"Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure." — Thomas Watson, Jr. Recently, I had the chance to interview Tom Watson Jr's grandson, Ralph Watson McElvenny and his co-author Marc Wortman. Tom...
Nick Koshnick: StoriedWork.com An AI Co-Pilot for Non-Linear Thinkers
Nick Koshnick is a Stanford PhD and seasoned entrepreneur who raised money from companies like Google and Andreessen, and then sold the company.. He's also dyslexic. Now, he's co-founded StoriedWork.com with business partner Frank Corrigan. Storied has been nicknamed...
Learning Through Real Things: David Kelley’s Tech Box [Premium]
“Striving for perfection can get in the way during the early stages of the creative process.” — David Kelley David Kelley is recognized as one of the world’s leading design innovators. He is also dyslexic and dysgraphic. In addition to founding Stanford University Design School, David co-founded IDEO, a design company that, among other things, designed the prototype for the computer mouse that we know today. In The Art of Innovation, David’s brother Tom wrote about how David loved to make things as a little kid, and as early as he could remember, he believed in the process of starting somewhere and continually improving something until it really works. When Tom was only six, he remembers David improving how he built snowmen until he decided […]
Sony Santa Monica Game Designer Stephen Oyarijvbie
"Don't get frustrated with yourself. There are things that you're going to struggle with. Lean into the things that you do well, those strengths...and don't dwell on how people treat you. You're smart and probably smarter than a lot of other people. The world isn't...
A Whodunit Mystery by Anthropologist Roxanne Varzi
UC Irvine Professor Roxanne Varzi is a creative anthropologist, filmmaker, and mystery author. She shared her dyslexia journey in a previous interview HERE. In my interview below, I learned that Roxanne was drawn to the field of cultural anthropology by its...
Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers
Brilliant comedian Tommy Smothers of Smothers Brothers fame passed away at the age of 86. Condolences to his family and loved ones. "My comedy came out of my dyslexia...I search for words. I don’t stutter but there’s a timing that I discovered that was comedic timing,...
Dyslexic Toymakers and Gamemakers
Many dyslexic kids and adults are great at games - all sorts of games. Not surprisingly, some decide to make games themselves and then some choose careers in some aspect of the game industry. There may be an ability to see game play from multiple perspectives...
Dyslexic Storytellers [Premium]
Although many of the physical and mechanical aspects of writing are difficult, many of the greatest writers of all time are dyslexic. Why does storytelling come naturally to so many? Dyslexic people have powerful emotional, personal, multisensory memories. As a result, it’s easy to recall the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of the past and once the hurdles of getting information down on a page are overcome, stories can come to life for others. Not everyone has these gifts – in fact, a lot of people don’t. A common dyslexic strength is “episodic simulation”. The word “episodic” refers to what scientists refer to as episodic memory, memories for episodes or experiences that have a specific place and time. Our surveys of dyslexic and non-dyslexic people […]
The Beautiful World of Jarrett Camp
"I use my dyslexia as a form of artwork. When I create a composition of a piece, usually there's another piece upside-down." — Jarrett Camp Jarrett Camp is an award-winning fine artist based in Los Angeles. He is a stipple artist who creates large works that...
Getting into Film and TV with Isla Mcdade-Brown
"I think that dyslexia is hard. And I think that it's OK to admit that it's hard...and also admit that sometimes it does really suck...but I think that when you find your niche, and that can only really come from taking random opportunities...it really helps you find...
Chief of Design at Nike: John Hoke [Premium]
“I’m dyslexic, so my first real language was drawing,” he said. “Even at the youngest age I can recall, I wasn’t necessarily interested in the essay or the text, I was graphically designing the header. I doodled everything. That was the way I communicated.” — John Hoke From Fast Company: “My father was an engineer and I used to only run in the waffle trainer cause that was my shoe. I had to have it. It was the best. And when I was done, I would bandsaw the shoe in half and I would look at the two halves of the section and I’d look at my air mattresses, my pool, my bike tire or my bike tire inner tube. I was like, why can’t […]
Legendary Filmmaker David Lean [Premium]
Sir David Lean CBE was an Academy Award-winning filmmaker who inspired fellow dyslexic filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Joe Wright. David was initially recognized as a “dud” at school, prone to excessive daydreaming. Later he would credit his passion for filmmaking with the gift (from an uncle) of a Brownie box camera at the age of 10. David was considered “dim” especially when compared to his younger brother. He left school at 18 for work, but was bored when he tried apprenticing at his father’s accountancy firm. David’s aunt urged him to find a job that he could love. He was spending every evening at the movie house, so taking her advice to heart, he quit trying to work as an account apprentice, and […]