Author: Jonah Lehrer
For those of us who are in the business of Research and Development, creativity is by far, one of the most sought after attributes. You can have all the knowledge on every aspect of your project, but if you aren't able to create something different that your customer will love, you haven't accomplished much.
The book doesn't disappoint. It has many examples from diverse walks of life that will definitely have you thinking, and hopefully lead you down the path to increased creativity. I was sold when the book opened with Bob Dylan who is my most favorite musicians, or more precisely song-writer. The creativity that he has displayed in the many years, writing songs with a variety of themes and spanning multiple genres folk to country and rock and roll, is unmatched in the music industry.
Another example that I was really struck by was Milton Glaser, who is an icon in the field of Graphic Design. Jonah underscores the importance of constantly refining ones work, until it gets better and better. There are numerous examples of great artists constantly in search of something better: Hemingway said that he rewrote the ending of "Farewell to Arms" 39 times before he was satisfied. Milton had already got his work accepted with an "I love New York" logo but he was not satisfied and kept trying to improve on it, and finally had the inspiration for the I ♥ NY logo which is a much copied classic.
Losing your inhibitions is half the battle in getting creative. That is the reason why many of the artists that we know and love have rather eccentric behaviors. In the book Jonah delves into the role of the neocortex in inhibiting creativity. The neocortex develops late in children and this explains why creativity generally reduces as kids cross the third or fourth grade mark. It also explains the correlation between mind-altering/enhancing drugs and creativity.
Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone who needs a little extra creativity in their lives.
The book doesn't disappoint. It has many examples from diverse walks of life that will definitely have you thinking, and hopefully lead you down the path to increased creativity. I was sold when the book opened with Bob Dylan who is my most favorite musicians, or more precisely song-writer. The creativity that he has displayed in the many years, writing songs with a variety of themes and spanning multiple genres folk to country and rock and roll, is unmatched in the music industry.
Another example that I was really struck by was Milton Glaser, who is an icon in the field of Graphic Design. Jonah underscores the importance of constantly refining ones work, until it gets better and better. There are numerous examples of great artists constantly in search of something better: Hemingway said that he rewrote the ending of "Farewell to Arms" 39 times before he was satisfied. Milton had already got his work accepted with an "I love New York" logo but he was not satisfied and kept trying to improve on it, and finally had the inspiration for the I ♥ NY logo which is a much copied classic.
Losing your inhibitions is half the battle in getting creative. That is the reason why many of the artists that we know and love have rather eccentric behaviors. In the book Jonah delves into the role of the neocortex in inhibiting creativity. The neocortex develops late in children and this explains why creativity generally reduces as kids cross the third or fourth grade mark. It also explains the correlation between mind-altering/enhancing drugs and creativity.
Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone who needs a little extra creativity in their lives.
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