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The Pattern Seekers

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Member Reviews

This book blew my mind. Simon Baron-Cohen discusses the different brain types, such as empathetic and systematic. He then goes on to give the research behind these brain types and the connection between systematic thinkers and those with Autism. Baron-Cohen argues that individuals with Autism are pattern seekers and view the world through an if/then lens. There's so much that went into this book, but it's not a boring, dry read. I couldn't possibly attempt to explain everything, but I did understand it as he was talking. It all made sense. It was interesting to find a new way to think about things. I'm a special education teacher and the way Simon Baron-Cohen talks about individuals with Autism really gave me a lot more perspective on my students.

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I'm not a fan of either Baron-Cohen but I thought I'd give this one another chance, as the book did sound promising.
But unfortunately after a promising start Baron-Cohen dives into his same old bio-essentialism "male brain" nonsense that the autistic community has been criticising for years. Much of his research makes one ask if he thought a big sample size makes him immune to "correlation does not equal causation".

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Review appeared in Axess Magazine, written in Swedish. Please see link below. Book was excellent, review is highly favorable.
https://www.axess.se/artiklar/autisterna/

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I was drawn to this book as I am a speech-language pathologist who works with students with disabilities and autism. I enjoyed the first few chapters about the famous people with autism who have contributed many inventions to our current society. After a while, I did find that my interest faded as the book became more scientific. Although, the entire book was not for me, I do think many people would find the topic quite interesting and would recommend it.

Thank you to Simon Baron-Cohen, Perseus Books, Basic Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Definitely MUCH more clinical than I thought it would be. I only read the first two chapters (about 20%) and did the little quiz charts at the end. I was jarred by the assumed strict dichotomy between systematizers (those who seek patterns) and empathizers--I apparently am a Type S, which means more systematizer and empathizer, based on my quiz scores, but also am too empathetic to quiiiite count as autistic on the chart. Systematizers are billed as the toxic trope of Rain Man-esque math geniuses and company founding savants, rather than those of us who are not at all STEM minded, but still happen to easily find patterns in things we do enjoy (for me, finding the pattern of ISBNs for publishers, course codes at work, standard yardages for skeins of yarn). I am not at all numerically minded, but the patterns jump out at me, but not in the way that is USEFUL. I still agree with the general idea of the "if and then" theory, however it was just presented as if all those theories were experiments that led to inventions or discoveries. I guess you can consider noticing the pattern that those digits in a row mean that this book is from this publisher count as a "discovery," but not the apparent groundbreaking way it's presented. Maybe I read too much into it, but I just... was not a fan of the tone and the obvious male-centeredness, and the assumption that autistic people are emotionless robots who lOvEs TeH mAtHs.

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A great insight into the brains of those we consider to "think differently". As a person who is allergic to science and maths, this really helped to understand the science as it is written in a user friendly way. Some of the stories were extremely interesting. I think that anyone wanting to better understand people with Autism should read this books, it is enlightening, interesting and well told without being too heavy on the science. A fascinating theory.

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I am autistic, but this book just frustrated me. Primarily that’s because the author kept hammering it home again and again that animals can’t experiment, don’t have a theory of mind, etc. This may not have been proven conclusively to be false yet, but it has been shown to be in question enough times that the author shouldn’t make any definitive statements about it.

I also didn’t care for the book because it never really got going. All it did, over and over again, was talk about these three things, followed by these five things, etc. It was frustrating, especially as a girl on the spectrum. Due to this, I DNF’ed it at 20%.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

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The Pattern Seekers by Simon Baron-Cohen review.

I request this book on @netgalley last month. As an autistic person the title jumped out at me and I wanted to know more, although I admit I was quite dubious about what the content might entail due to its author.

Simon Baron-Cohen is a controversial person amongst the autistic community. He is a leading expert in his field, having dedicated most of his psychologist career to studying autism. He is however the father of the "extreme male brain" theory of autism that suggests that autists lack a therory of mind.

