The Pattern Seekers: How Autism Drives Human Invention

by Simon Baron-Cohen

Overview

A groundbreaking argument about the link between autism and ingenuity.


Why can humans alone invent? In The Pattern Seekers, Cambridge University psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen makes a case that autism is as crucial to our creative and cultural history as the mastery of fire. Indeed, Baron-Cohen argues that autistic people have played a key role in human progress for seventy thousand years, from the first tools to the digital revolution.


How? Because the same genes that cause autism enable the pattern seeking that is essential to our species's inventiveness. However, these abilities exact a great cost on autistic people, including social and often medical challenges, so Baron-Cohen calls on us to support and celebrate autistic people in both their disabilities and their triumphs. Ultimately, The Pattern Seekers isn't just a new theory of human civilization, but a call to consider anew how society treats those who think differently.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541647145
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	11/10/2020
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	527,386
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Simon Baron-Cohen is professor of psychology and psychiatry and director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University. He is the author of six hundred scientific articles and four books, including The Science of Evil and The Essential Difference.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Born Pattern Seekers 1

Chapter 2 The Systemizing Mechanism 17

Chapter 3 Five Types of Brain 51

Chapter 4 The Mind of an Inventor 75

Chapter 5 A Revolution in the Brain 97

Chapter 6 System-Blindness: Why Monkeys Don't Skateboard 125

Chapter 7 The Battle of the Giants 139

Chapter 8 Sex in the Valley 151

Chapter 9 Nurturing the Inventors of the Future 161

Appendix 1 Take the SQ and the EQ to find out your brain type 177

Appendix 2 Take the AQ to find out how many autistic traits you have 181

Acknowledgments 183

Notes and Further Reading 187

Figure Notes and Credits 233

Index 237

Editorial Reviews

09/14/2020

Drawing on more than three decades of research, Baron-Cohen (The Science of Evil), director of Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre, presents an intriguing “new theory of human invention.” He contends that human brains have an “engine” he calls the “Systemizing Mechanism,” which “seeks out if-and-then patterns.” Strongest in people drawn to certain fields, such as science, music, and law, where precision and detail are crucial, the mechanism is also a hallmark of people with autism. To buttress his theory, he shares research demonstrating that “autistic people, those in STEM, and other hyper-systemizers” share systemizing genes. Developing that capacity, he concludes, was a landmark in human evolution, enabling the invention of complex tools and separating humans from all other species. Baron-Cohen isn’t always convincing that human cognition is innately different from that of other highly intelligent animals, such as crows, elephants, and other primates, which, as he acknowledges, also evince theory of mind, as well as problem-solving and tool-using skills. Nonetheless, his work buttresses the case that aspects of autism can be positive, and that thoughtful guidance can channel some with that diagnosis into productive and meaningful work. Readers interested in accessible and innovative looks at the human mind, such as those of Yuval Noah Harari, will be fascinated. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

2020-08-25
A thoughtful argument that creativity shares many of the same traits as autism.

Psychologist Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge, begins with two case studies: a well-known genius and inventor who left home at age 16 and a genuinely brilliant man who lived with his mother into his 30s. The author maintains that humans alone possess a specific “engine in the brain,” the “Systemizing Mechanism,” which seeks out if-and-then patterns in the environment. Seeing one, it asks a question (“if”), considers how it might change (“and”), and then predicts a consequence (“then”). The best “systemizers” repeat this process dozens or even hundreds of times (i.e., experiment) to ensure that the pattern holds true. If confirmed, the result is a discovery or a creation. Though scientific, this process is also essential in mastering an art, craft, sport, or profession. Hypersensitive to patterns, autistic brains often get stuck in an if-and-then loop. Baron-Cohen adds “another game-changing mechanism,” the “Empathy Circuit,” which allows us to relate closely to someone else’s thoughts and feelings. Dealing with others is almost impossible without this “theory of mind,” which hyper-systemizers lack. The author participated in a large study that revealed five human brain types. About a third are mostly empathizers, a third systemizers, and a third show an equal balance between the two. At the extremes, a few percent are hyper-empathizers and hyper-systemizers, the latter dominated by geniuses and the autistic. Baron-Cohen also includes portraits of high-achieving autistics, both known (Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, and Albert Einstein) and anonymous. Readers curious about how they measure up can take a similar survey in the appendix. Although the author pleads for understanding, this is not a self-help book but rather an account of how systemizers drive human progress. He also briefly discusses how “we can bring hyper-systemizing into education.”

Insightful and mostly convincing.

