About the author

Dr. Wahed Hemati

Computational linguist, author of Mind Garden, and someone who needed the idea behind this book himself before he wrote it down.

Red marks in the exercise book

I was born in Afghanistan and came to Germany as a child with my family. At school I understood neither the language nor the lessons at first. My exercise books were a collection of red correction marks, and every report felt like a verdict on my future.

One sentence in the final year

In the middle of the exam pressure of my last year at school I came across As a Man Thinketh by James Allen. It said that thoughts are seeds: tend them, and they turn into strength. That one sentence turned the mess in my head into a plan.

I started planting thought seeds on purpose. With every new word I had to learn, every mistake, before every exam. That change of view carried me through my final exams and on to university.

What else I do

Today I research how neural networks learn from data at the Text Technology Lab of Goethe University Frankfurt. It is a scientific mirror of what thoughts do to people: both are shaped by what you feed them. Alongside that I build AI systems as Chief Information Officer at Shikenso Analytics and advise companies on their GenAI strategy.

Why children’s books

What matters most to me are books that show children that talent can be trained and that mistakes can be fertiliser. I am an uncle, and I see in my nephews and nieces the same doubts I had. I learned too late what helps against them. They should find out sooner.

Mind Garden is my first book and only the beginning. The next seed is already in the ground in the final chapter. If a once-unsure refugee boy can become a scientist and an entrepreneur, then there is far more in every child than it believes today.

For press, booksellers and schools

Enquiries about readings, review copies and interviews go to info@ceve.guru. I answer them myself.