by Temple Grandin

About the author: Temple Grandin is an animal scientist who has designed one-third of all the livestock processing facilities in the United States, including humane handling chutes for slaughtering cattle.

Language-based thought is foreign to me. All my thoughts are full-color motion pictures, running like a videotape in my imagination. It was always obvious to me that cattle and other animals also think in pictures. I have learned that there are some people who mainly think in words and I have observed that these verbal thinkers are more likely to deny animals’ thought; they are unable to imagine thought without words. Using my visual thinking skills, it is easy for me to imagine myself in an animal’s body and see things from their perspective. It is the ultimate virtual reality system. I...