For some reason, although the title doesn't imply it, I thought this book was going to be about how horse therapy can help lots of teens who are sociaFor some reason, although the title doesn't imply it, I thought this book was going to be about how horse therapy can help lots of teens who are socially awkward. Maybe because the author is a horse therapist.
But no, the author also has been in her career a school administrator at some alternative schools, and this book is about the parallels she's seen between horses and teenagers, and how that insight can help adults deal with teens in a new way.
It's valuable. Nobody (who's ever been in the same zip code as a horse) would expect to be able to deal with it through brute force; similarly, teenagers (who just recently, as children, were obeying instruction without question) don't, ah, respond constructively, let us say, to more and more insistent requests.
In short, both species (yes, teens are a different species than you or me) need respect for their points of view. In long, well, Kirby says it better than I could, and I guess that's why she wrote a whole book about it....more
Quite naturally, I assumed I'd read this book, do a couple of fun exercises therein, and be able to remember everything I ever wanted to again.
Well, nQuite naturally, I assumed I'd read this book, do a couple of fun exercises therein, and be able to remember everything I ever wanted to again.
Well, no. Foer tells you all you need to know (and it's really not much) to memorize the kinds of things memory gurus memorize (digits, playing cards, peoples' names), but it's still a lot of work.
The tricks boil down to conjuring ridiculous images, and placing them spatially in a place you know well (like, a tour of your house).
And, he rightly points out, these people that master it still forget their car keys as much as anyone else, forget to mail in that form as much as anyone else, forget the kind of stuff that really causes trouble as anyone else. Because the problem with that stuff is that you never set aside the time and effort to stick it in your brain, if necessary with a trigger to remind you later that it's time to retrieve it.
Ultimately, one is left with the impression that it's all a party trick. Impressive but not so useful.
I wonder, though. It seems like it could be great for learning a foreign language quickly.
Side note: He spends the better part of a chapter on Born on a Blue Day memoirist/self-described-savant Daniel Tammet, and presents good evidence that Tammet isn't a savant (in the Rain Man sense) as he claims, just a guy who's good at these techniques and pretends to be a synesthete....more
This is a very encouraging book for anybody who knows someone with the Asperger's version of autism, or think someday you might know one. Aspie's are This is a very encouraging book for anybody who knows someone with the Asperger's version of autism, or think someday you might know one. Aspie's are great. Also, they'll be highly valuable in the coming war against the robots....more
Misfits have feelings too, and have a tough time expressing them often, and Giordano pulls that off extremely well. What is more regrettable than the Misfits have feelings too, and have a tough time expressing them often, and Giordano pulls that off extremely well. What is more regrettable than the missed chance?
An excellent, sad love story for the nerd generation.
OR:
It's a novel about how novels set people up for expectations that the real world doesn't meet. Chance coincidences are largely just that. People see patterns where none exist. It's all an illusion, and we're just as well off as we would have been if we'd taken the plunge.
I like Robison's unaffected style of writing. It's plain, but effective. He'd probably say that's a result of his logical Aspergian mind. You'll want I like Robison's unaffected style of writing. It's plain, but effective. He'd probably say that's a result of his logical Aspergian mind. You'll want to read this book because of the guy's life, though. He's lived a lot of fascinating challenges and been in lots of interesting places - it's kind of like if Forrest Gump had been Aspergian instead of stupid. Robison Invented some of the first electronic toys, was a sound technician and special-effects-guitar maker for KISS, is the brother of a famous author - there's more than enough content to make an interesting memoir.
I may not have Asperger's, but I work in software, and have known plenty of John Robisons in my time, and they're great people. I'm more comfortable with them, in fact, than people who socialize easily.
I found it funny that in the foreword, written by Robison's more famous brother, Augusten Burroughs, Burroughs basically takes credit for this book existing. I hated Running With Scissors, and the four page foreword was enough to remind me why....more
The thing that makes this book great is the voice. Part David Foster Wallace, part urban Latino, part Confederacy of Dunces guy, part geek, part flat-The thing that makes this book great is the voice. Part David Foster Wallace, part urban Latino, part Confederacy of Dunces guy, part geek, part flat-out illiterate, it coalesces and just glides. Once or twice I had to google a bit of Spanish slang...wait. That's not even true. I kept reading, because it was pretty clear in context. It's just later I did google the words anyway, so I could make sure to swear in Spanish properly, next time I find myself in a SITUATION.
Point is, he's got a voice.
I like, too, how he messes with the novel form a little bit - I guess you have to these days to be taken seriously as a writer. Still, he confounds his own foreshadowing and suspense well, moves from the narrator's voice to the author's without being all "Look at me! I'm a struct-yuh twisting playuh!" and with only minimal damage to the emotional impact of the story.
It's also a book to note because it marks where 'sustained X hit points damage' enters the vocabulary of the literati. Homey out....more
I don't know what I was expecting from this book, but it was so bland I couldn't process the words on the page. I had to keep rereading sentences to gI don't know what I was expecting from this book, but it was so bland I couldn't process the words on the page. I had to keep rereading sentences to get simple, simple concepts.
Nothing in here struck me as earth-shatteringly insightful. If I had to come up with methods and games to teach kids about non-verbal communication, it'd be pretty much the same stuff they came up with. Or you would probably come up with....more
Written from the POV of a kid with severe Asperger's, and I loved it. I *get* Christopher. Being a socially awkward software developer myself, I'm comWritten from the POV of a kid with severe Asperger's, and I loved it. I *get* Christopher. Being a socially awkward software developer myself, I'm comfortable with people like that. Besides, people with Asperger's are important in society. For stuff like taxes and computers.
It's a fun, quick read, and very rewarding....more
If you've got a quirky kid, this book provides a great view of how to deal with the diagnosis/es, the reality, and keep perspective.
A favorite quote fIf you've got a quirky kid, this book provides a great view of how to deal with the diagnosis/es, the reality, and keep perspective.
A favorite quote from the book: "Does your child seem herself as...a person living with Asperger's syndrome or with attention deficit disorder or with obsessive-compulsive disorder-or with all three...[or] a math genius who gets anxious sometimes and has to take some medicine for it[?]"...more
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