Do schools today kill creativity? Sir Ken Robinson at TEDTalks

This hugely inspiring 20 minute video is of a talk given by Sir Ken Robinson at TED 2006. It's well worth a watch as he lays bare the point that the current school system is not designed to produce creativity...



He tells the story of an 8 year old girl in the 1930s who had classic symptoms of 'ADHD', long before the term was invented. Her school had complained that she didn't listen in class and couldn't keep still, so her mother took her to a doctor. He listened then told the little girl that he wanted to talk to her mother outside and left the room. On the way out he turned on the radio. As soon as they left the room the little girl jumped up and started moving to the music.

The doctor turned to the Mother and said: "your daughter is not ill - she is a dancer." She enrolled in a dance school and went on to great things. That little girl was Gillian Lynne - the choreographer of Cats and many other successful musicals.

20 Free Entrepreneurship Videos from Stanford

A great resource from Stanford University in the USA, of the top 20 videos in their free Entrepreneurship Education Resources. Includes presentations on 'What is Creativity?' from Robert I Sutton of Standford (right), and Tips for Entrepreneurs from some of the biggest names in innovation today.

Can Oxytocin help with Autism?

A 20 second hug is said to release the love drug Oxytocin that bonds humans at a chemical level. Now Oxytocin is being studied as a potentially useful treatment in managing the symptoms of autism. From the wonderfully named site 'Hug the Monkey':

"Nastech, the biotech company that has proprietary technology for intranasal drug delivery, plans to launch phase 2 clinical trials of a synthetic oxytocin treatment for autism within 12 months.

CEO Steven Quay said, "We think current the scientific evidence provides useful insights: Autistic children have lower levels of oxytocin than normal children. In theory, we may be able to overcome this deficit through a nasal spray that uses our tight junction technology."

The article however goes on to warn that increasing levels of another neuropeptide Vasopressin, may also be linked to the management of autism. I have some personal experience of nasally inhaled Vasopressin which I tried in the early 1990s. From my recollections it considerably sharpened my mind up. I can't prove scientifically that it improved my ability to socialise, but I looking back I did use Vasopressin at a particularly outgoing time in my life.

Another report at Brainethics titled 'Oxytocin is the window to the soul' links two studies on Oxytocin's ability to create feelings of trust and the ability to read people more accurately:

"In a study published in Nature Ernst Fehr and his group demonstrated that injecting people with a spray of oxytocin increases trust. Now, in a pretty remarkable new study published in Biological Psychiatry, German researchers show that injecting subjects with a whiff of oxytocin will also improve be ability to infer, based just on eye cues, what a person is thinking about."

Maybe we already have solutions to managing the rising 'autism epidemic' and helping Blokes understand Girls. Some very interesting studies have been conducted by Simon Baron-Cohen, University of Cambridge Autism researcher and cousin to Ali G & Borat. Another joint study between the Universities of Rostoch & Zurich has shown that Oxytocin helps men more effectively mind-read faces for cues of emotion.

If the theory is correct that autism is caused by having an overly 'male' brain, then an Oxytocin inhaler may be a gentle way of dealing with the symptoms. I'd happily have a nasal squirt of empathy juice before having to deal with face to face meetings. As I work online most of the time I'd hardly ever need to use it.

WARNING: The prescription drug OxyContin in pill form is NOT the same thing as this proposed nasal spray. So don't encourage those drugs spammers by buying it on the internet, as you'll be buying addictive painkiller instead. Seek advice from a registered professional.

Image from: kelly.kell.sblog.cz/

For more on Oxytocin check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxytocin

Hacking Knowledge

This is a brilliant collection at Mind Cafe, of 77 ways to help learning and keep ideas flowing. I didn't realise how many of these I use in my everyday life until I saw them all together. [Pic: thanks to Mind Cafe.]

Here are my favourites:

Write, don’t type. While typing your notes into the computer is great for posterity, writing by hand stimulates ideas. The simple act of holding and using a pen or pencil massages acupuncture points in the hand, which in turn stimulates ideas.

