Imagine
by Jonah Lehrer
How Creativity Works
- Percentage of approved critics who have given this book a positive review.
Critic Rating
61%
Critic Reviews: 20
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- User rating from iDreamBooks & iTunes
Reader Rating
74%
Reader Ratings: 166
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Synopsis
New York Times bestselling author Jonah Lehrer introduces us to musicians, graphic artists, poets, and bartenders to show us how we can use science to be more imaginative and make our cities, our companies, and our culture more creative. Did you know that the most creative companies have centralized bathrooms? That brainstorming meetings are a terrible idea? That the color blue can help you double your creative output? From the New York Times best-selling... more
About Jonah Lehrer
- All Critics: 20
- Positive: 14
- Negative: 6
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Mother Jones | 12 Mar 2012
In this entertaining Gladwellesque plunge into the science of creativity, Jonah Lehrer mingles with a wide cast of characters...to deconstruct how we accomplish our great feats of imagination.
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The New York Times | 11 May 2012
This may sound like nitpicking. But science writers, like teachers, have an obligation to get the facts right. When enough details are wrong, readers may lose confidence in the big picture.
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The Millions | 12 Mar 2012
Lehrer’s polished style, affable enthusiasm, and obvious intelligence make it tempting not to question the science as he sees it. All the more troubling, then, that right from the outset of Imagine there are signs that science may be taking a backseat to story...
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Shelah Books It | 30 Apr 2012
Dare I say I have a literary crush on Lehrer, whose work makes neuroscience accessible to the masses? Imagine was no different.
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The Washington Post | 23 Mar 2012
He says that working memory is an essential tool of the imagination, and his book is an excellent example of how a dynamic storehouse of captivating information feeds creative thinking and writing.
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Creativity & Innovation | 14 May 2012
...although my overall sense was that his book didn’t really have anything new that hadn’t already appeared in other good creativity books.
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Kirkus Reviews | 20 Mar 2012
Lehrer writes with verve, creating an informative, readable book that sparkles with ideas.
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The Guardian | 19 Apr 2012
The amazing presumption of Lehrer's description, the shattering banality of its explanation, and its mystifying stupidity are all entirely characteristic of a phenomenon best branded "neuroscientism".
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Compass Book Ratings | 30 Apr 2012
An extremely accessible presentation of the non-fiction material made this book an easy read and generated a lot of dinner table discussion in my household.
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Psychology Today | 16 Apr 2012
To observe the way Lehrer uses words is to experience the work of an artist who has honed his craft over many years.
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HYPE | 9 May 2012
“Imagine: How Creativity Works” is one of those books that you’ll be able to share with colleagues and develop a new language around how you work together.
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Minds and Brains | 17 Apr 2012
So Imagine is chock full of all the latest research on creativity, and if you are interested in getting a quick introduction to that literature, Imagine is well worth reading.
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Abhinav Agarwal | 30 Apr 2012
First, he writes exceedingly well, a craft honed no-doubt over thousands of hours of focused practice, and secondly, his writings are very much into understanding how the mind works...
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Mary Doria Russell | 9 Apr 2012
This book is, in some sense, a how-to manual. As such, I can recommend it: Lehrer validates and elucidates patterns I’ve gradually come to rely on, during 15 years of scientific research and 20 years of writing fiction.
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Annenberg Digital News | 19 Mar 2012
Lehrer gives an informative, compelling and entertaining look at how we imagine and provides the reader with the tools to become more creative—and more successful—in all aspects of life.
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Los Angeles Times | 5 May 2012
He surveys a number of fascinating aspects of the creative process–insight, novelty, hard work, team work, environment, and others–but seems to shuffle through them without truly grasping their essence. As a result, the various themes feel disparate and disconnected.
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BlawgConomics | 14 May 2012
Additionally, there is a mixing of causation and correlation which seems to be too easy a trap of someone of Lehrer's clear intellect to fall prey to, but which exists nonetheless.
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The First Gates | 23 Mar 2012
This is a wonderful study for anyone interested in imagination, creativity, and the conditions which favor it.
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Zenpundit | 28 Mar 2012
All in all, IMAGINE is an informative and inspiring book on how to be personally and culturally more innovative and creative. I’d recommend this book to parents, educators, leaders, and anyone with curiosity.
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