Stephen Brown
Full Member
Joined: 09 Oct 2003
Posts: 136
Tue Feb 03, 2009 11:00 pm
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| Talent and Autism Seminar |
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FYI
Steve
Talent and Autism
6.30pm – 8.00pm, Thursday 12th March 2009
A joint British Academy and Royal Society panel discussion
convened by Professor Uta Frith, FBA, UCL and
Professor Francesca Happé, King's College London.
This discussion forms part of the ESRC's Festival of Social Science 2009 and will be hosted by the Royal Society
Extraordinary talent remains one of the big unexplained puzzles, which will only be solved by a true collaboration between sciences and humanities. One key to the puzzle might be provided by the raised incidence of exceptional talent in individuals with autism. A Discussion Meeting on Autism and Talent was organised under the joint auspices of the British Academy and Royal Society and held in September 2008. Contributors from different disciplines explored aspects ranging from the prevalence and nature of exceptional talent and its basis in the brain, to the cognitive theories currently trying to explain the origin of talent, to the representation of talent and autism in biography and fiction. The outcome of this meeting showed some remarkable convergence of ideas, for instance, the possibility that a detail-focused processing style may predispose to talent. However, it is also clear that many of the most important questions still remain open. Are great artists fundamentally different from the rest of us? Is talent mainly nature or nurture? Is there a price to pay for exceptional ability in one domain? Does having 'a little bit of autism' predispose to talent?
Chair:
Professor Uta Frith, FBA, FRS, FmedSci, Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL
The discussion will be moderated by Dr Daniel Glaser, Head of Special Projects in Public Engagement at the Wellcome Trust.
Speakers:
Francesca Happé, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, highly acclaimed author of numerous scientific articles and books with particular interest in cognitive strengths and weaknesses in autism, and the genetic basis of cognitive style in autism.
Simon Baron-Cohen, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology and Director of the Autism Research Centre, Cambridge University, internationally-renowned autism researcher and author of innumerable articles and books, including Mindblindness, and The Essential Difference.
Mark Lythgoe, Director of the Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, UCL, with wide-ranging research interest in arts and science, including the investigation of unexpected talent following brain injury.
John Sloboda, Emeritus Professor at Keele University and Director of its Unit for the Study of Musical Skill and Development. He is internationally known for his work on the psychology of music.
Daniel Tammet, (TBC) multi-talented 'savant' in different languages and types of memory. He appeared in the TV series "Beautiful Minds" and is the author of On a Blue Day and Embracing the Wide Sky.
Attendance
This event is free - no ticket or advanced booking required. Doors open at 5.45pm and seats will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. For further details, please contact Catherine Lawrence at the Royal Society: 020 7451 2581 / events@royalsociety.org
This event will be webcast LIVE at royalsociety.org/live and available to view on demand within 48 hours of delivery.
Location:
The Royal Society
6-9 Carlton House Terrace
London
SW1Y 5AG
Map and travel information available
For media enquiries please contact: Nicola Kane at the Royal Society, tel: 020 7451 2508/Email: press@royalsociety.org or Michael Reade at the British Academy, tel: 020 7969 5263/Email: m.reade@britac.ac.uk |
