“I couldn’t read and write, could barely scrape through school…” — Dr. John Lienhard IV, emeritus mechanical engineering professor, founder of Engines of Our Ingenuity Recently, I had an opportunity to talk with a remarkable polymath (he prefers the word gadfly), John Lienhard IV, an emeritus professor of mechanical engineering. I had come across his podcast episode, Risk and Vocation, where he had said: “We dyslexics make fine engineers and inventors. We do fine in art, computers, theater. Why push your students into the standard prestige programs? They’re the people who’ll shape the material world we live in.” Also, “Real influence flows to people who leave the beaten paths and whose hands touch the material world.” If you’d like to hear my full interview […]
Daily Thinker Fundraiser for Dyslexic Advantage – Thanks Preston!
Recently, we were contacted by a member of this community, Preston Ausbrook, who told us that she has been making The Daily Thinker quote calendars for family and friends since 2018. She asked if she could now donate all profits to Dyslexic Advantage! We were very...
Nature Journaling with John Muir Laws
"I notice, I wonder, it reminds me of" are powerful prompts that lead you to observe more deeply, ask better questions, and make interesting connections." — John (Jack) Muir Laws This is a great time to get outdoors and draw. Even if you're a backyard nature...
The Gift of Families [Premium]
This article was inspired by Steven Spielberg’s movie, The Fabelmans. It is a look back to his childhood inspirations and a nod to his family. As the pandemic worsened, Spielberg said: “As things got worse and worse, I felt that if I was going to leave anything behind, what was the thing that I really need to resolve and unpack about my mom, my dad… This film is, for me, a way of bringing my mom and my dad back.” I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’ve read and watched interviews of Steven talking about his family. He had an especially close relationship with his mother Leah Adler who he credits with his artistic interests. Her parents were a classical guitarist (dad) and linguist […]
Brilliant Actress Morfydd Clark [Premium]
“When on stage, I have good concentration. When I don’t find something interesting, I can’t concentrate.” — Morfydd Clark Brilliant, beautiful, and brave actress Morfydd Clark is mesmerizing in Rings of Power as the Elven warrior Galadriel. “I wasn’t great in class and suffered from dyslexia and ADHD; still do. As a result I could never sit in class listening quietly, and my attention would inevitably end up wandering after a short while.” — Morfydd Clark Morfydd had long been a fan of Lord of the Rings because her father had read The Hobbit to her and she had listened to Lord of the Rings on audiobooks. She has said that she felt that her bilingual background helped her relate to Galadriel because Galadriel would think […]
Not Over Hurdles, But Around Them
If you have moderate to severe dyslexia, chances are that you've encountered many obstacles on path to higher education and career. The farther one gets in education, the more one can recognize that much of education deals with writing about things rather than doing...
Co-founder Brett Kopf’s Journey to Success with Remind and Omella
"...Can I just start off by making a blanket statement that I think dyslexia can be such a gift?" — Brett Kopf Brett Kopf is co-founder of Remind and Omella, two companies that grew out of his interest in solving problems that mission-driven organizations and...
Julia’s Project : Boosting the Esteem of Elementary Kids with Dyslexia
As promised in the last newsletter, here's my interview with Julia de Montagnac of ColoringConfidence.com Julia shared her vivid memories of reading struggles in the 2nd and 3rd grades, and when the possibility of a service project came up, she wanted to interact with...
Dyslexic Strengths in Times of Adversity
"...dyslexics sometimes seem unusually well suited to deal with major changes -- to being able to see opportunities inside of adversity. They are known to be particularly good at rethinking situations in an original way. They are known to be able to see what others...
Actor Stephen Graham [Premium]
Actor Stephen Graham has been described as one of the most talented actors the United Kingdom has ever seen. Yet, he almost didn’t get a chance at his breakthrough role in Snatch when the director Guy Ritchie, asked whether he had come to read for the part. Stephen had just come along to support his friend who was trying to get the job, but when Guy found out that he was also an actor, he encouraged him to give it a try. Stephen told him that because he was dyslexic, he couldn’t do a cold read. I don’t know whether he knew that Guy Ritchie is also dyslexic – but fortunately for Stephen, Guy asked him to improvise the scene instead and he completely smashed […]
Rescued by Ruby: Netflix Movie Based on a True Story
A nice family-friendly movie based on a true story is "Rescued by Ruby". It's a story of a high-spirited and difficult-to-train animal shelter dog who met up with a high-spirited and difficult-to-train state policeman (Daniel O'Neil). The two connected on multiple...
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo in Netflix’s Lincoln Lawyer
"We were shooting and I said: ‘I can not do this’. I was going to quit.” — Manuel Garcia-Rulfo Manuel Garcia-Rulfo had big shoes to fill - following on Matthew McConaughey's Mickey Haller in Netflix's remake of The Lincoln Lawyer. English is a second language...