First, a word from your writer….

It’s been so long since I’ve posted anything, I decided I needed a new strategy. What tends to block my publishing more frequently is feeling I need to create a longer post that “educates” all by itself. I start posts, but then get pulled away and tend not to finish them.

So I’m trying something new here. I’m going to just post resources as I come across them along with a few words about why I think they’re worthwhile. Hopefully, this will not only give you access to a curated selection of other thinkers and researchers about the brain, but an insight into how I think about the brain — by highlighting what I want you to learn and how I’d like to see you thinking about the brain too.

Now, back to our newly scheduled programming 😉…

What is a “Normal” Brain?

These links are to 60-minute podcasts by the CBC Ideas program. Together, they offer a different perspective on "normal" brains vs the value of neurodiversity.

The Myth of Normal - Part 1

The Myth of Normal - Part 2

So what?

What I would love for you to gain from these talks is an increasing awareness that — apart from physical injury (including nutritional gaps, sleep impairments, or other indirect ways of creating brain dysfunctions) — brains aren’t broken.

There are a variety of brains because there are a variety of people. Some of these differences are the result of natural diversity. Some are the result of learning history. We all grow up with different experiences, have learned different skills, have different talents and practice different things.

None of this means a brain is broken because it’s not “average”. (Just like no family is “broken” because it doesn’t have the average number of children — which in Ontario is 2.9. Who wants 0.9 of a child??)

We just all need to discover our gifts and our work-arounds.

Please feel free to comment on the Ideas episodes, the diversity of brains, and/or my trial of an abbreviated post technique.