Genius Explained

Genius Explained
Author: Michael J. A. Howe
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2001-05-31
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9780521008495

This study controversially suggests genius is made not born by tracing the lives of famous figures.

Cracking Creativity

Cracking Creativity
Author: Michael Michalko
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2011-04-13
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0307790363

From the bestselling author of Thinkertoys, this follow up brings innovative creative thinking techniques within reach, giving you the tools to tackle everyday challenges in new ways. Internationally renowned business creativity expert, Michael Michalko will show you how creative people think—and how to put their secrets to work for you in business and in your personal life. You don't have to be a genius to solve problems like one. Michalko researched and analyzed hundreds of history's greatest thinkers across disciplines—from Leonardo da Vinci to Pablo Picasso—to bring the best of their techniques together and to teach you how to apply them in your own life. Cracking Creativity is filled with exercises and anecdotes that will soon have you looking at problems and seeing many different solutions.

How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci

How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci
Author: Michael J. Gelb
Publisher: Dell
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2009-10-21
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 0307573524

This inspiring and inventive guide teaches readers how to develop their full potential by following the example of the greatest genius of all time, Leonardo da Vinci. Acclaimed author Michael J. Gelb, who has helped thousands of people expand their minds to accomplish more than they ever thought possible, shows you how. Drawing on Da Vinci's notebooks, inventions, and legendary works of art, Gelb introduces Seven Da Vincian Principles—the essential elements of genius—from curiosità, the insatiably curious approach to life to connessione, the appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things. With Da Vinci as your inspiration, you will discover an exhilarating new way of thinking. And step-by-step, through exercises and provocative lessons, you will harness the power—and awesome wonder—of your own genius, mastering such life-changing abilities as: •Problem solving •Creative thinking •Self-expression •Enjoying the world around you •Goal setting and life balance •Harmonizing body and mind Drawing on Da Vinci's notebooks, inventions, and legendary works of art, acclaimed author Michael J. Gelb, introduces seven Da Vincian principles, the essential elements of genius, from curiosita, the insatiably curious approach to life, to connessione, the appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things. With Da Vinci as their inspiration, readers will discover an exhilarating new way of thinking. Step-by-step, through exercises and provocative lessons, anyone can harness the power and awesome wonder of their own genius, mastering such life-changing skills as problem solving, creative thinking, self-expression, goal setting and life balance, and harmonizing body and mind.

The Geography of Genius

The Geography of Genius
Author: Eric Weiner
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2016-01-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 1451691688

Tag along on this New York Times bestselling “witty, entertaining romp” (The New York Times Book Review) as Eric Weiner travels the world, from Athens to Silicon Valley—and back through history, too—to show how creative genius flourishes in specific places at specific times. In this “intellectual odyssey, traveler’s diary, and comic novel all rolled into one” (Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness), acclaimed travel writer Weiner sets out to examine the connection between our surroundings and our most innovative ideas. A “superb travel guide: funny, knowledgeable, and self-deprecating” (The Washington Post), he explores the history of places like Vienna of 1900, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou, and Silicon Valley to show how certain urban settings are conducive to ingenuity. With his trademark insightful humor, this “big-hearted humanist” (The Wall Street Journal) walks the same paths as the geniuses who flourished in these settings to see if the spirit of what inspired figures like Socrates, Michelangelo, and Leonardo remains. In these places, Weiner asks, “What was in the air, and can we bottle it?” “Fun and thought provoking” (The Miami Herald), The Geography of Genius reevaluates the importance of culture in nurturing creativity and “offers a practical map for how we can all become a bit more inventive” (Adam Grant, author of Originals).

Origins of Genius

Origins of Genius
Author: Dean Keith Simonton
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 321
Release: 1999
Genre: Creative ability
ISBN: 0195128796

This groundbreaking book applies Darwin's theory of natural selection to the creative process and takes readers inside the mind of genius. Line art.

Einstein and Oppenheimer

Einstein and Oppenheimer
Author: Silvan S. Schweber
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 429
Release: 2009
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 067403452X

Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer, two iconic scientists of the twentieth century, belonged to different generations, with the boundary marked by the advent of quantum mechanics. By exploring how these men differed—in their worldview, in their work, and in their day—this book provides powerful insights into the lives of two critical figures and into the scientific culture of their times. In Einstein’s and Oppenheimer’s philosophical and ethical positions, their views of nuclear weapons, their ethnic and cultural commitments, their opinions on the unification of physics, even the role of Buddhist detachment in their thinking, the book traces the broader issues that have shaped science and the world. Einstein is invariably seen as a lone and singular genius, while Oppenheimer is generally viewed in a particular scientific, political, and historical context. Silvan Schweber considers the circumstances behind this perception, in Einstein’s coherent and consistent self-image, and its relation to his singular vision of the world, and in Oppenheimer’s contrasting lack of certainty and related non-belief in a unitary, ultimate theory. Of greater importance, perhaps, is the role that timing and chance seem to have played in the two scientists’ contrasting characters and accomplishments—with Einstein’s having the advantage of maturing at a propitious time for theoretical physics, when the Newtonian framework was showing weaknesses. Bringing to light little-examined aspects of these lives, Schweber expands our understanding of two great figures of twentieth-century physics—but also our sense of what such greatness means, in personal, scientific, and cultural terms.

