The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World

WHO IT'S FOR: Scientists, writers, inventors, artists, musicians, and eternally curious folks who could use an extra shot of creativityWHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT: How do exceptionally creative people -- like Leonardo da Vinci, Bach, Chopin, Einstein, Edison, Picasso, Steve Jobs -- come up with and execute their ideas? What makes the book special are vignettes of the other 200+ artists, scientists, composers and engineers you *haven’t* heard of yet, and all the cool ideas they’ve come up with as they “bend, break and blend” old ideas to create new ones. The book’s fluid writing style and 200 illustrations make for fun, fast reading.Some essential new concepts I learned:• “Skeuomorphs” are “features that imitate the design of what has come before.” Nothing is 100% new.• Every emerging billion-dollar industry is already 10 yrs old• To come up with great ideas, embrace error so you can proliferate lots of options• The 20% Rule: the brain seems to prefer visual stimulus of 20% complexity• The greatest creators (eg Picasso, Edison) were just insanely prolific. The more stuff you make, the more likely that some of it will be great.• Let young minds embrace the arts: “This is because the arts, due to their overtness, are the most accessible way to teach the basic tools of innovation.”WHAT IT’S NOT: Although it can teach you much about the process of innovation, this book’s not a creativity how-to book per se. For that, I recommend Edward de Bono’s classic  Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step .WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT: The dozens of fascinating stories of perseverance, ingenuity, and breakthrough – e.g. self-healing concrete, carbon-fiber violins, or James Dyson’s 5,127 vacuum prototypes (!) – demystify innovation, humanize it, and just might catalyze a world-changing story of your own.-- Ali Binazir, M.D., M.Phil, Happiness Engineer, TEDx presenter of "Awaken Creative Genius" and author of  Should I Go to Medical School?: An Irreverent Guide to the Pros and Cons of a Career in Medicine

As a musician, writer, business person, and teacher, I couldn't put RUNAWAY down! From the first page to the last, I was captivated. Problem solvers and creatives are always looking for inventive ways to stretch beyond our limits, and for the encouragement to take risks. Historically, how has creativity affected humanity? Where are examples of people using imaginative resourcefulness to take us to places yet discovered? How can we inspire our children and give them permission to be curious, to explore, and to invent? Bravo to you Anthony Brandt and David Eagleman for your diligent research and delightful read!!!

This spring the Alabama School of Math and Science decided we were going to have a book for our entire community to read and discuss in the new school year. This is the book we chose.We are very excited with our choice! Eagleman and Brandt have written a book about creativity which is accessible to adults and teens. It is inspiring, positive and makes you think. We will be using it in the classroom and boardroom. There is something for everyone here to chew on. Their approach to creativity means the playing field is level and open to everyone. And what more could educators want than to have teens believe that the impossible is possible, there are no wrong turns and one should always look at a problem from a myriad of angles. I'm telling you this book is a great place to start a thousand conversations starting with two little words..."What if..."I will also let you know that the customer rep from the publisher (catapult) has been absolutely amazing!

I realized as I read this book, my understanding of how our human brain works has been very basic. I have read other works by Eagleman and other Authors on the subject of the "BRAIN" .What becomes apparent and not surprising, while man's brain is light years ahead of the other creatures that have roamed this planet, we have yet become much more civilized. As these authors have insinuated humans have yet learned to get along with each other much less make any serious attempts at coming to an agreement about anything!The reality is we all evolved from the same creatures guided by the same deity!

This book was an absolutely delightful read! I loved all of the examples, anecdotes, and COLOR pictures throughout the book. They draw from a dizzying array of fields and disciplines to illustrate their point, which is that creativity is a human universal that touches all parts of our lives. They also make a strong case for focusing more intentionally on cultivating creativity in our schools. In the 21st century, this is proving to be an essential skill that we ignore at our peril. Highly recommended read!

Thanks for sending me this book! There was absolutely nothing wrong with it, it came in mint condition and in good time.I ordered this book because it’s the common reading for my university and I wanted to read it so I could relate to the incoming freshman since I’m working Freshman Preview Week. I have no complaints about this, but the book DOES say it’s an advanced copy which might’ve been good to state in the item description. (Sometimes advanced copies haven’t been proofread 👍🏻) I’m excited to get to reading!

Really enjoyed this. A good analysis on the creative process, past and present. Highly recommend. Motivated me to do better!

Excellent book. I was asked to read it at work and really enjoyed it.The book discuss creativity from both the science and art aspect of it.. This is not a connection often made about but the explanation are clear and easy to understand.The chapter on creativity at work and at school should be mandatory reading

I am using this book as a starting point for my research dissertation. The book is wonderfully written and very inspirational

You have to read it!

Very interesting

great read

Good interest read.