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jennutley's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the book as I read it but felt at the end that I had very few ideas I could apply to my own creative aspirations.
lizzyfc's review
5.0
Even if he did fabricate one Dylan quote in this book, I still think the rest of the book was amazing.
rinnyssance's review
3.0
Okay, so about midway I stopped reading the scientific studies because I didn't see the relation to anything at all. He didn't really explain the studies as well as he told the stories that opened the chapter or a different concept. It seemed to switch from a story to a research report. It gave me a headache.
The other thing that bothered me were the examples he gave. Would I say they were all creative? Ehhh--not really. Some things just worked. Some things were needed. I wouldn't say that the Swiffer mop was some innovative stoke of creativity. Nor would I say the post-it note was something worth bragging about inventing. If anything, these seemed to simply be ways for these people to earn a dollar, and it worked. But what makes an idea creative? It seems, to him, it has to be successful.
He seemed to write a lot about things that he admired; none of it really gave you any insight to what's creative but-- again -- what works and made money. I've seen my share of bad reviews for this book, but it wasn't THAT bad. I actually liked the stories. The science was interesting. But I had to read each of these separately.
I'm a little confused after reading... about whether or not this was supposed to be a self-help book... or an informational book. I simply took it as information. I've seen other people differ in that opinion. It seems to be a trend for these "neuroscience" books to actually be self-help books under guise. I'm growing tired of that, I've read enough of that. But hey... whatever.
The other thing that bothered me were the examples he gave. Would I say they were all creative? Ehhh--not really. Some things just worked. Some things were needed. I wouldn't say that the Swiffer mop was some innovative stoke of creativity. Nor would I say the post-it note was something worth bragging about inventing. If anything, these seemed to simply be ways for these people to earn a dollar, and it worked. But what makes an idea creative? It seems, to him, it has to be successful.
He seemed to write a lot about things that he admired; none of it really gave you any insight to what's creative but-- again -- what works and made money. I've seen my share of bad reviews for this book, but it wasn't THAT bad. I actually liked the stories. The science was interesting. But I had to read each of these separately.
I'm a little confused after reading... about whether or not this was supposed to be a self-help book... or an informational book. I simply took it as information. I've seen other people differ in that opinion. It seems to be a trend for these "neuroscience" books to actually be self-help books under guise. I'm growing tired of that, I've read enough of that. But hey... whatever.
irisnoza's review
2.0
Wel een interessant boek, maar had er toch wat anders van verwacht. Er zaten nu vooral veel verhalen in over Bob Dylan, Steve Jobs en hoe bedrijven ingericht zijn op het delen van creatieve ideeën. Op zich heel interessant, maar het ging mij iets te lang door op dit alles. Aan het eind vond ik het wel weer beter worden.
dfmjr's review against another edition
4.0
A very insightful read. There are times where I wish more evidence was given, but for a pop-science book I really found some insights into the brain and creativity.
sebarose's review against another edition
5.0
This is the rare popular science book that manages to balance elegantly the anecdote, soft science observation, history, human interest story, and scientific studies in such a way as to have smooth narrative flow and great organization of topics. It was even a bit inspirational, particularly when discussing education reform.
paladintodd's review
3.0
On the plus side, this follows in the steps of his earlier How We Think which I really enjoyed. It lays out how your brain works in understandable scientific terms and then also looks into how you can best use your brain given how it works. It sounds dry, but Lehrer makes it all very interesting.
How We Think dealt with logic, Imagine deals with creativity. Lehrer works to dispel the idea that only certain people are creative, but that we all are and that if we use our brain in the right way we could be better at it - taking breaks, letting down inhibitions, exploring, traveling, and working with language. The second half of the book looks at creativity within a group and how to get better at that - brainstorming is done wrong, the correct Q of new/experienced people on a project, etc.
On the downside, this book feels much more anecdotal than How We Think. Where HWT explained how the logic of the brain works and then backed it up with scientific studies, this book seems to back it up with anecdotal stories. That made it far less compelling. (Or, perhaps, I just liked the book on logic more than the book on creativity. Probably not a surprise to anyone that knows me.)
How We Think dealt with logic, Imagine deals with creativity. Lehrer works to dispel the idea that only certain people are creative, but that we all are and that if we use our brain in the right way we could be better at it - taking breaks, letting down inhibitions, exploring, traveling, and working with language. The second half of the book looks at creativity within a group and how to get better at that - brainstorming is done wrong, the correct Q of new/experienced people on a project, etc.
On the downside, this book feels much more anecdotal than How We Think. Where HWT explained how the logic of the brain works and then backed it up with scientific studies, this book seems to back it up with anecdotal stories. That made it far less compelling. (Or, perhaps, I just liked the book on logic more than the book on creativity. Probably not a surprise to anyone that knows me.)
banandrew's review
5.0
Length: short. Will take you a few hours. Malcolm Gladwell style, mixing anecdotal stories with relevant research to make a point, on creativity and what's involved. Highly recommended.
2catmom's review
1.0
"This book was pulled from shelves when it came to light that the author fabricated many parts." --AMAZON
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/08/jonah-lehrer-plagiarism-lies-keep-coming.html
Quote from above:
On Monday, New Yorker staffer Jonah Lehrer resigned and had his latest book, Imagine, pulled from the shelves when he was revealed to have fabricated quotes from Bob Dylan and then attempted to mislead a journalist reporting on his impropriety. Lehrer's ethical crimes came to light just weeks after he was found to be duplicating large chunks of his own work and passing it off as new writing, a lapse for which he'd apologized, but not been punished. In the days since his latest admission, the stories about Lehrer's corner-cutting — and worse — have started to add up, as his large body of work is further scrutinized. There appears to be no end in sight.
I liked his work, he's a great writer. too bad its too hard for me to tell the BS from reality. Disappointing.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/08/jonah-lehrer-plagiarism-lies-keep-coming.html
Quote from above:
On Monday, New Yorker staffer Jonah Lehrer resigned and had his latest book, Imagine, pulled from the shelves when he was revealed to have fabricated quotes from Bob Dylan and then attempted to mislead a journalist reporting on his impropriety. Lehrer's ethical crimes came to light just weeks after he was found to be duplicating large chunks of his own work and passing it off as new writing, a lapse for which he'd apologized, but not been punished. In the days since his latest admission, the stories about Lehrer's corner-cutting — and worse — have started to add up, as his large body of work is further scrutinized. There appears to be no end in sight.
I liked his work, he's a great writer. too bad its too hard for me to tell the BS from reality. Disappointing.
nakedsushi's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating book filled with studies on creativity, anecdotes about creative people, and tips on how to boost your creativity. I'm glad this book wasn't written like a self-help book because that would get on my nerves. Instead, it's full of interesting stories about successful companies like Pixar and people like the guy who invented Scotch tape. I especially liked the section about office space layout and how that can help people be more creative.
The only thing I didn't like was the last section about urban spaces and how that related to creativity. It got a little boring and didn't seem to match with the overall tone of the book.
The only thing I didn't like was the last section about urban spaces and how that related to creativity. It got a little boring and didn't seem to match with the overall tone of the book.