Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior

Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior Features

Additional Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior Information

Temple's professional training as an animal scientist and her history as a person with autism have given her a perspective like that of no other expert in the field. Standing at the intersection of autism and animals, she offers unparalleled observations and groundbreaking ideas about both.

Autistic people can often think the way animals think -- in fact, Grandin and co-author Catherine Johnson see autism as a kind of way station on the road from animals to humans -- putting autistic people in the perfect position to translate "animal talk." Temple is a faithful guide into their world, exploring animal pain, fear, aggression, love, friendship, communication, learning, and, yes, even animal genius. Not only are animals much smarter than anyone ever imagined, in some cases animals are out-and-out brilliant.

The sweep of Animals in Translation is immense, merging an animal scientist's thirty years of study with her keen perceptions as a person with autism -- Temple sees what others cannot.

Among its provocative ideas, the book:

argues that language is not a requirement for consciousness -- and that animals do have consciousness

applies the autism theory of "hyper-specificity" to animals, showing that animals and autistic people are so sensitive to detail that they "can't see the forest for the trees" -- a talent as well as a "deficit"

explores the "interpreter" in the normal human brain that filters out detail, leaving people blind to much of the reality that surrounds them -- a reality animals and autistic people see, sometimes all too clearly

explains how animals have "superhuman" skills: animals have animal genius

compares animals to autistic savants, declaring that animals may in fact be autistic savants, with special forms of genius that normal people do not possess and sometimes cannot even see

examines how humans and animals use their emotions to think, to decide, and even to predict the future

reveals the remarkable abilities of handicapped people and animals

maintains that the single worst thing you can do to an animal is to make it feel afraid

Temple Grandin is like no other author on the subject of animals because of her training and because of her autism: understanding animals is in her blood and in her bones.

What Customers Say About Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior:

This is a beautifully written and incredibly informative book. Temple Grandin is brilliant and I thank her for enlightening me.

For example, Grandin says that fear "hurts" animals worse than pain. Animals in Translation is the most powerful book I have read in many years. As an animal lover and one who has chosen to share my life with dogs, I have read many books about animal behavior, dog training etc. After consideration, I agree. Grandin, in a conversational style, blends the results of brain experiments done on living animals with her empathetic observations of animals large and small. I deliberately slowed my reading to give myself time to assimilate the various "wow" insights in the book. Grandin doesn't minimize the pain animals feel. On the contrary, her goal is to put the reader behind the animal's eyes and make readers realize the severe effect fear can have.I recommend Animals in Translation to anyone interested in animals or animal training, or to those interested in neurology (Grandin was featured in the Oliver Sacks book An Anthropologist On Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales) or psychology.

More educated reviewers than I have written about the scientific inaccuracies present in this book; I would like to add that the even the anecdotal evidence Ms. And I had genuinely looked forward to reading this book, and was delighted to receive it as a gift from a friend who highly recommended Grandin's works on autism. On nearly every page I found myself jarring to halt and thinking "But that's not true, what about." until I came to a complete standstill and called it quits. Even sea turtles).; all baby animals love their parents (nice to know that about salmon); dogs exposed to cats learn that they are not prey and will not attack them (ever seen a dog that lives with a cat attack a unfamiliar cat as prey).; animals need friends and companions (even solitary animals, like tigers.

Other than that I have no special background or experience that would qualify me to question, much less contradict, the information presented by a phd in animal science (Grandin) or neuropsychiatry (Johnson). I've tried 3 times to finish this book - a book which I had eagerly looked forward to reading - and I've finally given up. Grandin throws in to support her claims is flawed. placing electrodes in cat brains)and truly heinous behavioral experiments (such as Harry Harlow's wretched Rhesus monkeys), combine it with a oft repeated and much vaunted 'gift' of being able to interpret how animals think and feel due to te author's experience with autism, and mix in a frenetic, rushed conversational tone that showers readers with misleading statements and bizarre theories as facts without bothering to research them first; and you end up with this book.What truly horrifies me is that so many find this book wonderful, and insightful, and think by reading it that they are closer to understanding the animals in their lives and in the world around them. Having said all that, on nearly every page I found errors and sweeping over-generalizations, with little or no evidence to defend - or even explain - how the author came to develop them.

Again, using no special educational background other than having lived in the world, I came across numerous claims that my own experiences with animals or basic knowledge of world history have proven false, such as: you can't train an 'attack horse' (google Lippazaner stallions); outdoor cats don't chase laser pointers (tell that to my barn cats); all baby animals utter a distress call for their mothers (Really. I can't help but wonder if they are blinded by the degree after the author's name; if so, please know that most researchers and academics are highly specialized in their particular field. To give you some background, I am a stay at home mom, have a 4 year degree in zoology, and an interest in animals and animal behavior. How about earthworms. The occassional footnote seems thrown in more as an attempt to legitimize the book than to actually enlighten the reader.

And while glaring errors such as failing to properly identify insects, birds, fish, etc as animals - something my 4th grader can do with ease - could possibly be attributed to poor editting, the sheer repetition of such errors casts doubts on Grandin's grasp of basic zoology. Mosquitos).; and the list goes on.Add to that an obvious fear of and bias against certain dogs breeds such as Rottweilers and Pit Bulls, and the lack of any discomfort in recounting experimental surgical procedures in animals (i.e. In writing about a field that she so obviously knows very little about, Temple Grandin has ventured far outside her sphere of knowledge and experience; and threatens to take gullible and unsuspecting readers with her as well.

The title says it all. Temple Grandin is unique so her thoughts are unique. It changed the way I think about animals *and* humans.

I saw an interview with Dr. I relate to Dr. Grandin on Book TV recently and she referred to this book sighting similarities in behavior between autistic people and animals. The read provides an enormous amount of insight into how people and animals think and I find it very interesting and entertaining. Grandin and like she, think in pictures and have often wondered why I was so different compared to most people I've known throughout my life. I will probably acquire other books of hers to learn more about her experiences.