Product Description

The computer-generated information superhighway could launch a new renaissance of creativity for millions of visual thinkers! Some of the greatest minds in politics, science, literature, and the arts experienced undetected learning disabilities that stopped them from assimilating information the same way as their peers. Some of our most original intellects Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Lewis Carroll, and Winston Churchill relied heavily on visual modes of thought, processing information in terms of images instead of words or numbers. In the "Mind's Eye" profiles gifted individuals who used non-traditional methods in their work as it explodes many myths about conventional intelligence and charts new vistas for today's computer visualisation technologies.Thomas G. West examines the learning difficulties experienced by these people and others, and how recent neurological research shows an association between visual talents and verbal difficulties. In the "Mind's Eye" probes new data on dyslexics to see how computers enhance the creative potential of visual thinkers, as well as interactive computer applications to all levels of education and work. Updated with a new preface, epilogue, and expanded notes, this volume could be the clarion call for educators and corporations to mine this untapped resource of highly creative talent in our midst.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #430136 in Books
• Published on: 1997-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 397 pages

Customer Reviews

A revelation for parents
This book is a revelation for parents of a "mystery" child, who has many inexplicable difficulties in school (although not necessarily dyslexia), but also has extreme strengths in visual spacial areas, such as building and drawing. When I finally read this book, after years of struggle and searching and pain for my child, there was instant recognition. I looked at my child in a whole new way, realizing that I, and the school, were assuming that certain things were the most important (coincidentally, the things WE were good at), when this entirely untapped area was probably the key to the success of mankind. While focusing on the child's weaknesses, the extreme strengths were going unrecognized and unrewarded. I credit this book with saving my child's happiness, after years and years of criticism. Said child is now an adult engaged in a brand new field which uses those extreme strengths. Thank you, James West, for saving my child. I just wish we had found you (and you had written this book) earlier.

Yes, An Irony
I bought this book thinking it will give me great insights on alternative ways of thinking and working but it's just another popular propaganda without any real substance.

The psychology in the book is nothing but folk theories.

Computer Graphics and Gifted Dyslexics
"In the Mind's Eye" is the most interesting book I've ever read. Author Thomas G. West shows how advanced computer graphic technology is starting to provide an educational and professional home for the dyslexic visual thinker. In delightful and precise language, he illustrates why this new world of processing requires a global perspective, or the ability to see the whole of a phenomenon, as opposed to the blinkered view of an isolated part, and thereby to recognize patterns and quickly identify irregularities and problems. A three-dimensional view of each trader's performance could have saved Baron's Bank from the rogue trader who destroyed it.

The brain design that enables the visual thinker to grasp vast amounts of data by seeing it from a global perspective often comes with dyslexia or other learning difficulties. For these people, the traditional classroom and bureaucratic organization are nightmares. Schools, universities, and corporations flush out many dyslexic visual thinkers at great cost to the progress of civilization.

Nowadays computers eliminate what in earlier systems caused problems. They handle spelling and calculations easily. Another kind of student and professional is needed, an individual who is talented at manipulating images, rather than those facile with arithmetic and able to recite on demand memorized passages assigned by a teacher.

This extended essay would interest the general reader as much as it would the visual thinker. West exposes you to a careful look at gifted, dyslexic visual thinkers who made extraordinary contributions to civilization. You will read about how these giants refused to buy into the dominant clerically oriented educational and professional systems and forged ahead to devise original ways to build on their strengths.

I was particularly interested that for these profiled individuals, what they had on hand was enough for their pursuits - the expertise and material available to them through their studies, work, or personal interests. They were able to shrug off professional, family, or societal expectations, giving themselves plenty of time to think quietly. Their passions lay in engagement rather than whether their inventions or discoveries would work or would sell. Their ideas and activities will trigger pyrotechnics of thought and, possibly, a myriad of ideas for projects to pursue in your free time.