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#5 Platform - Born on a Blue Day
Dec. 13th, 2007 03:53 pmFascinating and fast and altogether charming.
Book #49: Born on a Blue Day
Author: Daniel Tammet
Provenance: Bought at the Indigo on Ste. Catharine
I like the harder sort of cognitive philosophy or research, generally speaking. Sometimes, though, you have to go for something that's more human and less theoretical, and look at the experiences of the people who are dealing with these syndromes we study, and if you're feeling that this is one of those times, then this is the right book for you. It's charming and interesting, at the same time.
Tammet is a very high functioning Asperger's person, with synaesthesia and savant syndrome, and he lays out some of his thought patterns on those fronts for the reader, to get an idea of how he views the world. He discusses how he sees numbers as particular shapes with particular properties, and how he approaches language learning, and his abilities to deal with other people; even just about how he is in his own body. That's all very interesting, as well.
But in a way, my favorite parts of the book are just how he got through life. The descriptions of how he dealt with growing up, with his family and schoolmates and such, was very interesting, and it surprised me how much I could relate to what he said. The passages about how he found living in a different country (in his case, Lithuania), and his thoughts about falling in love and the importance of relationships, were very moving, as well.
The style is spare and simple, but compelling, and the story is really engrossing and inspiring. This may not be the best book I read this year, but it's probably my favorite non-fiction one. It's definitely worth a read, if you have the chance.
Next up: Making Money. Easy enough place to finish up, no?
Book #49: Born on a Blue Day
Author: Daniel Tammet
Provenance: Bought at the Indigo on Ste. Catharine
I like the harder sort of cognitive philosophy or research, generally speaking. Sometimes, though, you have to go for something that's more human and less theoretical, and look at the experiences of the people who are dealing with these syndromes we study, and if you're feeling that this is one of those times, then this is the right book for you. It's charming and interesting, at the same time.
Tammet is a very high functioning Asperger's person, with synaesthesia and savant syndrome, and he lays out some of his thought patterns on those fronts for the reader, to get an idea of how he views the world. He discusses how he sees numbers as particular shapes with particular properties, and how he approaches language learning, and his abilities to deal with other people; even just about how he is in his own body. That's all very interesting, as well.
But in a way, my favorite parts of the book are just how he got through life. The descriptions of how he dealt with growing up, with his family and schoolmates and such, was very interesting, and it surprised me how much I could relate to what he said. The passages about how he found living in a different country (in his case, Lithuania), and his thoughts about falling in love and the importance of relationships, were very moving, as well.
The style is spare and simple, but compelling, and the story is really engrossing and inspiring. This may not be the best book I read this year, but it's probably my favorite non-fiction one. It's definitely worth a read, if you have the chance.
Next up: Making Money. Easy enough place to finish up, no?
