We’ve all done it: mixed up our numbers and telephoned the wrong person. It’s an easy mistake that’s easy to forgive, but for one Starbucks employee, Meseret Kumulchew, getting her numbers in a jumble landed her in very hot water. While logging the temperature of fridges and water onto the duty roster, coffee shop worker Meseret accidentally wrote the numbers the wrong way round. Apparently accused of fraud and ordered to retrain, she was exonerated earlier this year when the courts ruled her employer had treated her unjustly. She, like an estimated half a million people in the UK, has dyslexia – a condition that many of us simply don’t understand. And the brew is made all the murkier because there is no accepted definition of what dyslexia is. Read more
Tag: Learning
Life with autism: it’s not what you think
Imagine a world where the clink of a coffee cup chimed louder than Big Ben. Imagine what it would be like if a muttering crowd sounded louder than a World Cup roar. Envisage a desk lamp that burned brighter than the sun; or suppose a whiff of rotten fish lingered with you all day long. This is the world of sensory overload. Welcome to the world of autism. Read more
The Debt we owe to Dyslexia: Are you reading this correctly?
Most of us think dyslexia is a bad thing. At school I had a friend who was told by a teacher that he was “thick” and “wouldn’t achieve anything in life”. Not because he was stupid (he was, and still is, extremely intelligent) but because his reading and writing abilities were horrendous.
Things have thankfully changed, but probably not enough. Many consider dyslexia a disability or a disorder. And this isn’t just in popular culture: if you search through the academic literature, nine out of ten articles describe dyslexia as an impairment. (Try it yourself at Google Scholar)
Shame on us. Today’s society is so dependent on alphanumeric communication that it is difficult to see it dyslexia as anything other than disability. But our ancestors wouldn’t have seen it that way – the success of our species probably owes much to the ‘dyslexia trait’. It’s high time we all got re-educated…(myself included) Read more
Blue Lights Shown to Give a Brain Boost! But is a Better than Coffee?
It’s 6 am and the alarm sounds. Mornings aren’t a friendly place until you’ve had a coffee.
Loathed by some but loved by many more, caffienated drinks are the world’s most popular drug. Effective as a stimulant, a mood-booster and an learning-enhancer, caffeine is an indispensable part of modern-day living for 90% of Westerners. Coffee consumption has a variety of health benefits but is not without its problems; including addiction, withdrawal symptoms and adverse effects in children.
Now it seems, there could be a new kid on the block that threatens to topple the office coffee machine. It’s safe, legal and cheaper than a Starbuck’s. Move over Mr Drinks Dispenser and make way for invigorating power of the Blue Light Bulb! Read more