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Title details for The Key to Creativity by Hilde Østby - Available

The Key to Creativity

The Science Behind Ideas and How Daydreaming Can Change the World

by Hilde Østby
Matt Bagguley
ebook
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1 of 1 copy available

Readers of Stolen Focus and Quiet will appreciate this wide-ranging and passionate investigation into creativity: Why and when it strikes us, and how to transform workplaces, classrooms, and societies for creativity to flourish.

After a cycling crash leaves her head spinning, journalist Hilde Østby finds herself suddenly bursting with creative energy—which makes her wonder: What's the secret to human creativity? Where do ideas come from? And most importantly: in a society that praises productivity and pace, how can we nurture, rather than suppress, our creative impulses?

Using Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as her inspiration, Østby takes readers tumbling down the rabbit hole of ideas. The Key to Creativity features:

  • Interviews with powerhouse creatives—like journalist Michael Pollan, novelist Maja Lunde, and artist Tracey Emin—and decodings of their creative regimens.
  • The cultural history and science behind our "aha" moments, our inner critics, and our idle thoughts.
  • Information on how to foster your creative potential: Østby shares how we can cultivate more creativity in our lives through prioritizing daydreaming and valuing productivity less.

    • With the charm of Alice exploring Wonderland and meeting its curious inhabitants, The Key to Creativity invites us to imagine a world where daydreaming is encouraged and even our strangest ideas have value.

    • Creators

    • Publisher

    • Release date

      April 11, 2023

    • Formats

      • Kindle Book

      • OverDrive Read

        • ISBN: 9781771648318

      • EPUB ebook

        • ISBN: 9781771648318
        • File size: 2612 KB

    • Languages

      • English

    • Reviews

      • Publisher's Weekly

        January 23, 2023
        Novelist Østby (Diving for Seahorses) explores creativity in this fascinating inquiry. After a bike crash left her with a mild concussion, the author experienced a surprising side effect: a mind flush with new ideas. Eager to understand the neurology behind this burst of creativity, Østby looked into the science of the creative brain. Though creativity is often seen as a talent, Østby posits that anyone can nurture it through practices like daydreaming, meditation, or even being bored, which enable the brain’s “default mode network”—a neural network that’s active when the mind isn’t focused on a task—to freely wander. This allows for “aha moments” that paradoxically “come when we’re not looking for them.” (Østby notes that Haruki Murakami swears by naps, while Gustav Mahler got ideas for symphonies while rowing.) The author also discusses the nervous system’s role in creativity: stress activates the sympathetic nervous system and with it an internal “state of emergency” that precludes creativity, while the parasympathetic nervous system invites it. Throughout, she draws on Alice’s fall through the rabbit hole in Lewis Carroll’s classic novel as a metaphor for her quest into creativity’s unknown realms. Østby’s thoroughly researched offering is a joy to read—accessible, edifying, and supported by fascinating anecdotes from her own life and those of artists, inventors, and thinkers ranging from Dr. Seuss to physician Alexander Fleming. Curiosity seekers will be enlightened.

    Formats

    • Kindle Book
    • OverDrive Read
    • EPUB ebook

    subjects

    Languages

    • English

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