Thinking Like Einstein: Returning to Our Visual Roots with the Emerging Revolution in Computer Information Visualization [Hardcover]

Thomas G. West (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2004

West investigates the new worlds of visual thinking, insight, and creativity made possible by computer graphics and information visualisation technologies. He argues that, with the rapid spread of inexpensive and powerful computers, we are now at the beginning of a major transition, moving from an old world based mainly on words and numbers to a new world where high level work in all fields will eventually involve insights based on the display and manipulation of complex information using moving computer images.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With its arguments that visuospatial abilities and difficulties with language often go hand in hand and that the former often outweigh the latter, West’s 1991 book, In the Mind’s Eye, established him as a hero among dyslexics. In the wake of the book’s success, he was asked to write a column on the relationship between what he calls "visual thinking" and the exploding world of visual technology for the magazine Computer Graphics. Twenty-three of these slight columns, organized by content but barely updated or expanded, are collected in this book. West repeatedly presents an unsupported dichotomy between visual and verbal intelligence, with visual thinkers being creative, imaginative, big-picture thinkers who are under appreciated by the mainstream verbal culture that relishes specialization of knowledge. Emerging graphics and data manipulation technologies will allow those visual thinkers to claim the new cultural and intellectual high ground, he says. West argues that this revolution is about to occur but, unfortunately, he never thoroughly describes what visual intelligence is, nor does he explain exactly what is so transformative about the visual technologies he reports on. The short length of his columns also doesn’t allow for the development of his potentially fascinating arguments, such as the idea that "the newest computer data visualization technologies draw on some of our oldest neurological resources." Instead, the columns are often topical reviews of books, news articles or conference presentations related to his overarching and oft-repeated thesis, and philosophically intriguing points are left to the reader as brief musings based on secondary sources. West’s original columns were largely preaching to the chorus; this volume will be satisfying to fans of his earlier work, but the lack of description and sustained argument will make this book ultimately frustrating to both casual and skeptical readers.
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Review

"...these are pathbreaking essays." -- Los Angeles Times, December 12, 2004

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 222 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books; First Edition edition (November 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591022517
• ISBN-13: 978-1591022510
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,076,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas G. West, author of In the Mind's Eye and Thinking Like Einstein

Thomas G. West is the author of In the Mind's Eye--Creative Visual Thinkers, Gifted Dyslexics and the Rise of Visual Technologies (Prometheus Books), selected as one of the "best of the best" for the year by the American Library Association (one of only 13 books in their broad psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience category). A second edition was released in September 2009 with Foreword by Oliver Sacks, MD, who states: "In the Mind's Eye brings out the special problems of people with dyslexia, but also their strengths, which are so often overlooked. Its accent is not so much on pathology as on how much human minds vary. It stands alongside Howard Gardner's Frames of Mind as a testament to the range of human talent and possibility."

In the Mind's Eye was published in Japanese translation in as Geniuses Who Hated School. A Chinese translation was published in 2004. A Korean translation will be available in late 2011. In connection with In the Mind's Eye and his other writings, Mr. West has been invited to provide presentations for scientific, medical, art, design, computer and business groups in the U.S. and overseas, including groups in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan and twelve European countries.

For years West wrote a column, "Images and Reversals," on the broad effects of visualization technologies for Computer Graphics, a quarterly publication of the international professional association for computer graphics artists and technologists (an organization with many creative, visual-thinking dyslexics). These columns were collected into a book with the title: Thinking Like Einstein--Returning to Our Visual Roots with the Emerging Revolution in Computer Information Visualization.

West is now working on a third book, this one dealing with high level creativity, visual thinking and role of brain diversity (including dyslexia, Asperger syndrome and other modes of thinking and learning) in several leading-edge businesses as well as several individual scientists and technological innovators (including one family with many visual thinkers, many dyslexics and four Nobel Prize winners).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Catchy title but unsatisfying content, April 15, 2005

By 

John H. Hwung (Fair Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Thinking Like Einstein: Returning to Our Visual Roots with the Emerging Revolution in Computer Information Visualization (Hardcover)

The title of the book is very catchy. One tends to think the book is all about analyzing and dissecting thinking patterns and methods of Einstein and people like him, and how to apply this to our education and training so that the great masses can be benefited. But such is not the case with the book.

