Prepare to meet one of the most interesting people in the world of animal husbandry. I know that isn’t the most inviting opening sentence… but give it a chance. Temple Grandin definitely IS the most interesting person in the ‘field’ of animal husbandry. But she’s probably high up on the list of most interesting people full stop.

“I THINK IN PICTURES. Words are like a second language to me. I translate both spoken and written words into full-color movies, complete with sound, which run like a VCR tape in my head. When somebody speaks to me, his words are instantly translated into pictures. Language-based thinkers often find this phenomenon difficult to understand, but in my job as an equipment designer for the livestock industry, visual thinking is a tremendous advantage.” Temple Grandin

(These are Kevin O’Driscoll’s cows in Ballymacrown in West Cork with Homefarm in the background.)

Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who overcame the limitations imposed on her by her condition to become an expert in the field of animal husbandry. She developed an interest in cattle early in life while spending time at her Aunt and Uncle’s ranch. She did not speak until age four and had difficulty right through high school, mostly in dealing with people. Her mother was very supportive as were some of her teachers. She is noted for creating her ‘hug box‘, widely recognised today as a way of relieving stress and her humane design for the treatment of cattle in processing plants, even winning an award from PETA.

Find out more for yourself here. The first video is a trailer for the movie starring Claire Danes (a bit OTT) and the second video is a clip from BBC documentary The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow. She also gives a great talk on TED.com. See more here: www.templegrandin.com