of the stick?

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 26 Jan 10 - 07:25 PM

I've thought of a good example of 2 different ways of thinking.

I was at an early-music workshop where the teacher handed out a spagnoletta, which is a stately renaissance dance. All spagnolettas are much alike.

The teacher said something like, "In a spagnoletta, the second derivative of the fifth beat is tangential to the congruent triangle on the hypotenuse of the next measure." Well, that's not actually what she said, but whatever she said, none of us understood it. I could see complete bewilderment on many faces.

I made a buddy at that workshop, a woman named Maggie who played the most lovely recorder music but didn't know how to count. She asked me about the spagnoletta, and I said, "Pretend we are singing words to this. The pick-up note is an unimportant word, something like 'when, it's, oh or if.' The sentence goes for not-quite two measures. The 12th beat is the next unimportant word, so put a tinny pause or diminuendo before it. Then start a new sentence."

She got it right away. It's how I do it, too. For me, counting beats works down to the quarter-note level, but smaller than that, I keep the beat but use language, not numbers.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 26 Jan 10 - 04:37 PM

What's the point of just having numbers?

"10 plus 10 equals..?"

10 what?

How can you expect a child to do a sum when there's no picture in it.

'10 eggs plus 10 eggs' makes sense, but the other way?

Nope...means nothing...

You can't add it, subtract it, times it or divide it if you can't *see* what 'it' is in the first place....

Not in my brain, anyway...

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Mrs.Duck
Date: 26 Jan 10 - 01:11 PM

That's how I'd do it, Adder, although I wouldn't write it as I can easily see numbers in my head.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Riginslinger
Date: 25 Jan 10 - 11:30 PM

"HOW do you think?"

          Not like most other folks!

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 25 Jan 10 - 12:04 PM

Hello, Dave. I use plumbing too, but not for computers, for cables, such as on the stereo.

It finally started to make sense when I visualized music spurting, like water, out of the 'line out' cables and into the speakers.

I mean, what does 'line out' tell you, anyhow? "This here is a line, and it's going out." So what?

Years ago I read an article about picture thinkers and word thinkers. (I'm sure nobody is actually 100% one or the other.) The article said that the two groups do not appreciate one another, and meetings can get acrimonious unless somebody figures out what is the matter.

Most people get along better once the problem is explained.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: GUEST,Adder
Date: 25 Jan 10 - 12:01 PM

That "fast" way of multiplying by eleven seems very time-consuming to me. I suppose I'd just write the number out, then "add a nothing" (i.e., multiply by ten) and write this below, and add both. Same thing I guess - isn't it?

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Ebbie
Date: 25 Jan 10 - 11:42 AM

Is that where Senator Ted Stevens got his information on internet tubes, D (eG? :)

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 25 Jan 10 - 11:26 AM

I envisage computer infractuctures and commuication flow in terms of...


Plumbing!


Honestly - I can fully understand bridged routers, SAN resilience, application information interchange and all that crap in by seeing pipes with water flushing round them. Must work as I have been doing it for a living for more years than I care to remember.

Of course I could be just mad.

:D (eG)

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Donuel
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 09:47 PM

My son once turned the days of the week Mon-Sun into a system of base 7 so he could add multiply and subtract in weekdays.

Patterns, schedules, rules. It gives a reliable sense of order in a disordered universe.

We all have our coping mechanisms.


My reaction to a disordered universe is to be a humanist and respect science.

For others it is petitioning the lord with prayer.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Ebbie
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 06:58 PM

Peace, my father used to mention the 'magic 11'. He was born in 1901 in rural North Dakota and was an 8th grade graduate but he was proud of his math skills

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 06:05 PM

Bloody BRILLIANT!

'Slow' learners....PAH! How insulting!


Ronald D. Davis, who wrote 'The Gift of Dyslexia' was treated terribly by his teachers, despite being a mathematical genius. Why? Because he couldn't explain how he got the answers right,every single time. Just as 'Guest999' says above, he knew all about patterns, but he couldn't play to 'their' rules, and for that he was literally 'cast out'.

It isn't always children who have much to learn..................

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: GUEST,999
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 05:46 PM

PS The kid was 12 at the time and he'd failed math since he entered school.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: GUEST,999
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 05:44 PM

Sorry: for those who don't see it:

23 x 11: sprtead the 2 and 3 apart. Add them. The sum is 5. Put that in the middle. Therefore, 23 x 11 = 253. Note that when the number to be multiplied by 11 will add to over 10, there will be a carry over TO THE LEFT. So, 49 x 11 will equal (from right to left) 9. Middle number will be 3 (from the addition of 4 and 9. The 1 that's left will move left and be added to the 4.) Our answer is then 539.

