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>Us females are in short supply round here so we don't want our curious feminine version of things overlooked, ysee.<

On a serious note, Rhiannon, that reminded me of a review I read earlier in the Radio Times about a Dr Temple Grandin, "... who can read and understand animal behaviour like no-one else. Although Dr Temple Grandin is no mind-reader, the explanation she has for her astonishing ability is no less intriguing: she's convinced that her autistic brain allows her to experience the world as an animal does. Labelled mentally disabled at three years old, and only learning to speak aged five, she's now an associate professor of animal sciences."*

It occurred to me that aspects of Dr Temple Grandin's brain may perhaps resemble that of the prehistoric cave artist's who often seems to have had a similar understanding of his/her animal subject(s), or perhaps even to that of the shaman while in a trance. The <b>Horizon</b> prog looks interesting, regardless, and is on BBC2 at 9pm on Thursday, 8 June.

* The Radio Times, 3-9 June 2006, Page 86.

That sounds most interesting. I'll get my biro out and make a little circle around it in the radio times hehe.

Aside from being labelled autistic, being named after a building would be enough to confuse any toddler, don't you think.

There have been suggestions of autism and schizophrenia in relation to cave artists for some years now and of course Jayne's "Bilateral mind" has been popular for a couple of decades at least . It seems to me most blokes have a large chunks of autisism in their behaviour , girls don't seem to suffer from it to the same extent . The exceptional , in both senses ,ms Grandin's "Animals in translation " is a treat with many insights into animal behaviour and I think is jist oot in paperback.

It occurred to me that aspects of Dr Temple Grandin's brain may perhaps resemble that of the prehistoric cave artist's who often seems to have had a similar understanding of his/her animal subject(s), or perhaps even to that of the shaman while in a trance...

This requires some thought... Hob will tell us that it is left/right hand ability of the brain that gets developed one way or the other. Instinct/intuition is seen as part of the feminine side of things. As autism is a particular condition of the brain, you really can't backtrack it to shamanism or cave art, these things arose from hunting or a need for religion; perhaps it is her 6th sense which has become fully developed and it this she shares with prehistoric man/woman..