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Product Details
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; Revised edition (January 23, 1997)
"What is thinking?" That is the question with which author Vera John-Steiner opens this definitely thought-provoking book. It is a tall order to fill, but she does so both with insight and eloquence by studying experienced, productive thinkers. I have read this book twice because it is so full of gems I could not seem to collect them all in one visit. One of the biggest strengths of the book is that it provides the depth needed by academic researchers as well as the accessibility of language and explanation most non-academic readers prefer. She examines how thinking develops, the emotional and intellectual intensity of creative work, the tools creative thinkers use, and the similarities and differences among "languages of the mind" such as words, images, music and models. She bases her ideas on the reflective sources of thinkers themselves more than 100 interviews, plus letters, journals, works in progress, biographies and autobiographies sources which have been neglected by behavior scientists in the past but have proved invaluable for illuminating the succinct, telegrammatic thought processes or "inner shorthands into artistically and intellectually convincing achievements." By using in-depth analyses of these self-reports and "working papers" of great minds in the arts and sciences, John-Steiner shows that creativity (1) requires sustained effort (it is not an instantaneous "aha" as it is sometimes portrayed) and (2) is not a product of "lone genius" but of social scaffolding, interaction and apprenticeship. Creativity, like this book, is a journey of wonder, exploration, evaluation and novel ideas that is well worth taking.
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The title of this book led me to expect an analysis of and lots of anecdotes about how artists, thinkers and scientists work out their ideas. And yes, that's what I got, but it just didn't go deeply enough for me. I had no "aha" moments reading this, and none of her anecdotes really reached me to get me excited. I think it's because of the plodding, quasi-academic tone of the book. It's well-organized but without any spark.
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This item: Notebooks of the Mind: Explorations of Thinking
