Centre Programs

Visitors Program

The Centre for the Mind supports scholars to come to Canberra to work in the Centre or attend one of the Centres conferences. Visitors are helped and encouraged to make contact with relevant academic departments in Canberra, Sydney and elsewhere in Australia and they may be invited to lecture at these places. It is consistent with the Centres national role that visitors, especially those from overseas, should feel free to visit other Australian universities and institutions during their stay. The Centre also wishes to attract young scholars of high promise as well as those with established reputations. Professor Dennett was available at the Centre for collaborative research during early 1998 (page4).

The Centre aims to provide an interdisciplinary zone of mind science scholarship and debate that reaches across all Australian society. One of the mechanisms used to achieve this is through a vigorous conference and seminar program.

The Centre fosters debate that reaches across all Australian society

The Centre is the driving force behind the international What Makes a Champion? event, the international conference on what makes a champion in the broadest sense, to be held in Sydney 10 days before the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. To this end, we have been collaborating with the University of Sydney, the Australian Olympic Committee, the Australian Institute of Sport and several business leaders. A Celebration of the Creative Mind event is scheduled for early 1999.

Research Update

Annual research themes are nominated as the main focus of each years activities; the theme for 1998 was creativity. The Centre has been working on creativity, especially mindset breaking, as inspired by our research on the astonishing abilities of autistic savants. Our research highlights for 1998 included advancing the hypothesis that infantile autism is the state of mind without mindsets. Mindsetsthe mental paradigms through which we view the worldhave evolved so that we can respond automatically to things of importance but, by having mindsets, we are intrinsically prejudiced. Through the study of abnormal minds, we gain valuable insights into understanding the process of creativity, especially into processes which are normally unconscious.

Mindsets the mental paradigmsthrough which we view the world

To take drawing as an example, we are all masters at seeing what is needed of this world, yet it is a surprising fact that none of us can draw naturalistic scenes unless we have been taught to do so. But, certain autistic preschool artists can often draw naturalistically and with astonishing accuracy. We believe this is because we are normally blocked by our mental schema mental schema which allow us to recognise and label what we see, but blind us when it comes to drawing (copies of Breaking Mindset are available from the Centre).

Most recently, the Centres researchers are exploring the implications of these findings on certain mathematical skills. More on that next issue

Foundation Sponsor

We are grateful to News Limited for their support as the Centre of the Minds first Foundation Sponsor.

News Limited is the largest newspaper publisher in Australia, with 132 metropolitan, regional and suburban titles, including The Australian which was the first and remains Australia's only national daily broadsheet. News Limited is also involved in pay television through Foxtel; music via Festival and Mushroom Records; airlines, with a half share in Ansett Australia; and through its parent company, The News Corporation, film and television production via Fox Studios Australia.