Imagine

Lehrer's argument is that creativity is not a gift held by a few people but a set of distinct mental processes, each of which can be described and practised. He separates the sudden insight, which arrives when attention relaxes and the mind stops grinding at the problem, from the slow grinding itself, which most creative work actually consists of, and argues that different conditions suit each. From there the book moves outward, from the individual to the group and then to the city, on the claim that the same principles explain why some collaborations, offices and neighbourhoods produce more than others. Hence its interest in the mixture of familiar and unfamiliar collaborators, in criticism as a necessary part of the process rather than a brake on it, and in physical arrangements that force people into each other's company. One fact belongs on this page. The publisher withdrew the book from sale in July 2012, citing inaccuracies in the text, and it has not stood as a reliable source since. Anything this vault draws from it should therefore be traced to a primary source before use.

Written from the publisher description, Open Library; recall confirmed against the public record for the book.

What this vault takes from it

Reliability

Not audited here. 2 notes in this vault draw on it.

People

• Jonah Lehrer