Secrets of Creativity

Reviews / Votes

The singular strength of this curated collection is the varied areas of expertise represented, which allows readers to see how creativity is conceptualized at the microscopic and macroscopic levels through hard science and empiricism, as articulated in historical, literary, and personal narratives of creative individuals. This collection draws on multiple disciplines[...] but undergraduates in any of the individual fields of neuroscience, psychology, literature, art, or history can appreciate their respective sections. Readers will hopefully come away with a new understanding, or at least an appreciation, of the challenges involved in deconstructing creativity. * K. Feigenson, Albright College, CHOICE * In the 1959 Two Cultures, C. P. Snow famously argued for a vast intellectual divide between the sciences and the humanities. Yet the 2019, Secrets of Creativity proves that scientific researchers and humanistic scholars--joined by artistic creators--can meaningfully share their insights concerning a ubiquitous and multifaceted phenomenon. Indeed, creativity can only be fully understood through this conversation among experts in psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, computer science, philosophy, literary studies, art history, creative writing, and musical composition. That conversation renders this volume an interdisciplinary tour de force. * Dean Keith Simonton, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of California, Davis, and author of The Genius Checklist: Nine Paradoxical Tips about How You Can Become a Creative Genius * In Secrets of Creativity Suzanne Nalbantian and Paul Matthewshave assembledan impressive collection of essays from a stellar group of thinkers in the arts and humanities, as well as from the sciences of mind and brain. This unique volume will have a lasting impact on how we think about creativity. * Joseph LeDoux, Professor of Neural Science at NYU and author ofanxiousand ofThe Deep History of Ourselves * Supernal spirits from La Mettrie to Langer will be smiling over the brilliant assembly of living theoreticians of science and culture gathered here by humanist Suzanne Nalbantian and scientist Paul M. Matthews who striveto rekindle our interdisciplinary discourse over human self-awareness and the astounding range of human expression in light of thenewest advances in study of the brain. Guided by Nalbantian and her team the reader never loses sight of how mysterious is the evolutionary pathway of creativity -- and then how rapid the newest surges in brain science -- leading to this exciting intellectual juncture. * Gerald Gillespie, Professor Emeritus in the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages at Stanford University and author of Living Streams: Continuity and Change from Rabelais to Joyce * Creativity is something we all recognize when we witness it, but a mental process that is difficult to pin down. From conceptions entailing preparation, incubation, illumination and verification, through to neuroscience ideas about the diversity of brain areas involved, Nalbantian and Matthews brilliantly orchestrate a panoply of ideas from the sciences and the humanities. This is not a "how to" book, but a thoughtful reflection, bringing in also social and cultural influences such as those which led to the magical blending of ideas in Cervantes and Shakespeare. A book to help us understand better those amazing "aha" moments of our lives. * Richard Morris FRS, Professor of Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh and co-editor of The Hippocampus Book *