Imagine: How Creativity Works
.jpg) | |
| Author | Jonah Lehrer |
|---|---|
| Subject | Brain science, creative process |
Publication date | 2012 |
| Pages | 279 |
| ISBN | ISBN 9780547386072 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
Imagine: How Creativity Works is the third book by Jonah Lehrer. Published in 2012, the non-fiction book explores brain science, creative process, and the social aspects of creativity.[1] As of July 2012, the book has been recalled by its publisher due to factual inaccuracies.[2]
Synopsis
When we are lucky enough to be stricken with a particularly imaginative thought or creative idea, it often feels as though it is coming from outside of us—as though we are but the vehicle for its transmission. As a reflection of this, in the past artistic creativity was thought of as a force that was sent down from above, a gift from the gods that the artist was required to wait patiently for; the artist being but a vessel through which the force could act. The moment of epiphany is so sudden, so seemingly without precedent or cause, that it may seem to defy logical explanation, and hence to be outside of the bounds of scientific study. However, according to journalist and author Jonah Lehrer, science is beginning to understand how creativity works, and how it can be fostered, and it is this understanding that he brings to the table in his book ‘Imagine: How Creativity Works’.
By taking us on a tour of very creative individuals, organizations, cities and cultures—and drawing on the latest in neuroscience and social psychology—Lehrer hopes to help us understand the stuff of creativity, and to help us cultivate it in our ourselves, and the organizations, cities, and cultures of which we are a part. The book itself is split into two parts, with the first part focusing in on creativity in individuals, and the second part concentrating on creativity in groups.
When it comes to creativity in individuals, we learn that imaginative epiphanies originate in the right hemisphere of the brain—whose role it is to pull together disparate and seemingly unrelated ideas. What’s more, we learn that creativity is associated with a particular kind of brain wave (called an alpha wave), and that these brain waves are often best encouraged by way of turning away from the problem that we are trying to solve, and simply relaxing and distracting ourselves in order to allow them to emerge on their own.
Creative ideas rarely come in finished form, however, and therefore, perfecting these ideas requires deep persistence and hard work. The attention to detail and focus that this process requires can be aided by certain substances and states of mind that are not always healthy (such as narcotics and depression), but it cannot be avoided; genius requires hard work. Nothing good is easy.
At times, and indeed more and more nowadays, difficult problems require the creative efforts of more than just one person: they require a collective effort. However, getting groups to be creative is not an easy task, as it requires the right mix of people, and the right approach. For instance, the most creative and productive groups tend to be those where the members are mostly well-acquainted with one another, and have worked together before, but who are also joined by a healthy measure of new and unfamiliar talent. In addition, the best approach for groups to have seems to be one where the members practice a kind of constructive criticism, and collective responsibility.
Beyond certain groups being more creative than others, even some cities have an edge over others when it comes to creativity, and here again there are some essential features that separate the more creative from the less-so. According to Lehrer, the key to creative cities is density, diversity and maximizing interactions, and there are ways that we can (and should) design and organize our cities that optimizes all of these.
Finally, we learn that even some cultures are more creative than others, as is evidenced in particular by the fact that geniuses tend to cluster in certain times and places, such as ancient Athens circa 400 BC, Florence, Italy circa 1500 AD, and Shakespeare’s London of the 16th century. Once again, there are certain factors that make some cultures more creative than others, and Lehrer argues that our institutions and laws can be designed in such a way that encourages this creativity. In particular, we must follow a specific approach to education and immigration, encourage risk-taking, and we must also find the right balance between protecting intellectual property rights, and allowing established ideas to be borrowed for the purposes of new innovations. [3]
Fabrication of Bob Dylan quotes
In July 2012, Lehrer acknowledged that he fabricated some quotes attributed to Bob Dylan.[4] Sale of the electronic book as well as physical shipment of the book has been stopped.[4]
Fabrication of Teller quotes
In an Aug. 10 article by Steve Myers,[5] quotes from magician Teller of the performance duo Penn and Teller were alleged to be fake when a fan saw a discrepancy in previous quotes from Teller from a 2009 Wired Magazine article also by Lehrer. Teller confirmed that the quotes from the 2009 Wired article[6] were accurate, while the ones from 'Imagine: How Creativity Works' were not.
See also
References
- ^ Lengel, Kerry (March 31, 2012). "'Republic' April book pick: 'Imagine: How Creativity Works'". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Kellogg, Carolyn (July 30, 2012). "Jonah Lehrer's Bob Dylan quotes lead to resignation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ http://newbooksinbrief.com/2012/04/29/12-a-summary-of-imagine-how-creativity-works-by-jonah-lehrer/
- ^ a b Associated Press, "Author acknowledges fake Dylan quotes, resigns ," The Wall Street Journal, Monday, July 30, 2012.
- ^ Steve Myers, "Another false quotation found in Jonah Lehrer’s ‘Imagine’ ," The Poynter Institute, Aug. 10, 2012.
- ^ Jonah Lehrer, "Magic and the Brain: Teller Reveals the Neuroscience of Illusion" Wired Magazine, April 20, 2009.
External links
 | This article about a science-related book is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |