Imagine “How creativity works”

by Peter Watts

“Our most important mental talent: the ability to imagine what has never existed.”

“Imagine” explores the latest mechanics of creative brain science; all our little grey cells and the zaps and flashes of insight zinging between them.

Jonah Lehrer brings together all the facts and lays them out in this relaxed guide. If you are a fan of the New Yorker or similar magazines, you’ll recognize the long-form writing style that makes the book so easy to drop in and out of.

Hard science blends with anecdotes and interviews. Scientists, business people, educators, and innovators all come join the project. I came to particularly enjoy the little word-sketches that Jonah Lehrer uses to introduce and visualize his interviewees, ranging from urban campaigners through to an Israeli technologist who was so chilled that he was quite literally horizontal.

The care taken in writing these descriptions means that the stars-of-the-show, the enviable selection of interviewees, all feel as if they are in the room along with you.

The book touches on to a wide arena of subject areas from neuroscience through to urban planning, education, and even intellectual property law. All of which, it turns out, are having significant impacts on the creative intelligence of society.

A wide source of ideas and inspiration for a wide range of public-speaking topics.

You can find out more about the author by visiting www.jonahlehrer.com

and you can catch the video promo for “Imagine” by clicking here.