An Outsider's Guide to Humans: What Science Taught Me About What We Do and Who We Are

An Outsider's Guide to Humans: What Science Taught Me About What We Do and Who We Are

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2020-12-02 04:10:41
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Camilla Pang PhD
  • ISBN：9781984881632
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Summary

WINNER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE

An instruction manual for life， love， and relationships by a brilliant young scientist whose Asperger's syndrome allows her—and us—to see ourselves in a different way。。。and to be better at being human

Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of eight， Camilla Pang struggled to understand the world around her。 Desperate for a solution， she asked her mother if there was an instruction manual for humans that she could consult。 With no blueprint to life， Pang began to create her own， using the language she understands best: science。

That lifelong project eventually resulted in An Outsider's Guide to Humans， an original and incisive exploration of human nature and the strangeness of social norms， written from the outside looking in—which is helpful to even the most neurotypical thinker。 Camilla Pang uses a set of scientific principles to examine life's everyday interactions:
- How machine learning can help us sift through data and make more rational decisions
- How proteins form strong bonds， and what they teach us about embracing individual differences to form diverse groups
- Why understanding thermodynamics is the key to seeking balance over seeking perfection
- How prisms refracting light can keep us from getting overwhelmed by our fears and anxieties， breaking them into manageable and separate "wavelengths"

Pang's unique perspective of the world tells us so much about ourselves—who we are and why we do the things we do—and is a fascinating guide to living a happier and more connected life。

Editor Reviews

11/09/2020

First-time author Pang draws on her expertise as a scientist and on her experience as a person with autism spectrum disorder and generalized anxiety disorder to create an enlightening hybrid of popular science， memoir， and self-help。 She begins by describing how， when younger， she found negotiating the world around her—and particularly the behavior of other people—baffling。 Science， she writes， was “the key to unlocking a world whose door was otherwise closed to me，” and she believes the neurotypical and neurodiverse alike can benefit from looking at human nature scientifically。 In tying scientific phenomena to human behaviors， she posits， for instance， that understanding thermodynamics can ease perfectionism， writing: “our efforts to create order in our lives do not exist in isolation， but in a messy context of people and inanimate objects， all with their own energetic needs”; and that cellular evolution offers a useful perspective on relationships， because， “like a stem cell， every relationship essentially begins as a generic， unspecialized entity。” By leavening scientific theory with personal anecdotes， Pang draws up a life guide that’s accessible and entertaining if not entirely applicable to all。 Nevertheless， this is a unique take on life’s big questions。 （Dec。）

Publishers Weekly

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Reviews

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MB （What she read） ，

As per this interview: https://cupofjo。com/2020/12/what-auti。。。 As per this interview: https://cupofjo。com/2020/12/what-auti。。。 。。。more

Elle ，

An Outsider's Guide to Humans by Dr。 Camilla "Millie" Pang is a look at human interactions and relationships through the eyes of a brilliant scientist who has Asperger's Syndrome。 As the parent of three sons on the autism spectrum （ranging from severe non-verbal to highly gifted Asperger's Syndrome） as well as a teacher of students with autism （I have taught genius level students who were multiple grade levels ahead of their typically developing peers）。 I admit to being very excited to add this An Outsider's Guide to Humans by Dr。 Camilla "Millie" Pang is a look at human interactions and relationships through the eyes of a brilliant scientist who has Asperger's Syndrome。 As the parent of three sons on the autism spectrum （ranging from severe non-verbal to highly gifted Asperger's Syndrome） as well as a teacher of students with autism （I have taught genius level students who were multiple grade levels ahead of their typically developing peers）。 I admit to being very excited to add this book to my collection。 I was hoping to pick up some tips on how to better understand and help my sons and students who can have an extremely difficult time with developing positive social relationships with the people around them （to include friends， parents， teachers， and employers）。 I have helped many individuals through meltdowns because there was a misreading of social cues。 As someone who is possibly on the spectrum myself and who has social anxiety， I understand that there is a great need for people to understand and accept individuals who do not always understand the intricacies of social relationships。 Dr。 Pang did not always understand social situations and why people act in certain ways， so she decided to become her own science experiment by using scientific principles and applying them to the humans around her。 Science is something that Dr。 Pang could understand easily and typically follows predictable patterns， whereas humans can be very unpredictable， especially in different situations。 Dr。 Pang does an excellent job of explaining herself and it does all makes sense， but I think if I understood science a bit better， this book would have been better for me。 I have not studied any science in about 30 years， so I was having to re-learn scientific terminology as I read the book。 Overall， I do feel this was an excellent read， but there were times that my focus was too much on understanding the science that it distracted from my ability to learn from and enjoy the book。 I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get a peek inside what the world looks like to Dr。 Pang and how she navigates the world。 It is always fascinating to learn about autism through the voice of someone who is on the spectrum themselves。 I especially recommend it to individuals who are on the autism spectrum themselves as it may help them navigate social situations better by looking through the lens of scientific principles。 Overall， a truly fascinating read。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=An Outsider's Guide to Humans: What Science Taught Me About What We Do and Who We Are

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=An Outsider's Guide to Humans: What Science Taught Me About What We Do and Who We Are&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,An Outsider's Guide to Humans: What Science Taught Me About What We Do and Who We Are&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0