When the number 135 is multiplied by 11, forget about the 3, it will be removed. That will be handled by the math.

1    3    5

Keep the 1. Add 1 and 3. Put the 4 to the right of the 1. Add the 3 and the 5. Put the 8 to the right of the 3. NOW, forget the 3. Keep the 5. Our answer is 1485. That is 135 x 11.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: GUEST,999
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 05:30 PM

Very few people learn just one way. Usually we learn in combinations. People who have never work closely with autistic people or learned to understand that aspect of themselves do have a difficult time 'seeing' that. Many autistic spectrum children/adults have extremely developed gifts in areas of learning. I was showing some students a fast way to multiply double digit numbers by 11.

23 x 11 = 253; or 37 x 11 = 407.

The next day one student came in and said, "I'll show you something."

He wrote

135 x 11 = 1485.

Took a few minutes for some of us to see what he'd done. These kids were in a special class for 'slower learners'. He didn't understand rules, but he did understand patterns.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 05:27 PM

There are many people on the Autism Circle who are incredibly intelligent, kind, honest, compassionate and articulate.

Temple is far from alone in this.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Ebbie
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 05:23 PM

The Villan: I am proud to know you.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 05:23 PM


I still don't understand how she has become so articulate although I realize that she is 'high end'.

Not all "autism" is non-articulate. My son was so articulate by age 3 he sounded like a little professor. He still does!

I also recommend a sweet and silly book, All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome for a useful overview.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Rasener
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 04:48 PM

I used to go to all the appointments with my daughter and that was with specilaist that understood Autism.
As I was teaching at the time, I made notes on the things that excited and interested my daughter. I noted some wonderful teaching techniques fron some very skilled people.
Eventually I designed my own course for my daugher based on my obsevations.
I then employed a student who was trying to get her degree in psychology.
I gave her my lesson plan and she stuck to it rigidly. She was amazing and the specialists were amazed at how her skills developed. I never let them know what was happening. This was at the age of 4 to 5 for my daugher. I remember how excited she was at having these day lessons.

Another thing I did was to take many photo's of things we did and use those photo's to help her undertand through pictures what we were going to do. So if we were going to the speech therapist, I showed her a photo of the car and then a photo of the speech therapist 5 minutes before we went out. She understood.

I also spent a lot of time helping her to use the computer at that age, even though some of the specialist were horrified at that. I have never regretted that, as the computer was a brilliant way of helping her to communicate.

Obviously over time things were changed to adapt to her latest situations.

She now goes to main stream with one to one support.

Early intervention and a willingness by parents to understand and do all they can to help them develope over time are critical.

In order to do that, one of us had to stop working and work solely on that side. As my wife wanted to carry on with her self employment as a freelance translator, we decided that I would stop working and do everyting in my power to help our daughter.

we sacrificed a lot and are basically broke because of that, but we wouldn't want to change that.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 04:24 PM

"Perhaps there are real people who are that nimble at going from one ability/intelligence to a different one, but I have never known one."

There are, Donuel. I know..

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Donuel
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 01:12 PM

I particularly like these designations:

Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"):
Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")
Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")
Musical intelligence ("music smart")
Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")
Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")


A hero in an action drama, like James Bond has all of these abilities fine tuned and at the ready at all times.

Perhaps there are real people who are that nimble at going from one ability/intelligence to a different one, but I have never known one.

I have noticed particular difficulties going from one kind of smart to another such as creating visual imagery and paintings and then thinking only in musical lines.

With practice going from one to the other does get easier but my point here is that a possible "9th intelligene catagory such as "Transitional smart or Integrational smart ( an ease of shifting gears from one intelligence to another).

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Ebbie
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 12:42 PM

Animaterra, I knew I'd heard Temple Grandin before. Great and informative book.

I still don't understand how she has become so articulate although I realize that she is 'high end'. She must be an inspiration to myriads of different-learning people.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 08:18 AM

When my son was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in 93/94, Temple Grandin was just about the only available resource to read up about what was going on with my boy. Her book Thinking in Pictures gave good insights into her mind, and opened my mind to appreciate that my son was seeing the world very differently from the way his parents and teachers did.
About that same time, as a teacher I was introduced to the theories of multiple intelligences, and learned to vary my teaching style to address the fact that no two children learn in exactly the same way.

