Five Star Mind (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Just what exactly is creative thinking, anyway?..." (more)
Key Phrases: five star mind, creative flame, idea map, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Buckminster Fuller (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Develop your imagination through puzzles and associations which encourage creative links and expression. This book provides games and puzzles which encourage problem-solving and creative connections: it may be enjoyed by all ages; but it’s especially the adult who will find these refreshingly different. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Description

Following the extraordinary international success of Tom Wujec's first book, Pumping Ions, Five Star Mind teaches you to unlock and expand the creative potential you already possess -- although you might not know it -- and develop it to give you confidence and skills that will enhance your work and your life.

Using puzzles, tips, thought association, relaxation techniques, games of "What If," and constant questioning, Tom Wujec cajoles you into realizing your inherent power for creative thought and expression. In addition to helping you discover your innate abilities, Wujec shows you innumerable ways to apply your new ideas and creativity to work, to everyday life, or to just having fun. With Five Star Mind, you participate in the creative process, develop your inventiveness and imagination, and enhance skills that will have you cooking up five-star ideas of your own!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Main Street Books; First Edition edition (July 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385414625
• ISBN-13: 978-0385414623
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #400,854 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Few Stars Short of a Constellation, July 2, 2000

By	"puzzlesguide" - See all my reviews

I recently purchased this book and was somewhat disappointed when I sat down to read it. The subtitle is "Games & Puzzles to Stimulate Your Creativity & Imagination". Actually, there are only some thirty such puzzles and many of them are 'old chestnuts'. However, my biggest complaint is the lack of accuracy. The very first puzzle (p. 20) has a mistake in it. Then in 'Mental Counting' (p. 161), the author claims that the letters O and U are not symmetrical about the vertical axis. As for 'Three-dimesional Dots' (p. 199) the text states "Below is a collection of random dots." Unfortunately, the random dots have been omitted. So much for "something remarkable" happening as the author claims. And how's this for one of the three (yup, only three) lateral thinking puzzles? What common word begins with IS, ends with ND, and has LA in the middle? I bet that really stretched your brain, didn't it? Sorry, but Mr. Wujec's editor should be fired. These glaring mistakes and omissions have scuttled any enjoyment I may have expected from this book. I suspect the author was motivated by the commercial success of his previous book. He should have waited until he had something of value before publishing this schlock.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GOOD CREATIVITY BOOK to complete your collection, April 13, 2003

By	T SANTOSO (Surabaya, Jatim Indonesia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought a LOT of creativity books(at least i had 20+ on my collection), and i think this is one of the GOOD ONE, among other books.

I particulary like the chapter on Methapor, and some of the samples of GAMES/QUIZ that i even use for my creativity seminar/training.

A lot of GAMES and PUZZLES there that is fun, interesting and useful to generate creative brusts.

The whole book is set as a CREATIVE KITCHEN with chapters like Food for thoughts, Appetite, Gather, Cut, Mix, Cook, Spice, Taste and Digest.

This book can be useful even standing alone, being read by itself. Or if you are interested in creativity, it can stand tall along with all the classics like A whack at the side of the head (best classic creativity book), Orbitting the giant hairball, Jump start your brain, The Mind Map book, and all De Bono book.

This book's approach is fun and it explain in a good sense a lot of creativity stage and provide a lot of fun games.

Hope you can enjoy the book as much as i do.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A description of the creativity process, January 4, 2001

By	Rune Antonsen (Norway) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Now this is an interesting book! It describes how YOU can be more creative. Maybe you think you're not? Well, according to this book creativity is a process you can learn. And I must say that after having read this book I now understand why I sometimes are very creative and sometimes not. For instance, I play the guitar and are sometimes in a very spirited mood for writing new songs. This usually occurs after having spent a few weeks listening to new albums. When I don't - I rarely come up with some new and exciting riffs. You have to have the urge to get these impulses, but then again you need the impulses.

I think both the title and the subtitle (games & puzzles to stimulate your creativity and imagination) are a bit misleading. The focus is on the process and the author divides this creativity process into 8 "phases", drawing a metaphor to cooking food: Appetite - hunger for ideas, gather - collect ideas, cut - analyze ideas, mix - combine ideas, cook - concentrate on ideas, spice - season ideas, taste - evaluate ideas, digest - assimilate ideas. Within each of these he gives you valuable tools you can use.

It seems to me that when you gather information (e.g. listen to records or research a specific topic) you unconsciously cut and mix it with data and knowledge you already have, and thus forming new patterns which become new ideas. Knowing the process you can also do this deliberate. How wonderful!

There are lots of other books which describes methods for collecting thoughts and ideas (and does that better), but no one I have read or heard about describes the process as good as this one. Just think about what kind of preparation you should impose on your colleagues before they enter your next brainstorming session...