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Beauty, Pleasure, and Human Evolution
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The Ten Great Ideas of Science
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Sudden Genius?
The Gradual Path to Creative Breakthroughs
Andrew Robinson
416 pages
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8 page black and white plate section
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234x156mm
978-0-19-956995-3
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Hardback
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16 September 2010
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- Explores creativity across the science/art divide and considers how it manifests itself in a variety of expressive forms
- Features ten fascinating stories of ten breakthroughs in both the arts and sciences, including Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Christopher Wren, Leonardo DaVinci, Mozart, Satyajit Ray, and Virginia Woolf
- Examines some of the most creative breakthroughs in history to consider what they have in common
The highly admired scientist Linus Pauling, a double Nobel laureate in chemistry and peace, was once asked by a student. 'Dr Pauling, how do you have so many good ideas?' Pauling thought for a moment and replied: 'Well, David, I have a lot of ideas and throw away the bad ones.'
Where do ideas come from? Why do some people have many more of them than others? How do you distinguish the good ideas from the bad? Most intriguing of all, perhaps, why do the best ideas sometimes strike in a flash of 'sudden genius'? These questions are the subject of this book. Andrew Robinson explores the exceptional
creativity in both scientists and artists by following the trail that led ten individuals from childhood to the achievement of a famous creative breakthrough as an adult, in archaeology, architecture, art, biology, chemistry, cinema, music, literature, photography, and physics.
Broken into three parts, the book begins with the scientific study of creativity, covering talent, genius, intelligence, memory, dreams, the unconscious, savant syndrome, synaesthesia, and mental illness. The second part tells the stories of five breakthroughs by scientists and five by artists, ranging from Curie's discovery of radium and Einstein's theory of special relativity to Mozart's composing of The Marriage of Figaro and Virginia Woolf's writing of Mrs Dalloway. Robinson concludes by
considering what highly creative people who achieve breakthroughs have in common; whether breakthroughs in science and art follow patterns; and whether they always involve imaginative leaps and even 'genius'.Readership: Readers of popular science, and those curious about genius and breakthroughs in history of science, psychology, and biography
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Andrew Robinson, Visiting Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge Andrew Robinson is the author of some twenty books covering both the arts and the sciences, which have been acclaimed by both national newspapers and specialist journals. They include five biographies of exceptionally creative individuals in a wide range of fields: the physicist Albert Einstein (A Hundred Years of Relativity, 2005), the film director Satyajit Ray (The Inner Eye. 1989), the writer Rabindranath Tagore (The Myriad-Minded Man, 1995), the archaeological decipherer Michael Ventris (The Man Who Deciphered Linear B, 2002), and the polymath Thomas Young (The Last Man Who Knew Everything, 2006). He is a King's Scholar of Eton College,
and holds a degree in chemistry from Oxford University and a second degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. For many years he worked in book publishing, television, and journalism, most recently as Literary Editor of The Times Higher Education Supplement from 1994-2006.
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"Robinson displays an actute sensitivity to the complexity and nuances of each topic...engrossing and often hard to put down." - David R. Topper, ISIS "In view of the ephemeral...nature of his subject, Robinson's calm and authority are exemplary." - History Today "Robinson's ten subjects display his impressive intellectual range." - Peter Forbes, The Independent "On the whole, this book does serve a useful purpose: it highlights the fact that creative people are complex individuals who focus on theur work to the exclusion of all else." - New Scientist "Fascinating book...The book's real value lies in its masterly overview of various theories
promulgated about the causes of genius." - The Sunday Times "Robinson's book ranges widely and well, and he proves himself adept at explaining complex concepts." - The Sunday Times
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Preface: Meetings with remarkable creators
Introduction: The science and art of breakthoughs
Part I: Ingredients of Creativity
1: Genius and talent: reality or myth?
2: Intelligence is not enough
3: Strange to ourselves
4: Blue remembered Wednesdays
5: The lunatic, the lover, and the poet
Part II: Breakthroughs in Art and Science
6: Leonardo da Vinci - The Last Supper
7: Christopher Wren: St Paul's Cathedral
8: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro
9: 1 Jean-François Champollion: Decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs
10: Charles Darwin: Evolution by natural selection
11: Marie Curie: Discovery of radium
12: Albert Einstein: Special relativity
13: Virginia Woolf: Mrs Dalloway
14: Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment
15: Satyajit Ray: Pather Panchali
Part III: Patterns of Genius
16: Family matters
17: Professor of the little finger
18: Creative science versus artistic creation
19: Is there a creative personality?
20: Reputation, fame, and genius
21: The 'ten-year rule'
Postscript: Genius and us
References, Bibliography, Index
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The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
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