Dyslexia is still too often seen as something difficult that you have to learn to live with. Researchers now state that there are also many benefits to word blindness. Dyslexic people would even play an important role in our evolution as humans.
People born with some form of dyslexia are said to be naturally better at discovering new information, are overly creative, and more focused on inventing new things. This “distraction to discover” has been a crucial part of human development and the survival of the species, researchers at the University of Cambridge say. Dyslexia is therefore not necessarily a developmental disorder: there is an exchange of cognitive qualities.
The scientists, whose study in scientific journal Frontiers in Psychology appeared, argue in favor of looking at dyslexia differently. It is more than just a neurological disorder, they say. According to researcher Dr. Helen Taylor, a specialist in archaeological research at Cambridge, this new view on dyslexics has consequences for the individual, but also for society as a whole. “It is too easy to dismiss dyslexia purely as a developmental disorder. Our research reveals a different view. In this way, we want to better understand the cognitive qualities of people with dyslexia,” says Taylor.
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The great physicist Albert Einstein was also dyslexic. Photo: ParentRap from Pixabay.
“We think that the reading difficulties that people with dyslexia have are caused by an evolutionary trade-off. These people are often above average creative, interested in the unknown and extremely strong in discovering new information,” Taylor said. “Schools, universities and companies miss out on many opportunities when it comes to exploratory or discovery learning. It is important to encourage a different way of thinking. In this way we as humanity can continue to adapt to our environment and tackle the major challenges of our time.”
Our ancestors
The new findings are explained in the context of the ‘complementary cognition theory’. Our ancestors specialized in different types of people, which complemented each other well. This collaboration brought a significant evolutionary advantage. This created a powerful alliance between the creative inventors and the highly analytical people, who analyzed the discoveries and developed them into a final product that strengthened the group as a whole. The collaboration of groups of people with different qualities is an important reason why we as a species can adapt so well. “A good balance between discovering new possibilities and taking advantage of the benefits they bring is the key to adapting and surviving. This process is at the root of many important decisions we make in everyday life,” said Taylor.
Discovery consists of seeking the unknown, experimenting, inventing and innovating. Applying these new experiences and knowledge consists of selecting, making efficient and refining. “You can therefore see the reading and writing problems of someone with dyslexia as the flip side of the creative and discovering specialism. This also explains the correlation between people with dyslexia and their desire for creative sectors, such as architecture and art, as well as technology and entrepreneurship,” explains Taylor.
Multidisciplinary approach
This research successfully uses a multidisciplinary approach. The results are consistent with data from several other research fields. For example, the idea of an excessive ‘inclination to discover’ fits in well with evolutionary theories within paleo-archaeology. Paleoarchaeologists argue that humans evolved over hundreds of thousands of years into who they are today, under the influence of immense climate and environmental changes. This coincides with the evolutionary advantage that the “creatives” have during periods of great change and uncertainty, as described by Dr. Taylor.
What exactly is dyslexia?
In dyslexia, reading, writing and spelling are very slow. Children lag behind their peers, while the average intelligence is the same. Letters are misspelled mirrored or otherwise and correct spelling of words is very difficult to learn.
Estimates of the number of people with dyslexia vary widely. According to scientists, 5 to 20 percent of the world’s population suffers from some form of dyslexia. It is often thought of as a brain disorder in which activity in the left hemisphere is reduced or information processing is not fast enough, but much is still unclear about the condition.
Dyslexia is strongly genetically determined. The diagnosis is often made as a child. Even as an adult, the person is bothered by it. There is no known treatment plan or therapy that can solve the reading problem.
Source material:
†Developmental dyslexia essential to human adaptive success” – Frontiers in Psychology
Image at the top of this article: Robert Kneschke