Blog Posts for John Elder Robison

Two days at the British Invasion, 2009

John Elder Robison — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 04:11:41 -0700

This article also appears in print, in the Rover NewsWords and pictures (c) 2009 John Elder RobisonIt’s that time of year again. Last weekend, I left my Massachusetts home for a trip to the wilds of Northern Vermont, all in the name of British Motoring. I’m a diehard Land Rover lover, but the 2.5 diesel Defender is too slow for a five-hundred-mile road trip and the Range Rover was out of ...

It's a wired, wired world. From Massachusetts to Australia and back again

John Elder Robison — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:15:59 -0700

I'm sitting here at home working on my next book, but I have to take a moment to share this remarkable radio experience . . . . I just did an interview with Deborah Cameron on ABC 702 in Sydney, Australia. A few years ago, most people elsewhere in the world would say, so what? Not anymore.An hour before the interview, I updated my Facebook status to say I was on the radio in a little while. Then ...

It's time for some news, and some new websites

John Elder Robison — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 13:47:34 -0700

First, I'd like to thank all of you who helped make Look Me in the Eye one the top selling books of the year, for the second year in a row (Publisher's Weekly 2008 Bestsellers issue) sales are still pretty strong, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for three years in a row . . . Since the collapse of the economy last September, I’ve been spending a lot more time at Robison Service, my ...

Some thoughts on the economy

John Elder Robison — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:27:43 -0700

I don't really write much about the economy here, so I hope readers will indulge the occasional post. Until last year, my 35-year working life has been a series of mostly forward moves. There were some bumps, of course. I got fired a few times, got divorced, even got my nose cut off once – but overall I moved ahead on a year-to-year basis.My success was made possible to a large extent by the ...

Super moms and mom empowerment

John Elder Robison — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:50:07 -0800

Back in December, blogger friend Jess Wilson asked if I’d donate a few signed books for a raffle. Now, Jess is a mom with two grade school kids in Newton, Massachusetts. Ten years ago, I’d have figured she was doing a raffle for some event at her local elementary school. That’s how it was when parents asked for donations when I was young.Moms like her volunteered locally, to support the ...

High end prostitution

John Elder Robison — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:13:48 -0800

Last night, after the news, I was surprised to see that CNBC had a much-advertised special on high-end prostitution. http://www.cnbc.com/id/26869953 The prices for some of the girls were impressive. $10,000 for a night. $25,000 for a weekend. Wow. And to hear them talk, there’s a steady flow of business in all the big cities. There are even websites where johns rate the hookers. Only they ...

Asperger's and aloneness

John Elder Robison — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:25:21 -0800

For those of you who saw this post on my Psychology Today blog . . . there is a new story there today. For those who did not see it, I'll repost it here:For much of my life, I've carried a burden of sadness. It started when I was three or four, with my failures to make friends with the kids around me. At that age, I was a monkey face and a retard. As I got older, the name calling faded away, to ...

A summary of my essays on TMS

John Elder Robison — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:31:08 -0800

Every day, I get questions about the TMS project I’ve gotten involved in at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. TMS stands for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. What’s that? It’s the use of high power magnetic fields to induce tiny electrical currents in the brain that can change the way we think.TMS has been in the news recently because it just got FDA approval as a drug ...

A summary of my essays on TMS and changing the way we think

John Elder Robison — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:48:09 -0800

The latest from the TMS lab

John Elder Robison — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 08:29:27 -0700

It seems like I'm driving to Boston every week nowadays! If you're in town next Wednesday, come say hi! I'll be appearing at the Barnes & Noble, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, from noon to 1PM. This is part of the Snell Library Lunch Times Series. Call 617 373 2821 for more info. Monday night I attended a review of this summer's work at the TMS lab. I know quite a few blog ...