Alan Conrad loners, psychology, Shyness

Loners |The one place where society welcomes them |Anneli Rufus and her book Party of One

Loners have a hard time in the modern, day-to-day world, yet not in fiction and film. Solitary men - who I think are shy and/or autistic men - are heroes in literature and the movies – James Fenimore Cooper's Natty Bumpo in The Deerslayer and The Last of the Mohicans. David Copperfield in the Dickens … Continue reading Loners |The one place where society welcomes them |Anneli Rufus and her book Party of One

Alan Conrad autism, Dreams, history, introverts, Paranormal, psychology, Science, Shyness

Alternative World |New perspectives on autism, shyness, literature and history, psychology and science, life, the universe and everything

Yes, this is the new title of this site. Though I'm still fond of 'Shy Highway', the title I've used since 2007, my interests obviously are too far-ranging. Since I was a boy entering school, my view of the world around me has been different from that of anyone I've met. That wasn't always positive. … Continue reading Alternative World |New perspectives on autism, shyness, literature and history, psychology and science, life, the universe and everything

Alan Conrad language, psychology, Rescuing Nature, Rescuing Reality, Science

Rescuing the Past and/or Anthropology and/or Psychology |How reading and writing preceded Talking

In one of my books – not sure if it's in The Shyness Guide or my first novel, The Birdcatcher (could be both) - I said that reading and writing are older than speech. That's an idea that I have never seen anywhere else. But this week, re-reading the James Hillman/Michael Ventura book, We've Had … Continue reading Rescuing the Past and/or Anthropology and/or Psychology |How reading and writing preceded Talking

Alan Conrad introverts, psychology, Shyness

Are you an introvert and an extrovert?

In my book The Shyness Guide, I've written about C.G. Jung's different conception of 'introvert/extrovert' - different, that is, from the view of most people today. In his 1921 book Psychological Types, he proposed that there are four principal functions:      Two perceiving functions: Sensation and Intuition      Two judging functions: Thinking and Feeling We … Continue reading Are you an introvert and an extrovert?

Alan Conrad autism, psychology, Science

Autism and Theory of Mind |Do you think like a Baboon?

Sometimes psychologists try to explain autism using 'theory of mind'. Books on psychology devote whole chapters to theory of mind, but to keep a lid on it here, I'll just quote Dictionary.com: the ability to interpret one’s own and other people’s mental and emotional states, understanding that each person has unique motives, perspectives, etc. The … Continue reading Autism and Theory of Mind |Do you think like a Baboon?