Synopses & Reviews
The extraordinarily inventive Linus Pauling, twice winner of the Nobel Prize, was asked how he came to have so many good ideas. Pauling replied: "Well, I have a lot of ideas and throw away the bad ones." Where do ideas come from? And why do the best ideas sometimes strike in a flash of "sudden genius"? Andrew Robinson here offers a fascinating look at the genesis of creativity in science and art, following ten remarkable individuals who achieved brilliant breakthroughs in their fields. Robinson looks first at the scientific study of creativity, covering talent, genius, intelligence, memory, dreams, the unconscious, and much more. He then tells the stories of ten amazing breakthroughs--five by scientists and five by artists--ranging from Curie's discovery of radium and Einstein's theory of special relativity to Mozart's composing of The Marriage of Figaro and Virginia Woolf's writing of Mrs. Dalloway. Robinson concludes by highlighting what highly creative people have in common; whether breakthroughs in science and art follow patterns; and whether they always involve great leaps and "sudden genius."
About the Author
Andrew Robinson is the author of numerous books, including five biographies of exceptionally creative individuals in a wide range of fields.
Table of Contents
Preface Introduction - The science and art of creative breakthoughs
Part I: Ingredients of Creativity
1. Talent, genius, and polymathy
2. Intelligence is not enough
3. The lunatic, the lover and the poet
4. Insights from the unconscious
5. Blue remembered Wednesdays
Part II: Breakthroughs in Science and Art
6. Jean-Francois Champollion - Hieroglyphic decipherment
7. Marie Curie - The discovery of radium
8. Charles Darwin - Evolution by natural selection
9. Albert Einstein - Special relativity
10. Christopher Wren - The design of St. Paul's cathedral
11. Henri Cartier-Bresson - The Decisive Moment
12. Leonardo da Vinci - The Last Supper
13. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - The Marriage of Figaro
14. Satyajit Ray - The Apu Trilogy
15. Virginia Woolf - Mrs Dalloway
Part III: Patterns of Genius
16. Family matters
17. Professor of the little finger
18. Creative science versus artistic creation
19. Is there a creative personality?
20. The rise and fall of reputations
21. The 'ten-year rule'
Epilogue
References, Notes, Bibliography, Index