My parenting made me a better teacher, and I believe my teaching made me a better parent as well. My son is a fine, upstanding (at 6'4"!) adult, who can't seem to get a job because he's too "odd" for a standard computer job (he has a brilliant mind and a BS in computer science) but too smart to qualify for the "special" jobs that are available in our community, like bagger at the grocery store. Thank heaven for the limited services that give him an affordable apartment, food stamps, and a limited stipend to survive.

This does have to do with Temple Grandin, because she (through her books and articles) was my first teacher to help me help my son.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Folkiedave
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 07:46 AM

I taught adult learners for a number of years and was an adult learner myself.

The first lesson was always - How do you learn and we talked about different learning styles and the way people process information.

The BBC ran a series in the 1970's with a man called Tony Buzan. Well worth a look also some of the techniques he uses are very relevant to the way that people learn.

I notice that the lady seemed to say that early intervention by specialists was so important. I am sure we all agree with that.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Gurney
Date: 24 Jan 10 - 12:25 AM

Wish I'd seen that 20 years ago.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Ebbie
Date: 23 Jan 10 - 04:36 PM

That was my main thought, too, Peace. I would imagine her audiences are primarily parents of autistic/asperger's children and the teachers that will be involved with the children. I kept thinking, What a great way to help us understand!

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: GUEST,999
Date: 23 Jan 10 - 04:00 PM

Although that info is really about learning (ways we learn), it concomitantly shows ways to teach, and there is the thing that's important. One of the things we know in the world of education is that most teachers are chalk/talk or aural learners. So, that's the way they teach (because that's the way they learned). When Gardner's work began to gain use and currency, it began to influence the approach teachers took and take in the classroom. In years to come I expect that stats will show higher 'school completion' percentages. It's back to the old saw that "when the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: GUEST,999
Date: 23 Jan 10 - 03:54 PM

The subject of learning can be viewed through Multiple Intelligences.

" words (linguistic intelligence)
numbers or logic (logical-mathematical intelligence)
pictures (spatial intelligence)
music (musical intelligence)
self-reflection (intrapersonal intelligence)
a physical experience (bodily-kinesthetic intelligence)
a social experience (interpersonal intelligence), and/or
an experience in the natural world. (naturalist intelligence) "

I believe that there is a ninth 'method', but that info is about 2 years old.

" Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"):
Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")
Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")
Musical intelligence ("music smart")
Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")
Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart") "

That is from the work of Howard Gardner (but fom the site of Thomas Armstrong.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 23 Jan 10 - 03:34 PM

"The ways people process data varies in many more...even more complex...ways, which accounts for many of the differences of opinion in certain areas. "

That is SO true, Bill. :0)


I'm glad you liked it, Ebbie. I was pretty impressed by Temple Grandin as well.

I'm sure Dan told me about her, way back.   I just happened on that video today, out of the blue, and I too learnt a great deal, and saw much that I've been jumping up and down about for years, trying to get people to understand, so it was wonderful to watch her telling folks so eloquently. Lovely lady.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Bill D
Date: 23 Jan 10 - 03:09 PM

I first learned that when I met a man who did NOT think in images. I was to present his with a Pert Chart of his project...(10 ft of computer-drawn interlocked lines representing the various phases).
He said, "Never mind, I don't look at those"
I said, "But it's just sort of like a road map, and..."
He said,"I don't do road maps, either!"
I asked,"How do you get places?"
"I get a series of directions...'go south on Jones Road for 12 miles, turn left at the white fence, go 3.2 miles till there is a church...etc."

He really did not 'see' the connection between lines on a map and reality.

I know another guy who learns aurally... he has people tell him things, and remembers them very well.

The ways people process data varies in many more...even more complex...ways, which accounts for many of the differences of opinion in certain areas.

Subject: RE: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Ebbie
Date: 23 Jan 10 - 01:39 PM

That's a wonderful video, Lizzie C. I learned a lot.

Subject: BS: HOW do you think?
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 23 Jan 10 - 06:02 AM

Well, after watching this brilliant video of Temple Grandin, I realise that I think like she does, in images...always in images, although I've always known that.

It's a fascinating video, albeit a long one, but so worth watching, as it's filled with such common sense and intelligence and after putting it in the 'A Wish for Autism' thread, I thought it deserved a thread of its own, because we all think so very differently, learn in different ways etc...


Temple Grandin - Youtube