The runaway species How human creativity remakes the world

David Eagleman

eAudio - 2017

Our ability to remake our world is unique among all living things. But where does our creativity come from, how does it work, and how can we harness it to improve our lives, schools, businesses, and institutions? The Runaway Species is a deep-dive into the creative mind, a celebration of the human spirit, and a vision of how we can improve our future by understanding and embracing our ability to innovate. Composer Anthony Brandt and neurologist David Eagleman seek to discover what lies at the heart of humanity's ability-and drive-to create. Examining hundreds of examples of human creativity, Brandt and Eagleman draw out what creative acts have in common and view them through the lens of cutting-edge neuroscience, uncovering the essenti...al elements of this critical human ability and encouraging a more creative future for all of us.

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Subjects
Published
[United States] : Dreamscape Media, LLC 2017.
Language
English
Corporate Author
hoopla digital
Main Author
David Eagleman (author)
Corporate Author
hoopla digital (-)
Other Authors
Anthony Brandt (author), Mauro Hantman (narrator)
Edition
Unabridged
Online Access
Instantly available on hoopla.
Cover image
Physical Description
1 online resource (1 audio file (6hr., 40 min.)) : digital
Format
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
ISBN
9781520084794
Access
AVAILABLE FOR USE ONLY BY IOWA CITY AND RESIDENTS OF THE CONTRACTING GOVERNMENTS OF JOHNSON COUNTY, UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, HILLS, AND LONE TREE (IA).
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Review by Choice Review

A composer and a neuroscientist join forces to examine the power of human creativity in this thought-provoking work. Brandt (Music, Rice Univ.) and Eagleman (Stanford Univ.) begin with an account of the Apollo 13 moon mission--high stakes engineering on the fly--and Picasso's controversial Cubist painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. They contend that the thought routines for NASA and Picasso are essentially similar, and that they are produced by the human brain's unique cognitive software--usually running unnoticed in the background. This cognitive capacity to generate novelty and break with expectations has led to the signature inventiveness of the human race. The authors develop this intriguing theme in three sections. The first considers our need for creativity, how we generate new ideas, and how these ideas are shaped by when and where we live. The second section examines key components of the creative process--variation, insight, and risk. The third section reviews strategies for cultivating creativity in classrooms, companies, and workspaces. In this well-written and amply illustrated work, the authors stress that the "creative economy" will demand an unprecedented cognitive flexibility, which can be achieved only with a bold recalibration of our priorities and a truly "synergistic vision of innovation." Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --Ralph M. Davis, emeritus, Albion College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.