"I use my mind to solve problems and invent things"
About this Quote
A straightforward declaration of purpose, the line asserts agency over cognition and grounds intelligence in action. The mind is not a mysterious essence but a tool to be picked up and used, and the goals are plain: solve problems, invent things. That pragmatic tone captures Temple Grandin’s public persona as a scientist, engineer, and advocate whose thinking is inseparable from making the world work better.
Her career embodies this ethic. As a visual thinker on the autism spectrum, she learned to translate perceptual detail into design, imagining what cattle see and feel as they move through stockyards. That perspective led to curved chutes, non-slip flooring, and low-stress handling systems now widely used in the livestock industry, marrying engineering precision with empathy for animals. She also devised the squeeze or hug machine to calm overwhelming sensory states, turning a personal challenge into an invention with therapeutic value. Problem, then solution; need, then design.
There is also a cultural argument embedded in the sentence. By emphasizing use of the mind, Grandin rejects deficit-based narratives about autism and challenges narrow definitions of intelligence. Different kinds of minds—visual, pattern, verbal—can all contribute when education and work honor their strengths. Her advocacy for shop class, art, and hands-on learning flows from this belief that innovation often starts with concrete problems and the materials at hand.
The simplicity of the statement is part of its power. It strips away labels, diagnoses, and abstractions, leaving a craftsperson’s creed: think clearly, serve a purpose, build something that helps. In that spirit, thinking becomes a form of care. To solve problems is to reduce suffering and friction; to invent is to imagine kinder systems and then make them real. The sentence invites anyone, regardless of cognitive style, to treat the mind as an instrument for useful, humane change.
Her career embodies this ethic. As a visual thinker on the autism spectrum, she learned to translate perceptual detail into design, imagining what cattle see and feel as they move through stockyards. That perspective led to curved chutes, non-slip flooring, and low-stress handling systems now widely used in the livestock industry, marrying engineering precision with empathy for animals. She also devised the squeeze or hug machine to calm overwhelming sensory states, turning a personal challenge into an invention with therapeutic value. Problem, then solution; need, then design.
There is also a cultural argument embedded in the sentence. By emphasizing use of the mind, Grandin rejects deficit-based narratives about autism and challenges narrow definitions of intelligence. Different kinds of minds—visual, pattern, verbal—can all contribute when education and work honor their strengths. Her advocacy for shop class, art, and hands-on learning flows from this belief that innovation often starts with concrete problems and the materials at hand.
The simplicity of the statement is part of its power. It strips away labels, diagnoses, and abstractions, leaving a craftsperson’s creed: think clearly, serve a purpose, build something that helps. In that spirit, thinking becomes a form of care. To solve problems is to reduce suffering and friction; to invent is to imagine kinder systems and then make them real. The sentence invites anyone, regardless of cognitive style, to treat the mind as an instrument for useful, humane change.
Quote Details
| Topic | Technology |
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