The author's biggest theme seems to be linking visual thinking with 3-D computer graphics, and suggesting that by using 3-D graphics, we can become visual thinkers. Firstly, multiple intelligence work done by Howard Gardner should have been very clear to the author that different people have different talents and not everyone can be a visual thinker. Secondly, cowboy clothes do not make one a cowboy; thus, not everyone who uses 3-D computer graphics can become visual thinkers. The second major theme of the author seems to be linking dyslexia people with visual thinkers. I don't see a clear proof in the book.

The author seems to branch out to many directions in this book and occasionally come back to discussions on visual thinkers. One of the strangest views suggested by the author is that cultures with verbal-emphasis are prone to warring with other nations. This is indeed a very peculiar viewpoint. The chapter on the Polynesian is also somewhat farfetched.

However, I do agree with the author on one point: that we need to develop some tests to measure visual ability just like we have IQ tests measuring verbal and math abilities.

To create a generation of visual thinkers, we need a societal change - education, cultural emphasis, jobs, tests, etc. Basically, we need to build up a whole system, starting with a clear understanding of how visual thinkers think; we then need to define or design tests that measures VQ (Visual Quotient) similar to IQ tests; at the same time, we need to train K-12 teachers on how to educate our next generations with visual thinking skills, along with verbal and mathematic skills; we also need to create jobs and compensation systems for these new skills, etc. The book did not cover all these areas.

I think the author is starting in the right direction. But much more needs to be done. Even with so many defects in this book, I still recommend this book to parents and educators. Our society need to identify and cultivate visual thinkers.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars very speculative, April 11, 2005

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Thinking Like Einstein: Returning to Our Visual Roots with the Emerging Revolution in Computer Information Visualization (Hardcover)

Ultimately this is a very intriguing but frustrating book. West makes interesting claims, that are highly speculative. But the various essays in the book do not present any solid evidence to buttress his claims.

Even so, and without necessarily agreeing with him, you might consider that he raises good questions. From evolution, we are visual creatures; much more so than a math-oriented number crunching ability. And the ability and importance of seeing prey or predator predates any real verbal ability. This has meant that we can process visual data far more impressively than verbal I/O or tables of numbers. Which has given rise to the importance of computer visualisation in many disciplines. So no one who uses computers in this way would really argue against their utility.

But as to whether this presages a "revolution" in our daily interactions or our research is quite a stretch.

5.0 out of 5 stars As a visual thinker, I love this book!, June 9, 2010

By 

Laurel D Gorney "Felix" (Lexington, KY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Thinking Like Einstein: Returning to Our Visual Roots with the Emerging Revolution in Computer Information Visualization (Hardcover)

Some of the concerns and questions from previous comments are covered in Dr. West's previous book, In the Mind's Eye. Indeed, in this book, he makes several references to his earlier work. If one wants more answers I would definitely recommend reading In the Mind's Eye. Thinking like Einstein is a compilation of 2000 word articles he wrote for a magazine. As I myself have experienced, academia is indeed biased toward the verbal and the rote mathematical. Dr. West points out that such places as Johns Hopkins University has recognized the importance of visual thinking, and had begun testing for it. He does not say that we can make visual thinkers out of verbal thinkers. He merely points out that the increase in everyday computing power has led scientists, engineers and even financial experts to begin to see patterns and improvements that would not have been seen previously. It had also led to greater efficiencies, such as how Boeing now designs aircraft entirely on computers. Others can now see, albeit in a limited way, what only visual thinkers have been able to see in the past. On the other hand, many very brilliant people, such as Einstein, Tesla, Faraday, and Edison were indeed dyslexic. That one is dyslexic does not automatically make one a great visual thinker, and one need not be dyslexic in order to be a great visual thinker. However, in a great percentage of cases, there is indeed a correlation. The very things that wire a brain for visual thinking, often lead to issues with verbal, rote mathematical or social abilities. As a society, we are doing ourselves a great disfavor, if we reject the ability of many due to these limitations. Personally, reading is a chore for me. Sometimes the words even jump around on the page. I have always thought it incredibly inefficient to transfer knowledge and understanding via words alone. The words have to be translated to thoughts, then to visual images. Many who have trouble with this process, can indeed make great contributions to the betterment and advancement of the human race.