The Pattern Seekers

How Autism Drives Human Invention

By: Simon Baron-Cohen

Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley

A groundbreaking argument about the link between autism and ingenuity.

Why can humans alone invent? In The Pattern Seekers, Cambridge University psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen makes a case that autism is as crucial to our creative and cultural history as the mastery of fire. Indeed, Baron-Cohen argues that autistic people have played a key role in human progress for 70,000 years, from the first tools to the digital revolution.

How? Because the same genes that cause autism enable the pattern seeking that is essential to our species' inventiveness. However, these abilities exact a great cost on autistic people, including social and often medical challenges, so Baron-Cohen calls on us to support and celebrate autistic people in both their disabilities and their triumphs. Ultimately, The Pattern Seekers isn't just a new theory of human civilization, but a call to consider anew how society treats those who think differently.

©2020 Simon Baron-Cohen (P)2021 Tantor

Interesting Topic, way too verbose

Found myself skipping entire sections, due to the repetition of the nature of writing. Listening became almost like I was being lectured and a point being made over and over and over.

inconsistent and jumping around

this book does contain many interesting facts, but few of them are directly related to the topic. As author himself admits "this could have been the shortest book ever: only 3 words", but seems he tried hard to cram anything even remotely connected in it to make it bigger. e.g. It may as well be called The Hystery (and/of evolution) of Invention or Autism and Invention.
Also, dude not only overgeneralizes, universilizes and overapplies, but also misinterprets his own theory: sometimes says the E & S are unrelated and sometimes mutually exclusive.

Excellent book, I found new information

As a female type S, I thought this book was excellent! I enjoyed listening to this book.

I made it about halfway through

I cannot get past the reader's tone, cadence, and voice. He has ruined many books for me. As I only listened to half I cannot comment on the entire book but I wish there was more content about autism and less repetitive "if and then" examples, listening to Mr. Cowley read it made my blood boil. Sorry Simon.

Best science book on autism yet

This book ranks above the best of many I’ve listened to or read that approach autism and it’s associated behavioral characteristics through the lens of science. This body of work and it’s clear explanation in the book left me with a better theory of mind and understanding of my own human experience than before I read it. It is deeply reasoned and researched, extremely well articulated, and thoughtfully and humanistically explained in a way that should be accessible to all types of readers/listeners. The premise that ranges of human behaviors help our crafty species flourish in the face of changing environmental conditions over spans of time and space far vaster than any of us experience in our own lifetimes seems to be the most cogent and testable explanation for the fact of neurodiversity going. If Simon Baron-Cohn isn’t yet being considered for a Nobel Prize yet, he should be. And being cousins with Sacha Baron-Cohn makes this all the more richly interesting.