Daniel Tammet – författare

An eye-opening short book by the international bestselling writer of Born on a Blue Day and Thinking in Numbers.Have you ever wondered how neurotypicals - so called ''normal'' people - come across to those who are on the autistic spectrum? What would an instruction manual about being an average human being look like to them? And actually, would it be that different, fundamentally, to a field guide about autistic people (were such a thing to exist)?Daniel Tammet is an essayist, poet, novelist and translator. In 2004, he was diagnosed with high-functioning autistic savant syndrome. In this eye-opening and fascinating book, he takes readers on a tour around nightclubs, ponders the significance of tattoos, delves into anti-age creams and puzzles over playing the lottery, all from the perspective of someone who approaches everything in life from a unique angle. After all, this is a man for whom Wednesdays are always blue, who sees numbers as shapes and who learned conversational Icelandic from scratch in seven days.These short essays come together in a beautifully written, sometimes humorous but always refreshing narrative that focuses on the eccentricities of modern life as seen through the eyes of someone always on the outside. Rather wonderfully, it illustrates the eccentricity inherent in every kind of mind, reminding us of the little-noticed strangeness of our common humanity, while subtly questioning what it means to be thought ''normal''.

Daniel''s internationally bestselling memoir of living with Asperger''s Syndrome and Savant Syndrome, Born on a Blue Day established him as one of the most original talents in contemporary non-fiction.Now, in his new book, Embracing the Wide Sky, he combines meticulous scientific research with detailed descriptions of how his mind works to demonstrate the immense potential within us all. He explains how our natural intuitions can help us to learn a foreign language, why his memories are like symphonies, and what numbers and giraffes have in common. We also discover why there is more to intelligence than IQ, how our brains turn light to sight, and why too much information can make you stupid.He illustrates his arguments with examples as diverse as the private languages of twins, the compositions of poets with autism, and the breakthroughs, and breakdowns, of some of history’s greatest minds.Embracing the Wide Sky is a unique and brilliantly imaginative portrait of how we think, learn, remember and create, brimming with personal insights and anecdotes, and explanations of the most up-to-date, mind-bending discoveries from fields ranging from neuroscience to psychology and linguistics.This is a profound and provocative book that will transform our understanding and respect for every kind of mind.

''Full of charm and fascination'' The Bookseller''Would dazzle any storyteller in love with words and their deepest meanings'' Amy Tan, author of Joy Luck Club''A generous book and a beguiling read'' Rebecca Gowers* * * * * *From the bestselling author of Born on a Blue Day and Thinking in Numbers, a delightful and eclectic exploration of language, and what it can teach us about ourselves and our lives.Why is the name ''Cleopatra'' not allowed in Iceland? Why do clocks ''talk'' to the Nahua people of Mexico? And if we are what we eat, are we also what we say? These are just some of the questions Daniel Tammet answers in Every Word is a Bird We Teach to Sing, a mesmerising new collection of essays investigating the intricacies and profound power of human language. Tammet goes back in time to explore the numeric language of his autistic childhood; he looks at the music and patterns that words make, and how languages evolve and are translated. He meets one of the world''s most accomplished lip readers in Canada, learns how endangered languages like Manx are being revived and corresponds with native speakers of Esperanto in their mother tongue. He studies the grammar of the telephone, contemplates the significance of disappearing dialects, and also asks: will chatbots ever manage to convince us that they are human?From the art of translation to the lyricism of sign language, Every Word is a Bird We Teach to Sing is a fascinating journey through the world of words, letters, stories and meanings, and an extraordinary testament to the stunning range of Tammet''s literary and polyglot talents.