Sleep on it. Dr. Maxwell Maltz wrote about in his book Psycho-Cybernetics about a man who was was paid good money to come up with ideas. He would lock his office door, close the blinds, turn off the lights. He’d focus on the problem at hand, then take a short nap on a couch. When he awoke, he usually had the problem solved.

Give yourself credit. Ideas are actually a dime a dozen. If you learn to focus your mind on what results you want to achieve, you’ll recognize the good ideas. Your mind will become a filter for them, which will motivate you to learn more.

MsB: I find Dragon Dictate great for 'speaking up' written notes quickly. Typing is slow and wrecks your hands long term.

Laugh. Laughing relaxes the body. A relaxed body is more receptive to new ideas.

Party before an exam."

I am sure that's why I passed my English 'A' Level...

The Geek Squad

Hello to Radio New Zealand National listeners, New Zealand Listener readers, or visitors from the Big Idea. Our huge thanks to Olivia Kember for her article The Geek Squad in this week's New Zealand Listener. She has perfectly summed up our crazy lives and attitude towards the future. It's an honour to be featured in such an esteemed publication and to have Jane Ussher take our photos.

This is my personal pocket of cyberspace so I can't guarantee it will be R18 or fit with mainstream views as I'm not a mainstream person. If you want to read notes from our radio shows, or our views on Digital Arts, Life Science and Zeitgeist then check out our Mohawk Media Blog.

If Aspies were in the Majority...

I have been finding some amazing stuff online over the past few days, since my current research obsession is now 'Everything you always wanted to know about Aspergers Girls.' Now that I have a word and medical research to explain my quirky ways, I feel a huge sense of liberation.

I just didn't know where to look or who to ask , like the parents of a little seven year old that I'm now chatting to online. We're rare loony birds. Though I suspect many of us go undiagnosed as we can pretend to be 'normal' more easily than boys.

I found this quirky take on what life might be like if people like me were actually the majority of the population. It was posted by Pherber at the Bust Lounge, and I think the original was posted at the Aspies For Freedom forum. Like me the ASFF community don't believe we should be trying to 'cure' people living on the Autism Spectrum.

I think we should be focussing on helping the autistic communicate with NTs through technology. If they indeed want to. I don't actually believe that the autistic are trapped in some 'dark void' in our heads. The way I feel is that I enjoy bathing in a warm data-stream, and enjoying my heightened senses with stimuli I can control.

Often NTs and NT interests like celebrities / soaps / small talk / babies just aren't interesting to me. Sometimes I'm too busy listening to the orchestra and watching the film in my head to notice the 'small stuff'. Real Life is like a series of channels that I can adjust the volume on.

It's actually rather lovely. If I'm relaxed enough in seconds I can get to that peaceful place, that many people seek through drugs, yoga or meditation. An NT can spend their whole lives learning to go 'there' from 'here', when for me it's the other way. I have to meditate before I am really able to connect with other people.

I feel like I really live in Nirvana/Heaven and come to planet Earth for visits. I like it there and some people are lovely to me, but I like to come home after short trips.

So enjoy this take on how the world would be if people living on the spectrum were in the majority of the population:

"If Aspies were the majority of the population, then the Neurotypicals would be handicapped, because we would set the standards on how a "normal" brain works, which means a lot of NTs would need the help of an Aspie caretaker, to cope in an autistic world.

The Aspie caretaker would have to teach an NT, on how to deeply concentrate for a very long time. Maybe 12 to 16 hours a day.

The NT would also have to learn, to cope without small talk and much socializing.

Aspie scientists would be intrigued, by the neurological deficits of the NTs, for example:

-One in 20 000 NTs has perfect pitch, among autistics it's one in 20.

-Many aspies can dream lucid, which means we are aware of the fact, that we are dreaming and can actively decide what to dream, and when to wake up. Most NTs have to passively endure their dreams, no matter how terrible they are.

