C H A P T E R 4

The Creating Mind

IN OUR GLOBAL, wired society, creativity is sought after, cultivated, praised. Corporate visionary John Seely Brown has quipped that, in the world of tomorrow, people will say, “I create; therefore I am.” When I give talks about intelligence, I am routinely asked about how to nurture creativity. Audiences expect that I will fully endorse creativity and hope that I will (for all time and without charging!) reveal the secret of its attainment.

It was not always so. In most human societies, throughout most of human history, creativity was neither sought after nor rewarded. Just as human beings have a conservative bent, one that militates against educational innovation and interdisciplinary leaps, human societies ...

Get Five Minds for the Future now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.