I just started reading an amazing book, "Animals in Translation," by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson. It is fascinating! The way that "normal" or "average" human beings behave, in contrast to autistic children and animals is very interesting. I have already learned so much. It is amazing how we miss the tiny details in our day to day lives that can change the bigger picture. So far, I have read how, normal human beings are limited in the way they think because we are too abstract. We are too used to seeing certain things so many times we miss the important details or bigger picture that can solve problems. This goes for writing, communicating and basic day-to-day work or interaction.
"We (animals and autistic children) see the details that make up the world, while normal people blur all those details together into their general concept of the world." page 30.
This is so true! People are so used to seeing or reading the same things every day that they often loose sight of the bigger picture.
Example: I have been going to the same place to get my haircut for three years. Today I was sitting in the chair (as usual ,) reading my book with my dog (as usual) and a women commented on how well behaved my dog was sitting on my lap (happens most of the time he is with me because he is just so cute!)
We began to talk and the subject changed to the book I was reading (Animals in Translation), then moved on to how I horseback ride. I listened to her and picked up that she was local and had children in addition to being politically active. Now, I could have ended the conversation there and go back to my book, but since I am in the job hunt mode and consider myself pretty outgoing and social, I kept the conversation flowing (even almost sabotaging my hair since I was not directly under the dryer in the process.)
I learned that her son is a prominent DA in San Francisco, and that she recently threw a fund raiser for a local Judge running for office. Since I have worked in politics before and have a VIP level contact list I asked if I could give her my information to share with the judge to help with his campaign. She gladly took it and said she would email the judge. Who knows, maybe I could get a job out of it or at least maybe get out of a parking ticket.
My point is, she was not just another older woman getting her hair done. She was an actress, her husband is a retired successful businessman. Her oldest son is in biotech, the other is a DA. She is an important contact, a link to a new connection, a prospect. If you look at the world without blinders and find the details, you never know who you may meet.
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