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157 reviews for:
Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
Temple Grandin
4.02 AVERAGE
157 reviews for:
Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
Temple Grandin
4.02 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
It's one of those books that leave you with mixed feelings. It presented a lot of interesting facts until at some point you realize a lot of them are based on anecdotal science. There were times when, to me, Temple Grandin seemed like one of those people who do one thing right and end up gaining an incredible amount of self-importance making them express strong opinions on everything. There were scientific facts that were so outdated that it had nothing to do with the year of publishing of the book. Certain animal-related facts were misrepresented and misinterpreted even though there are scientists who focus only on these animals and have given an explanation for them, e.g. the orca pod killing a baby whale and only eating the lips and the tongue. Something absolutely unacceptable was when she didn't even consider birds, fish and insects animals. I believe there is a term for what she referred to as animal and it's called 'a mammal'. There were times when she was even contradicting herself when saying how prey animals like cows and sheep would never show they are hurting and one would never notice unless they knew of what happened to them and then she proceeded to say that insects don't feel pain because they were observed walking on injured limbs. How is that different from her previous example? Also, she was trying to infer that autistic people unlike 'normal' ones are not prone to overgeneralizations. Yet, she kept expressing her bias towards Rottweilers/Pit bulls any chance she had and how violent of a breed they are to the point of nearly denying the role of the owner in how a dog turns out to be. She nearly suggested that there were less problems with dogs when she was growing up because they didn't have any such breeds. I suppose she forgot the fact the Pit bulls were referred to as "nanny dogs" in the past and the children were entrusted to them. It's OK to have preferences, it's not OK to include them in what is supposed to be an objective scientific text. Maybe she should just stick to farm animals and constructing more humane slaughterhouses, something she obviously excels at.
I found this book very interesting, especially thinking about giraffes having friends. It's definitely a read for an accomplished reader and for someone interested in animals.
Ummm. So I liked this, then about halfway through it became one of those books I just wanted to be over. So, there's that. Also I generally have objections to the dominant "pack leader" theory of dog training / rearing. [b:Dog Sense: How the New Science of Dog Behavior Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet|11355831|Dog Sense How the New Science of Dog Behavior Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet|John Bradshaw|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328761345s/11355831.jpg|16285847], to me, provides a much more compelling model for thinking about dog behavior. If dogs are able to differentiate between other dogs and humans, as Grandin says that they are, why would they take rules that might apply to dogs living together and impose them on humans? To me it's not a compelling theory. However, most of the rest of the research she talked about (aside from the dog stuff), was really interesting and more about animals than autism which I enjoyed. She also reads as anti-Rottweiler/Pit-Bull, because she says they are innately agressive, and people who live with them and don't get bittern are apparently just lucky the dogs never attack. She doesn't so much say that outright, but something really close to that. /Shrug.
I really enjoyed this book. If you are an animal lover, I think that you'll enjoy it too. It is a book filled with the observations that Grandin has made on a wide variety of animals. I promise you that you will find out a lot of things that you didn't know about the animal kingdom. It's a great book!
challenging
informative
medium-paced
This is an easy to understand book just packed with interesting information about animals and their emotions, behavior, communication, and importance to humans. Connections are made between autistic brain function and that of animals especially about similarities seen by the author who is looking at this through the eyes of an autistic person. Grandin quite possibly jumps to conclusions, but her insights are generally backed up with studies she has seen or done herself. I learned a lot and time after time I was surprised and awed by what she presented. One of my favorites was a 30-year study of Alex, a parrot, by Dr. Irene Pepperberg. Her means of training using a 3rd party and the intelligence and communication shown by Alex were just amazing. I found a couple videos online of Alex and Pepperberg at work.
Wow, what an interesting book. Grandin is an adult with a PhD in animal science and is autistic. Johnson is a writer specializing in neuropsychiatry. This book covers a lot of ground in psychology, both human and animal, and especially focuses on how 'normal' and autistic people and animals perceive and learn. She also looks at modern slaughteryards, animal fear, training, the evolution of domestic dogs....there is just a lot worth reading here.
It is written in a really unique style....very straightforward. I'm not sure how much of that is due to Grandin's disability, and how much is just her style or her co-author's. A fascinating and educational read, but not a lightening fast pageturner.
It is written in a really unique style....very straightforward. I'm not sure how much of that is due to Grandin's disability, and how much is just her style or her co-author's. A fascinating and educational read, but not a lightening fast pageturner.
Another absolutely fascinating book which I read in one go, staying up far too late to finish it.
Grandin draws not only on her own observations and work, but those of others to generate a hypothesis about how animals perceive the world and offer advice about how to treat them. She demonstrates affection and respect for animals which obviously makes many wonder how she has been able to carry out her work in abattoirs making the process of sending animals to their deaths. She answers this point clearly and cogently in her book with a very interesting discussion on the difference between how much pain something causes and how much it hurts. The sometimes simplistic, very personal style of Thinking in Pictures is more refined here but her voice comes through - for example in her habit of always awarding people their titles where many would refer to them by surname alone - which is one of the things which makes it so easy to read.
Grandin draws not only on her own observations and work, but those of others to generate a hypothesis about how animals perceive the world and offer advice about how to treat them. She demonstrates affection and respect for animals which obviously makes many wonder how she has been able to carry out her work in abattoirs making the process of sending animals to their deaths. She answers this point clearly and cogently in her book with a very interesting discussion on the difference between how much pain something causes and how much it hurts. The sometimes simplistic, very personal style of Thinking in Pictures is more refined here but her voice comes through - for example in her habit of always awarding people their titles where many would refer to them by surname alone - which is one of the things which makes it so easy to read.