It's finals week again. 10 weeks go by pretty fast. In between 3 papers and my last Greek exam I flew to Chicago to visit my wife (there on a 5 week medical rotation for PA school) and was in need of some light reading for the plane ride. Jonah Lehrer's Imagine: How Creativity Works was a fantastic read. Citing numerous case studies, examples, myths, and scientific findings he covers the concept of creativity on a pretty impressive scale. Beginning with the specifics of brain function during epiphanies and ending with cultural environments conducive for genius cultivation, the book is interesting, fast paced, and dare I say, encouraging.
In grade school I was told that being slightly more right-brained would only be good for art or music. According to Lehrer I might just be a little better at making connections between seemingly disparate entities. Managers, salespeople, etc. of any sort should really check this book out. There are plenty of examples from the histories of Pixar, 3M, Apple, and other innovative companies that took risks by encouraging constant interaction between employees and giving them freedom to "Fail Big". But there are plenty more great stories here. I mean, c'mon—any time a professional surfer, David Byrne, and William Shakespeare are examined in the same book, I'm in.
