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.

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.

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.

Interesting Concept but Fell Short

The concepts are interesting, but many of the authors' points are stated as fact with little support. The author does provide some good examples but is quick to gloss over counter examples. The narrator is very dry and perhaps takes away from the content. The comparison to mechanics or simple engineering was juvenile as if the author was dumbing down the material or simply didn't understand it.

As an Autistic…

The core premise is good, the idea that autistic individuals (or hyper pattern seekers) can innovate because they are “born to do it”.

However. It feels that the book was intended for neurotypicals. It struggles to dance between “neurodivergents are amazing” but
“the neurotypical should not feel bad”. “Autism has so many disadvantages”, but “Austin also have so many benefits”. “They invent a bunch of stuff, but can’t invent to save themselves out of their parent’s basement”. It’s a collection of small narrative examples.

This dance is quite off putting for me. The facts and specifics are good references, but reads like a nature white paper rather than a thought leading exploration of the topic.

Excellent insights

Easy listen. Well organized. Good addition to any Neurodivergent library. Especially interesting statistics and commentary on organizations and institutions that purposefully employ autistic people.

Content is good but narration is bad.

This narrator has narrated about 100 Audible titles but his narration is bad. I playback 0.8X speed and he sounded bearable. The author should have used a better narrator. Lousy narration can ruin an otherwise good book.

Too sciency

Very scientific. I got lost in some sections. I finished the book but didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would have.

what a boring let down

I didn't feel this was super insightful, honestly. I had huge, wonderful expectations of discovery for this book but felt it was a boring let down, overall. The subtitle paraphrases the entire book that felt like it was uninterestingly beat to death: The Pattern Seekers: How xyz Drives Human Invention

I didn't feel this was really a good read about Autism, personally, but I already agree that neurodivergency, Autism, pattern seeking, creativity, and obsessive learning for the joy of it are all amazing to me. I didn't feel like this book even represented that as beautifully as I think it is. Just my opinion.

1-2 stars for the topic and synopsis of random info about a handful of inventors. Not 5 stars because I wouldn't recommend this read. It misses the mark in big, important ways. That's why I feel this way about this book.

I wasn't even interested in taking the surveys at the end that the book keeps recommending throughout. I also felt like that entire point of view was poorly developed, so it was not worth my time.

Most inventors mentioned over and over again, for example, are "speculated" as likely to be autistic but even those examples felt small and poorly digested. 🤷‍♀️

*I own the hardcover but listened to it on Audible, instead.*

P.s. I first heard about this book while listening to an interview with the author. I was thrilled to read it based on the content the author speaks about with passion.

Also, I have a constant, huge urge to rearrange the colors on the title page. 🤣 I do still think the cover is beautiful.