Why can humans alone invent? In this book, psychologist and world renowned autism expert Simon Baron-Cohen puts forward a bold new theory: because we can identify patterns, specifically if-and-then patterns. And he argues that the genes for this unique ability overlap with the genes for autism.

From the first musical instrument to the agricultural, industrial and digital revolutions, Baron-Cohen shows how this unique ability has driven human progress for 70,000 years. By linking one of our greatest human strengths with a condition that is so often misunderstood, The Pattern Seekers challenges us to think differently about those who think differently.

Men and women have always seemed to think in entirely different ways, from conversation and communication to games and gadgets. But are these differences created by society, or do our minds come ready-wired one way or another, with female brains tending towards interaction and male towards organisation? And could this mean that autism – rather than being a mental anomaly – is in fact simply an extreme male brain?

Why are female brains better at empathasing? How are male brains designed to analyse systems? And what really makes men and women different? Simon Baron-Cohen explores list-making, lying and two decades of research in a ground-breaking examination of how our brains can be male or female but always completely fascinating.

‘Compelling … Inspiring’
   Guardian

‘This is no Mars/Venus whimsy, but the conclusion from twenty years of experiment’
   Evening Standard

‘A devastating contribution to the gender debate’
   Mail on Sunday

‘A fascinating, thought-provoking book’
   Observer

Simon Baron-Cohen is Professor at Cambridge University in the fields of psychology and psychiatry. He is also the Director of Cambridge’s internationally renowned Autism Research Centre. He has carried out research into social neuroscience over a career spanning twenty years. He is the author of Mindblindness and Zero Degrees of Empathy.