The hidden dyslexic strength that employers want.
What is Dynamic Reasoning?
In Scientific Terms:
According to the Journal of Mathematical Behavior, "Dynamic reasoning is defined as developing and using conceptualizations about time as a parameter that implicitly or explicitly coordinates with other quantities to understand and solve problems."
In Non-Scientific Terms:
Dynamic reasoning is kind of like predicting the future. Individuals use patterns, past experiences, and other data to predict what will happen next (or figure out what happened in the past).
Why does it affect dyslexics?
As with most things related to dyslexia, dynamic reasoning results from how our brains are physically made; we can quickly take in a lot of data and start to draw immediate conclusions.
Dynamic Reasoning in Action
There are three main ways dynamic reasoning kicks in for individuals. A friendly reminder here, not every dyslexic excels with dynamic reasoning; some of us are better at things like narrative reasoning.
1. Finding Patterns in Behavior:
Have you ever had a friend say, "you are the only one who notices when I am upset?" While dyslexia does make us naturally more empathetic, noticing behavior changes (or consistencies) in others is one of the ways dynamic reasoning presents itself. We might not even know we are doing it. Our brains take in data about what our friends usually are like then we compare their current state to that baseline.
Dynamic reasoning makes us terrific friends with those around us. Being a good friend might not feel like a dyslexic strength, but we bet if you asked your friends, they would say it is.
2. Figuring Things Out:
People with dyslexia have naturally curious minds. We are always on the hunt to learn and figure things out. We naturally want to know the whole process (big picture thinking). Dynamic reasoning is one of the ways we can manage that big-picture thinking. We can look at an excel spreadsheet, and instead of instantly giving up (because excel is needlessly complicated), our dynamic reasoning starts to kick in. We take in data and start to figure out how things work. "Oh, the = sign means the cell will do math if I want. I wonder if I can get it to automatically total things up for me?"
This kind of application of dynamic reasoning is also beneficial when trying to figure something out that happened in the past. One of our Hive Community Members uses this skill constantly as a Crime Scene Investigator to help them discover clues in their investigations.
3. Seeing Problems:
Has anyone ever told you, "Ya, that could be a problem?" The cause of that would be your dynamic reasoning. Let us explain. Someone (usually a boss) comes up with an idea, the rest of the team goes along, and then you put your hand up. "What about how that will impact our existing customers? How will we manage the refund process? Could this alienate some of our customer bases?" Pause... your boss goes, "That could be a problem." Dynamic reasoning pushes dyslexics to instantly start looking for problems (and solutions to those problems) when they hear a new idea.
We can not express how valued of a skill this is in the workforce. While no one wants to deal with a negative Nancy, bosses value employees who find problems and present solutions. Your dyslexia makes you an asset to any company you join.