Dyslexic thinking made me the scientist I am today. If we could harness its power, imagine what could be possible | Maggie Aderin

Progress has always been made by people who think differently. Neurodiversity helps us think outside the box – and when we do, the sky’s the limit One of my favourite pieces of scientific equipment is something called a retrospectroscope. I admit that it only exists in my imagination, but it has turned out to be a very useful bit of kit. It allows me to look back through the years of my life and analyse the journey so far. And what a journey it has been. When I started looking back in earnest as I wrote my memoir, there were many discoveries. Some made me laugh. Some made me wince. Some made me want to give my younger self a hug and a cup of hot, sweet tea. But one of the biggest standouts has been the path my dyslexia has taken me on. I was only formally assessed last year, although I had suspected it for a long time. Looking back, I can see that dyslexia was there all along, shaping the way I thought, solved problems, communicated, imagined and coped. It was there in the child who could not always get the words right on the page, but who could tell great stories and see the bigger picture. It was there in the teenager who was too often made to feel “nice but dim”. It was there in