To my suprise this book is pro-neurodiversity. Simon presents the case that autistic people overwhelming have high systemising brains and that it is these brains that are responsible for many of the world's technological advancements. He speaks of encouraging a society that allows autistic people to flourish in these areas. His theories as to why some autistic people have learning disabilities and his theories around comorbid disabling aspects of autism not being a core aspect of being autistic are insightful and thought provoking and he presents a strong case for his theories.

This book is not without critisms however. It is quite long winded and dull in places by giving similar examples over and over again through out. I also question where I would fit into Simon's theories on autism as an autist who does not score high on his emotional not his systemising quotents. Never the less I was pleasantly suprised by this book and I do not think it should be dismissed as easily as some of the autistic community would have it dismissed.

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Full disclosure: I received The Pattern Seekers: How Autism Drives Human Invention by Simon Baron-Cohen from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for possibly writing a review.

I was really interested in this book because my brother is on the autism spectrum, and I am always trying to educate myself on how to assist him. This book is written in a way that makes the science very easy to understand. I really appreciated that aspect. I also found some of the chapters and examples really fascinating and would enjoy learning more. I took the brain survey that was mentioned and found out I'm a B (balanced). I wouldn't have thought that about myself but after reading the explanations, it makes sense.

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for provide me with a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
Muy interesante e informative. Creo que la mayoria desconocemos un 100% que es lo que realmente implica ser una persona con esta patología e incluso como tratar con una, o que siente o piensa. Es por eso, que creo que cualquier material que nos brinde informacion, es relevante.

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The Pattern Seekers takes a close look at the human ability to systematise and thus invent, and draws a parallel with autistic people, many of whom fall into the category of (extreme) systemizers.
While I find the subject of the book quite intriguing, I felt like the book wasn't particularly interesting. It wasn't exactly what I expected and I found it to be a bit too over-saturated with unnecessary information - I think good 10-15% of the text can be taken out, without hurting the content of the book.
I still did get to learn more about how humans started inventing and about systemizing vs empathizing brains.
Overall, not a bad book, but I'd recommend it only to people who don't mind the book being a bit longer and heavier.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Perseus Books, Basic Books for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.*

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This book wasn't quite what I was expecting. From the beginning, it rather meticulously cataloged many great inventors that either had autism or a different diagnosis at the time, detailing their thinking, talking about the pain and anguish that many special needs parents with autistic children initially feel before embracing them. In many scientific books, that pain isn't humanized, that fear isn't acknowledged, but right off the bat I knew I'd love this book. I learned something new about invention and about my own child just by reading it.

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Intriguing Theory. Full disclosure up front: I *am* Autistic, and thus these types of books tend to demand my attention as I attempt to understand my own mind and body. That noted, Baron-Cohen (no apparent relation to the actor of the same surname) here proposes a theory that those who are "high systemizers" - those he defines as people driven by a process many in programming will recognize as a version of Agile Programming - are the ones who have driven human innovation from the dawn of the species. It is a theory that has at least some degree of merit, but perhaps has a few weaknesses that the author omits - though he does make a point of discussing some competing theories, it is possible that there are other explanations that fit at least some of the data better according to Occam's Razor. Still, he makes a repeated point that even those suspected of being Autistic should not seek a diagnosis unless their abilities are somehow causing problems, which is a point that many in the Autism literature - at least that which I have read - fail to make or even contradict, and for that reason alone this book is a refreshing change of pace. (It also opens with one of my favorite quotes, from The Imitation Game - the story of Alan Turing, the father of Computer Science and a suspected Autistic - that "Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things no one can imagine.")

Overall a a must-read book for those seeking to understand Autistics, as it really does make a lot of very solid points - points that were affecting me nearly as much as my first viewing of The Imitation Game. This is yet another one that I will absolutely be recommending those seeking to work with me professionally read, as it can give them many clues both how to understand me - and how to use me much more effectively. Very much recommended.

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