-A lot of aspies are synesthetes, can write backwards, are ambidextrous, and so on.
In an world full of autistics, these things would be as normal, or common, like right-handedness.

In an autistic world, NTs would probably face severe punishments, even jail sentences, for the following crimes:

1.) making torturous noises, like whistling, speaking in high pitched voices, shouting, etc.

2.) wearing strong perfume/after shave.

3.) touching/tapping someones arm or shoulder, and trying to maintain eye contact.

4.) engaging someone in a superficial conversation

5.) trying to grab an autistic persons attention, intruding their world, while they're "zoning out" or distracting them, when they are preoccupied with their special interest.

6.) installing bright lights would be illegal.

These things contribute to sensory overload, and it results in frequent melt-downs, which causes us stress and pain, so all these things would fall under the Neurological Injury Act.

Autistics would also ridicule NTs, for their desire, to maintain a balanced diet, owning clothes in many different colours, styles and textures, and painting the walls in their homes white.

Those things wouldn't be illegal, but if they annoy the neighbours with that kind of eccentricity, NTs could face getting an ASBO.

Confusing autistics with ambiguity would be a minor offence, too.

NTs would also have severe difficulties forming relationships, because their need for attention, care and empathy is rarely met by the much more self-sufficient autistics."

If you suspect you may have Aspergers then why not take the AQ test from Cambridge psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen and others, which was published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2001. Anything over 32 is considered an 'Extreme Score', and I scored 38/50 which makes me a giant steaming nerd.
There is also a more detailed online Aspergers test where I scored 152/200 AS and 63 /200 NT. If I do choose to get a formal diagnosis, I'll probably go through the Starfish Clinic in Auckland as they are experts in AS and I love the story behind the name.

I've always known I was 'different' and was picked up as being 'gifted' around three years old with my rampant hyperlexia. I went to an excellent special needs primary in the UK, and later studied A Level Psychology to try and pin down exactly how I was different. At that point AS wasn't recognised officially so I missed out on a diagnosis for another 15 years.

The breakthrough came when I was doing some research for a documentary on learning difficulties. Once I had read a few stories everything fell into place. Finally I understand my unusual wiring and how I can to use it to my advantage. Rather than carry on pretending to be 'normal' I can fully embrace my quirky side, and as long as I avoid the things that stress me out then I'll have a long and happy life.

I know it's hard for parents when their AS child is small, but with nurturing they can become happy healthy adults. I think more people should see the positive of Aspergers Syndrome. The article 'from Social Deficit to Social Asset' is really interesting as I hate all the negative labels used to tag us. For more wry AS humour check out this video from the ' Institute for the study of Neurotypicals' and Wrong Planet is a great community to hang with fellow Aspies.

One last note, people with AS can hate talking about themselves especially face to face, and communicate much better in cyberspace. I've only 'come out' as I've had 33 years of feeling like a curious misfit and wanted to help any girls out there struggling with being in such a small minority. I worked it out to be 0.025% of the global population but then who really knows?

I'm happy to answer emails and comments on my personal Spectrum Analysis, but don't want to become a performing monkey or zoo exhibit. Thanks for listening!

I'm not an Alien. I'm an Aspie Girl

I have just been outed as an Aspie Girl at the age of thirty three years, though have always felt like I was born on to the wrong planet. I'm a Radio/TV Geek, Creative Columnist & Futurist and have met many creative and successful people in the IT, media and entertainment industry who would be considered to be 'a little bit Aspergery'.

Personally I see my Aspergers as a huge gift as it means I am a creative thinker. All of us can struggle with things most people take for granted, and not all of us have savant level skills. Some of us are blessed with unusual intelligence and abilities, though can find it hard to read the visual clues of people's emotions.

One of the best things my Mum did as a child to help me compensate for my quirks, was to encourage me to do speech and drama lessons. I've had to learn how to read and communicate with people by acting like them and I'm sure if you met me you would never guess that I was mildly autistic.

