Dr. Georgi Lozanov, father of accelerated learning, passed away

The Bulgarian psychiatrist and educator Lozanov was one of the first to recognize that humans have untapped learning power within their subconscious that can be harnessed to help people grow. For picture thinkers his ideas are interesting because he accepted the important role imagination plays in the learning proces. He explained how learning becomes easy in an environment where love, positive emotions, joy and relaxed concentration are possible. The student must be free to choose how to learn, as a spontaneous feeling. The teacher should trust himself and the capacities of the student. He said language ought to be treated as a living organism and not be isolated and cut in pieces. Education should involve beauty and arts. His educational theory and practice were examined by UNESCO in the late 1970s and proved to be effective. This triggered the 'accelerated learning' movement.

visualizing bananas

i.imgur.com/et72e.jpg

Suppose it is normal to be different

Trudy Dehue is a scientist and a philosopher at the University of Groningen. With her talk she wants to raise the question: suppose it is normal to be different. More and more people live with psychiatric diagnoses such as autism, ADHD or PDD-NOS. But what is a disorder? The given criteria are descriptive. Meeting these criteria is not the same as having symptoms of a disorder.'Our neurobiological make-up is much more complex than we thought,' says Dehue. Refreshing and inspiring TEDtalk.

Great results of picture thinking: Dutch Design Week

During the Dutch Design Week from 23 until 31 October, the Department of Industrial Design at the Eindhoven University of Technology shows the work of the Master's graduates plus a selection of Bachelor's and Master's projects. With the exhibition ID’10, the Department invites the public to experience through interactive prototypes, what our society could be like in the (near) future.
Learning arithmetics using your body, 'exhibiting 2.0' to enhance communication between generations, or eliciting repetitive curiosity in public spaces: Industrial Design can change your world. For example, Sensible Music from Stefan Zwegers decreases the risk of music-induced hearing loss by letting one feel the beat of the music on a MP3-player, and meanwhile reducing the volume. Tactile Texting from Guust Hilte enables people to input text one handedly during activities like cycling or walking, when they are not able to look at the screen. Cueb from Connie Golsteijn is an interactive digital photo medium which allows parents and teenagers to explore individual and shared experiences, thus triggering an exchange of stories. http://w3.id.tue.nl

Biofeedback technique eases musicians' anxiety

AAPB Study shows dramatic improvement in Performance Anxiety Reduction for Musicians, with bonus side benefits.

The study showed a 71% decrease in performance anxiety in the feedback group compared with the control group. The feedback group had a 62% improvement in performance. The musicians in the feedback group also said they had an overall increased sense of calmness, slept better, were more relaxed and had less anger! in their everyday lives.

Full Article: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2010/06/musical-performance-anxiety-stage-fright.html

Temple Grandin 2010

Great movie about the life of an extraordinary picture thinker with autism: Temple Grandin. This visually inventive film takes the audience inside her mind so they can experience themselves what picturethinking is. The movie shows how she turned her unique talent and innate sensitivity into a tool that made her an expert on animal behavior and caused a revolution in the cattle industry. On YouTube Temple comments that she likes the way her 'pictures' are expressed in the movie.
http://www.hbo.com/movies/temple-grandin

The Melody of Language

Newborns' Cry Melody Is Shaped by Their Native Language

Scientist at University of Würzburg found that human fetuses are able to memorize auditory stimuli from the external world by the last trimester of pregnancy, with a particular sensitivity to melody contour in both music and language. Newborns prefer their mother's voice over other voices and perceive the emotional content of messages conveyed via intonation contours in maternal speech (“motherese”).This prenatal exposure to native-language prosody influences newborns' perception leading to a specific cry melody. Later on surrounding speech influences the newborn's sound production. http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(09)01824-7

This research confirms what dr.Tomatis already found 50 years ago: we are born with the memory of our mothers voice. He based his wonderful listening therapy on this melody of language. More info: www.listeningfitness.com

Lot Blom writes in Paravisie Magazine about picture thinking

An excellent article about the gift of dyslexia appeared in the September issue of Paravisie Magazine. In my contribution to this article I write about picture thinking and give my opinion about how we should deal with dyslexia in the Netherlands. This contribution can also be found on my website: www.dyslexie-info.nl

Creative thinkers have a difficult time at school

Picture thinking is a talent, but at school it is not estimated for its worth. Creative thinking, finding original solutions, looking at things from another perspective. Those characteristics are much needed in our society, but at school they lead to lower appraisal. Students with restless minds and bodies - far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity - are ignored or even stigmatized. The talent is wasted.
Sir Ken Robinson, expert on the field of creativity and innovation, argues that it's because we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says.
Sir Ken Robinson held his TEDTalk in June 2006 , but the content is still up to date.

