Name: Imagine
ISBN: 9780547386072

Imagine

"Did you know that the most creative companies have centralized bathrooms? That brainstorming meetings are a terrible idea? That the color blue can help you double your creative output? From the best-selling author of How We Decide comes a sparkling and revelatory look at the new science of creativity. Shattering the myth of muses, higher powers, even creative 'types, ' Jonah Lehrer demonstrates that creativity is not a single gift possessed by the lucky few. It's a variety of distinct thought processes that we can all learn to use more effectively. Lehrer reveals the importance of embracing the rut, thinking like a child, daydreaming productively, and adopting an outsider's perspective (travel helps). He unveils the optimal mix of old an new partners in any creative collaboration and explains why criticism is essential to the process. Then he zooms out to show how we can make our neighborhoods more vibrant, our companies more productive, and our schools more effective. You'll learn about Bob Dylan's writing habits and the drug addictions of poets. You'll meet a Manhattan bartender who thinks like a chemist, and an autistic surfer who invented an entirely new surfing move. You'll see why Elizabethan England experienced a creative explosion, and how Pixar's office space is designed to spark the next big leap in animation.

What Hacker News says

31073Nov 2012

I'd suggest looking at the book Imagine by Jonah Lehrer. It doesn't refer to coding specifically but he talks about ways to foster focus and inspiration. The author looks in to all ways to get to these states of mind including drugs.

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diegoJun 2012

The Honest Truth About Dishonesty - Dan Ariely. Read all his books and papers, for that matter.

Thinking, Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman

I also liked Jonah Lehrer's Imagine, a book about creativity.

If you're into programming, I recommend The Joy of Clojure.

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caublestoneJun 2012

Check out Imagine. Really great read on where creativity comes from and how to foster innovation within teams.

http://www.amazon.com/Imagine-Creativity-Works-Jonah-Lehrer/...

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mmihaljevicJun 2012

Here are some of my recommendations:

1. Hacking: The Next Generation (Animal Guide) - http://www.amazon.com/Hacking-Next-Generation-Animal-Guide/d...

2. Discrete Mathematics for Computer Scientists - http://www.amazon.com/Discrete-Mathematics-Computer-Science-...

3. Imagine: How Creativity Works - http://www.amazon.com/Imagine-Creativity-Works-Jonah-Lehrer/...

4. The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption -http://www.amazon.com/Information-Diet-Case-Conscious-Consum...

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j_bakerMay 2012

If you haven't, I highly recommend reading Jonah Lehrer's book Imagine: http://www.amazon.com/Imagine-Creativity-Works-Jonah-Lehrer/...

It turns out that there are two sides to creativity: a more left-brained tendency to focus on something and take it to completion and a more right-brained tendency to have inspirations and insights.

It certainly sounds like you've got the left-brained part of it down, but I don't think that shutting out new ideas like this is a good idea. What's important is being able to recognize which random ideas are worth entertaining and which ones aren't. I know that if I shut out all of my random ideas, I'd have dismissed some of the best ones.

This isn't just an abstract question either. Having really great ideas that are executed well is the difference between a product that merely does its job and a product that people love and tell all their friends about.

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thenonsequiturApr 2012

Have you seen the book "Imagine: How Creativity Works" by Jonah Lehrer? It explains how the above process works in a general way, and it's really interesting. It's a pop-science book, to be sure, but still a really good read.

http://www.amazon.com/Imagine-Creativity-Works-Jonah-Lehrer/...

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