My husband is also 'a little bit Aspergery' but we have a great network of friends and an amazing life in New Zealand. My Aspergers is a rare and wonderful gift. It is not a disability. To get a glimpse inside my head read Brian King's wonderful account My Aspergers.

Aspie Girls have different symptoms to Aspie Boys which is why we often go undetected. My symptoms as a child were:

Being clumsy at sports & anything physical

Gaining the name 'Dancing elephant' at a ballet recital, and always being picked last in school teams. I usually dropped the ball and I often fell over. I have since gone on to learn to juggle, and have danced on stage in front of thousands of people. Learning a little yoga, pilates and thai chi has helped heaps with my balance.

Hating bright lights, loud sudden noises, crowds of people

These can both cause me huge amounts of stress if I'm mentally unprepared for them. I find it impossible to go to the supermarket because of the lights and awful music which can get stuck in my head on a loop. I hate shopping malls without wearing shades or a peaked hat. The flickering lights literally make me feel sick. I'm also incapable of reading a map or sending a text in a moving vehicle as I get queasy easily.

Hating prickly or rough fabrics

I still loathe the feel of some things, like the touch of cheap fake fur is torture against my skin. I love soft, smooth fabrics and tactile surfaces. Intense sensations are a big part of an Aspie Girls world.

Regular bouts of 'withdrawl' and the need to sleep

This is caused by Sensory Overload and often hits me with flu like symptoms, chronic fatigue and a need to hide under a duvet. Over the years I have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, neurosis, and had bouts of chronic fatigue.

Now I know that all I have to do is chill out at home and make sure I plan for time out after stressful situations to avoid this. I worked this out after trial and error and a few breakdowns along the way. I wish I'd really understood this when I was an Aspergers Teenager.

Imposter syndrome

I have often experienced an intense feeling like I'm not good enough even when I excel. Apparently Aspie Girls get this a lot. Rationally I know I'm exceptional in my own small way but sometimes I feel like I'm pretending and will eventually 'get found out'. I usually stomp on this thought now when it surfaces and if it doesn't go away then I read my blog to remind myself of my acheivements.

I hate being shouted at or forced to make eye contact

Both are still incredibly stressful for me. If I am not looking at you then I AM listening. It's just I find it very hard to make eye contact while really listening to what you are saying. If you force me to make eye contact then I may not understand your meaning and get panicked. So please don't think I'm rude if I seem to be staring at the table rather than into your gorgeous eyes.

I have always felt like an observer not a participant in the real world

Though I feel connected in cyberspace. People who get to know me online get to know the real me, rather than the me that has to act normal in public. Thankfully my husband gets this as he shares many of my Aspie quirks. We met online by the way.

I hate being lightly brushed but love bear hugs

A light brush against my skin gives me an icky feeling I call 'Nesh' and I hate people hovering close to me in the kitchen. Bear hugs are great, and I love a good hard Thai Massage.

I have been called rude, cold, hard, inhuman and alien

That's how I sometimes feel the rest of the world is treating me. I'm used to it and pretend I'm a hologram or a lost Elf.

I see words as shapes and constant animations

There is a constant cartoon running in my head, sketched over the real world like a Richard Linklater movie. I can also 'see' the internet in my head as a 3D place I visit. I think of people online as nodes in a hive of networks creating a potentially sentient organism.

I feel connected to my friends by virtual threads running between our brains. This is all in my imagination and I know it's not 'real'. It's just the way I visualise my connections with other human beings.

I'm creative & technically minded at the same time

Aspie Girls are often full of contradictions, can be brilliant artists, writers but also understand computers like me. Luckily I had the chance to try out lots of things as a child. I realised I enjoy using both my left and right brains and have practiced developing my multiple intelligences.

I certainly grok Leonardo Da Vinci, and the way he switched from scientist to artist on a daily basis. It's time to stop medicating Aspie kids, and help them create the next Renaissance...