Genius Unmasked

Genius Unmasked
Author: Roberta Ness
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2013-06-27
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0199976597

Shows how the most creative minds in science used tools that can help us improve our creative abilities. Geniuses are not omnipotent. They are just very skilled at employing the creativity toolbox highlighted in this book, including finding the right question, observation, analogy, changing point of view, dissection, reorganization, the power of groups, and frame shifting.

Awakening Your Inner Genius

Awakening Your Inner Genius
Author: Sean Patrick
Publisher:
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2013-02
Genre: Creative thinking
ISBN: 9781938895159

If you'd like to know what some of history's greatest thinkers and achievers can teach you about awakening your inner genius, and how to find, follow, and fulfill your journey to greatness, then you want to read this book today. You can score in the highest ranges of IQ...and fail to succeed in life. You can work incredibly hard...and never realize your dreams. You can stumble across beautiful opportunities...only to watch them wither and die. There's something else-something considered unfathomable by many-that lies behind greatness. And in Awakening Your Inner Genius, you're going to be taken on an adventure to discover what that is, and how you can use it to transform your life. You see, genius is a path, not a gift. Studies of history's greatest geniuses have shown that there is a "genius code," if you will. A combination of very specific traits that we can develop in ourselves, and thus, operate at a genius level. In this book, you're going to learn things like... Why IQ, opportunities, and working toward that magical goal of 10,000 hours don't comprise the whole story of great achievers, and what else is needed to walk in the footsteps of our greatest geniuses. How to view and deal with the world as Leonardo da Vinci did, and embrace the one trait that most accounted for his incredible genius and talents. Lessons from Nikola Tesla on why imagination is so vital to awakening your inner genius, and insights into the real "secret" to creativity, as explained by people like Jobs, Picasso, Dali, and Twain. How Thomas Edison was able to go from a mischievous academically challenged kid to the world's most successful inventor, and how you too can formulate and realize goals like he did. The secret to Alexander the Great's superhuman drive and work ethic, and how you can inspire yourself to pursue your own goals and dreams with the same vigor and tenacity. What geniuses like Elizabeth I can teach you about the importance of individualism in your journey to greatness, and how to strengthen your will to break away from conventions, ignore the naysayers, and stay true to your vision and principles. How Hippocrates' epic quest to reform medicine in ancient Greece was fueled by his unparalleled judgment, and how you too can sharpen your ability to make the right decisions at the right times and thus move closer to your dreams, one good call at a time. And much, much more... Imagine for a moment how this could change your life. If you dream of escaping the nine-to-five and striking out on your own, imagine if you knew with certainty that you would succeed. If you don't like where some aspect of humanity is going, imagine if you could do something amazing about it. If you have a stubborn desire to reach out into our culture and write "I was here," imagine if nothing could stop you. So, is the journey to genius right for you? Well, ask yourself the following questions. Who are you, really, and what are you really capable of? What is your calling, and what might happen in the world if you found out? If these questions ignite a spark of curiosity in you, then empower yourself to explore their meaning and magnitude. Read this book today and discover what it really takes to find and follow your bliss, and how to use the lessons passed down to us by some of history's greatest geniuses to systematically rise to top of your fields, activities, and endeavors.

Story Genius

Story Genius
Author: Lisa Cron
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2016-08-09
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1607748894

Following on the heels of Lisa Cron's breakout first book, Wired for Story, this writing guide reveals how to use cognitive storytelling strategies to build a scene-by-scene blueprint for a riveting story. It’s every novelist’s greatest fear: pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page one rewrite. The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways around this problem: pantsing (winging it) and plotting (focusing on the external plot). Story coach Lisa Cron has spent her career discovering why these methods don’t work and coming up with a powerful alternative, based on the science behind what our brains are wired to crave in every story we read (and it’s not what you think). In Story Genius Cron takes you, step-by-step, through the creation of a novel from the first glimmer of an idea, to a complete multilayered blueprint—including fully realized scenes—that evolves into a first draft with the authority, richness, and command of a riveting sixth or seventh draft.