Carina Tangsgaard
designer, programmer, scientist, data wizard & efficiency fanatic
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I’m a multipotentialite with a passion for conveying information, broadening horizons, and improving the status quo
- I’m a highly gifted autist
- I’m introverted and I’m social
- I take initiative and lead – I also follow
- I’m a mom and a wife and I’m a professional
- I’m surprisingly good at surprisingly many things
- As an employer, you can’t read from my CV what I can mean to you.
- As a client, you’ll not be expecting the value that you’ll get.
- As a friend or connection, you’ll be both frustrated and delighted.
- As a colleague or co-volunteer, you’ll be overwhelmed, thrilled, and wanting to learn from me, use my skills, or just see more.
That’s all if you give me the change and don’t immediately put me into a tiny box with a label on it.
I’m a neurodiverse, non-linear thinking multipotentialite
I’ve joined
The Octopus Movement
And their manifesto basically describes everything I think and feel on this topic.
From the manifesto:
Non-linear thinking is thinking along unconventional, atypical lines or in a non-sequential manner. In non-linear thinking, people make connections between seemingly unrelated concepts. Non-linear thinkers draw conclusions and develop ideas, solutions, and innovations from experience gained in a variety of different fields. And they are more likely to innovate in surprising and world-changing ways.
Multipotentiality is a psychological and educational term used to describe people who display aptitudes across multiple disciplines. Multipotentialites are generally bright, driven individuals who have a diverse skill set (as opposed to simply diverse interests), and an increased capacity to learn. They have a unique way of seeing the world and are known to possess strong intellectual and creative curiosity as well as an above-average IQ.
Neurodiversity applies to a community of people whose members are neurodivergent. The conditions of ADHD, Autism, Dyspraxia, and Dyslexia make up “Neurodiversity.” Neuro-differences are recognized and appreciated as a social category on par with ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, or disability status. Not all neurodiverse people are non-linear thinkers, nor mulitipotentialites.
What we believe
The world is over-specialized. We live in a society dominated by specialists who tend to want to put everyone into a box. But many non-linear thinkers can’t be or don’t want to be defined by a single label on a single box.
Labels and boxes inhibit us all from reaching our true potential. Specialists are valuable and important, but when overly specialized thinking divides us, opportunities are missed and the world suffers. Together we are stronger.
Non-linear thinkers work differently and capably. We are uniquely interested and able to focus on and acquire expertise in, many areas. We are multi-specialists who sometimes defy the norms of a nine-to-five world.
It’s time for specialists to recognize our value. Every skill we acquire is a form of currency. Non-linear thinkers deserve to be taken seriously by employers, HR departments, and of course, specialists.
We have the collective power to change the world. Non-linear thinkers are an awesome but underutilized and often misunderstood resource. We need and deserve a bigger presence in organizations, businesses, and governments that are champions for positive change.
What we’re good at
Idea Synthesis. We are great at combining two or more fields and creating something new at the intersection. Our natural appreciation for novelty and variety leads us to have a wide range of interests we can draw from for inspiration.
Rapid Learning. We are unafraid to try new things and comfy outside our comfort zone. We bring everything we’ve learned to everything we do and our skills are transferable across disciplines so we’re never starting from scratch.
Adaptability. We draw on vast experience and expertise to morph into whatever we need to be based on the situation. Translating between modes of thought is second nature. Fast Company calls this the #1 most important skill in the 21st century.
Solution Finding. We instinctively try and solve problems. Always. Connecting dots in all directions in search of new or better ways of doing things is how we roll. Innovation and ideas are our passion.
Collaboration. We get interested and go hard, enthusiastically. We generate lots of ideas without being precious. And we instinctively empathize with a broad set of people and cultures making us exceptional leaders.
For more information, please see https://www.theoctopusmovement.org/ and join or support the movement.
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I love creating order in chaos; turning data into information and solving a puzzle from separate pieces to a whole picture. Designing something beautiful and meaningful.
Interests, accomplishments and trivia
- I love knitting including broadening my skills, making my own designs, and fulfilling my clients’ wishes.
- I was the coordinator for the young adults of Mensa Denmark and got that section of the association from non-existing to thriving in a few years.
- I like teaching and transferring my knowledge in other ways, i.e.: I’ve done workshops, lectures and lab exercises, I’ve taught Venezuelan kids English and I’ve created online courses.
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While working at LEGO – a company that I absolutely love both for its working environment, product, and philosophy (learning through play) – I mapped the life of a LEGO Brick from being designed to production to quality check to packaging. - I’m into learning the structure of and mentality behind languages – while only being fluent in Danish, English, and Dutch, I have lesser abilities in or understanding of languages such as Turkish, Hungarian, Greek, Russian, Spanish, and Esperanto.
- I care greatly about education (have been on the educational board at my department when I went to university and been mentoring youngsters on educational choices) and believe that the current educational system is highly outdated.
- I have a surprisingly large collection in my head of water towers in Denmark, which I worked on while being a contributor and administrator of the Danish Wikipedia. While the quality of the Danish version is rather poor, I’m a big fan of English Wikipedia and the project in general.
- I’m a previous musician with – now faded – mean skills in the flute and the bassoon (and lesser in a series of other instruments) specializing in contemporary classical music and cross-genres.
- I take care of our future where I can; I’m into recycling, reusing, upcycling, sharing, etc, I use cloth diapers and napkins, I do waste sorting, I buy second hand (when new stuff is needed), I take the bike – I call it non-hippie sustainability
- My favorite vacations are bike tours with my sister, camping in the woods and making food by the fireplace.
- I’m a pastafarian believing that nobody should have advantages because of their religion.
- I’m Danish living in the Netherlands with a Dutch partner, a bonus son, a daughter, and a baby in the belly.