Kirkus Reviews

Editors' Choice—The New York Times Book Review

One of the Best Science Books of 2020—Amazon.com

A Barnes & Noble Best Psychology Book for 2020—Barnes & Noble

"A thoughtful argument that creativity shares many of the same traits as autism.... Insightful."—Kirkus

"Baron-Cohen's work buttresses the case that aspects of autism can be positive, and that thoughtful guidance can channel some with that diagnosis into productive and meaningful work. Readers interested in accessible and innovative looks at the human mind, such as those of Yuval Noah Harari, will be fascinated."—Publishers Weekly

"Based on massive research, Simon Baron-Cohen argues that most of us are specialized in how we perceive the world around us. There are those who focus on people and those who focus on things. The author makes a compelling case that the second kind of mind — the pattern seeker — is at the root of modern human civilization."—Frans de Waal, C. H. Candler Professor of Primate Behavior at Emory University and author of Mama'sLast Hug

"In this ambitious and provocative book, Simon Baron-Cohen goes beyond the usual discussion of 'special gifts' in autism to propose that the diversity of human operating systems has accelerated the advancement of human civilization and culture in ways we can barely imagine."—Steve Silberman, author of NeuroTribes

"Simon Baron-Cohen has long been a champion of autistic people, and The Pattern Seekers — a thought-provoking book — makes a significant contribution to the emerging literature on neurodiversity."
—John Elder Robison, author of Look Me in the Eye

"It's rare to come across a surprising new idea that explains important phenomena, but Simon Baron-Cohen's exploration of abstract pattern-seeking in human affairs is one of them. This book sheds light on one of humanity's most distinctive traits, celebrates human cognitive diversity, and in contrast with its subject matter, is rich with empathy and psychological insight."— Steven Pinker, author of The Language Instinct

"Always years ahead of others, always bolder in mind and in action than others, Simon Baron-Cohen now synthesizes a secret of human creativity born out of difference. Where others saw disability, he saw specialness. Like nature itself, the beauty of the human mind comes from its diversity."—Ami Klin, Bernie Marcus Distinguished Chair in Autism at EmoryUniversity

"The Pattern Seekers is a game-changing book, a passport into exploring the world of innovation and creativity. Most importantly, it celebrates autistic people and is a call for action, to welcome neurodiversity."—David Joseph, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music UK

"The Pattern Seekers is a book of big ideas and is sure to excite intense discussion and debate, fueled by Baron-Cohen's lively prose and provoking stories."—Daniel J. Povinelli, author of World Without Weight

"Simon Baron-Cohen, an internationally acclaimed authority on human brains, has written a fascinating book that illuminates the 'spectrum' of thinking styles. After reading it, you'll better understand the personalities of your friends and colleagues!"—Martin Rees, author of On the Future

"In an age of increasing specialization, The Pattern Seekers comes as a breath of fresh air. Simon Baron-Cohen is truly a rara avis, able to see hidden links between seemingly unrelated disorders that span the whole spectrum of human nature. He steers clear of simple-minded reductionism as well as touchy-feely  psychology. The result is a book that is destined to become a classic. Baron-Cohen does not shy away from speculating on controversial topics like autism that everyone is interested in but no one understands. And although he is usually right on target, he will inevitably annoy a few pundits. But as Lord Reith of BBC put it, there are some people whom it is one's duty to annoy."  — V.S. Ramachandran, author of The Tell-Tale Brain 

"Simon Baron-Cohen has written a wildly creative and fascinating book. He takes on one of the deepest puzzles in cognitive science by asking a simple question: What makes Homo sapiens so inventive? By combining brain science, evolutionary biology, and the study of autism, Baron-Cohen provides a unique theory of human cognition. It is surely one of the most powerful and eye-opening books about the human mind written this decade."—Andrew N. Meltzoff, co-author of The Scientist in the Crib

"A fascinating account of the mechanisms underlying the related capacities of both autistic individuals and innovators."—Brian Josephson, Emeritus Professor of Physics at University of Cambridge and winner of the Nobel Prize in physics

"Simon Baron-Cohen is one of the greatest thinkers and writers today on the subject of autism. In this erudite new book he explains that autistic people's strongly systematic way of thinking differently is one of the essential elements in the capacity for invention. Baron-Cohen explores how obsessively experimenting with patterns and sequences, whether in music, the visual arts, math, engineering, cooking, or observing the patterns of the ocean waves, led to new inventions and discoveries. He has recalibrated the lens through which autism is understood and redefined it as a rare potentiality, to be valued and celebrated. His bold new idea, that the genes for autism drove the evolution of human invention, places this disability center stage in the story of humans. If you have ever wondered why geniuses spend so much time alone in their sheds, this illuminating book starts to give us an answer to that question."—Jools Holland, musician

"[A] bold argument . . . an impassioned call to action for modern society to do a better job of tapping the inventive power of people with autism."—Claudia Wallis, Spectrum News

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