Look at: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66

Compensation for dyslexia treatment

From Jan 1st dyslexic children in the Netherlands get compensation for dyslexia treatment. Sounds good, but how good is it? The compensation is geared at one kind of treatment only, so parents have no free choice about what they want for their child. Compare it with dental care: if artificial teethings are compensated but dental crowns not... how much choice do you have when you have no money?
Healthcare compensation for dyslexia also means that suddenly on TV you can hear people talk about dyslexia being a 'disease'. I shiver when I hear that. Nobody protests, we are not crazy... for illnesses and diseases we get compensated. Financially you rob yourself when you persist that dyslexia is a talent, a creative, visual way of thinking.
The schools have to take care of the implementation of the whole plan. Seems not a bad idea, but the logic rattles: now the teachers have to diagnose the disease called dyslexia. Or is this a way to admit that the problem is in fact educational?

picture thinking and science

Visualisation makes boring labwork appealing for a greater audience. That is the idea behind the 2008 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. Fascinating images and graphics make the findings of scientists accessible.
Some images seem modern versions of the oldfashioned schoolpictures of the Dutch painter Jetses, like this detail of an image of micro organisms in a watery environment, that was rewarded with an Honourable Mention.
Another branch of science that got an Honourable Mention: theology, with an impressive graphic of the many cross references between the chapters of the Bible. The colourfull graphic, looking like a rainbow, makes you understand the depth of this kind of literature research. The first price was for a visualisation of the human circulatory system. You can find it on the website of NewScientist.

Look at: http://technology.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn14809

picture thinking live

In the garden of the castle Haarzuilens at Utrecht, people could be what they want to be, for one day: elf, princes, dragon... Even a king, with your own castle.. No need for competition: Everybody is beautiful, everybody is different. Seemingly opposites go arm in arm. Different is fun. The sun is shining. This is the reality of imagination. This is picturethinking live...

Picture thinking at sea

Today I saw the Thinker of Rodin at the museum and now I have to think myself. On the background the sun dissapears in the ocean. I am at the Cliffhouse, San Francisco. Just around the corner the Bay begins. This place is one of the nicest corners in the world.
Yesterday I went to Alcatraz. That place makes you think too... Beautiful island, great flora and fauna and on it this ridiculous prison. There they had nothing to do except thinking. On the audiotour a prisoner tells how he occupied himself with visualisation. He could see anything he wanted in his mind.
This Thinker of Rodin, inprisoned in his unleverable body, is that what he is doing? And why does he lean with his right elbow on his left knee? To allow lateral thinking?

Images that were not yet there, but nevertheless were made

Young children expose their art in the Stedelijk Museum CS Amsterdam.
'Looking for coincidence' Symposium on December 12th 2007
How do we deal with the creative potential of children? How do we lead them towards their own learning processes? Which role can artists, teachers and musea play? These and other questions are raised in this experiment in the museum and at the Symposium on December 12th.
Six weeks long young children (4 - 7 years old) worked together with 15 artists on concepts like: collecting, order, time, experiment, coincidence and the beauty of colours. Main inspiration for the procedure was the Reggio Emilia approach.
The words written on the wall were expressed by a little girl and mean: 'Images that were not yet there, but nevertheless were made.'

http://www.toevalgezocht.nl

In wich Punch tries to read and Ron Davis gets wooden shoes from a pirate

At the DDAI Symposium held on Octobre 15, 16 and 17th 2007 in Las Vegas, Jan Klaassen, the Dutch Punch, joined the Dutch delegation. He was supposed to be an example of the great succes the Davis counseling has in the Netherlands. Unfortunately he did not bring his glasses and the Dutch girls from Volendam had trouble reading as well. Luckily a parrot could read the name on the parcel.



Ron could confirm that his name was on the parcel and was very happy with the antiquarian edition of 'Treasure Island' he got. Punch wanted to go and try his luck in the Las Vegas casino's, but Judy did not let him. The Dutch girls sang a song about a dyslexic Dutch boy, called Berend Botje, who accidently discovered America when he confused left and right and got lost. A real cultural exchange, this performance.
Next there was a pirate, who gave Ron a pair of wooden shoes, because he had to leave his shoes behind in New Zealand.
In Christchurch NZ a piece of art was made of Rons shoes. They are bronzed and you can go and stand in them. Standing in the shoes of a dyslexic person really makes you THINK DIFFERENT!
Information about the exhibition in Christchurch NZ: www.cmct.org.nz/dde/location.html