Creativity
:Creativity
:
Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and
Invention
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Paperback -
464 pages (June 1997)
HarperCollins (paper);
ISBN: 0060928204
Synopsis
This book is about what makes life worth living. The
creative excitement of the artist at her easel or the scientist in
the lab. It comes as close to the ideal fulfillment as we all hope to
accomplish, and so rarely do. Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
interviewed more than ninety of possibly the most interesting people
in the world -- people like actor Ed Asner, authors Robertson Davies
and Nadine Gordimer, scientists Jonas Salk and Linus Pauling, and
Senator Eugene McCarthy -- who have changed the way people in their
fields think and work to find out how creativity has been a force in
their lives.
In his bestselling book Flow, Professor Csikszentmihalyi explored states of "optimal experience" -- those times when people report feelings of concentration and deep enjoyment -- and showed that what makes experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called "flow." Here Professor Csikszentmihalyi builds on his flow theory, profiling individuals who have found ways to make flow a permanent feature of their lives and at the same time have contributed to society and culture.
Professor Csikszentmihalyi explores why creative people are often seen as selfish and arrogant (even though they are not) and reveals that the idea of the tortured genius is largely a myth. He argues that creativity needs to be cultivated not only in traditionally creative fields like sciences and arts, but also in business, government and education.
This book is not so much about the everyday "creativity" that we all experience but the kind of creativity of artists, scientists and others that can transform our culture and the way we look at the world. By studying the creative lives of exceptional people, Professor Csikszentmihalyi shows us how we can all enhance our everyday lives. His goal is to help us better understand a way of being that is more satisfying and more fulfilling.
Reviews:
A reader from USA , July
19, 1998 It's a pretty thorough coverage on that topic
Found this book very useful and ordering another copy for my daughter
who is in architecture. As for me, I am a computer science professor.
The good thing about the coverage is its realism where the individual
creativity is not the whole story. The social context in terms of
domain and field is espccially important since it is not always up to
the individual to be recognized as "creative." in a certain field.
The social context as the ultimate arbiter of who is creative and who
is not is an important one especially in our promo peer-review
survey-count oriented times..
A shopper from Northridge, California
, August 24, 1997 Fascinating study. Read it !
A very interesting study. I am a non-academic, but a former educator,
now a computer professional raising a family. As a lifelong learner,
I enjoyed the stories and interviews with some of the most
successful/creative people on the planet. I am not an originator, but
a died in the wool problem solver, and it made me feel more creative
in the sense that I do/solve things others leave alone. It both
restricts and expands the concept of Creativity.
A reader from Chicago, IL ,
August 16, 1997 THE FLOW NETWORK
Take steps towards enhancing the quality of your life - explore
FlowNet and exchange ideas and experiences associated with Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi's Flow theory @ http://www.flownetwork.com.
A shopper , June 13, 1997
Interesting, but ultimately dissappointing
Like all C's work, this book is stimulating and easy to read, in
parts inspiring, in parts depressing. C says that no one can be
Creative with a capital C, unless he masters all that went before him
in his field. Accordingly, children, no matter how original, cannot,
by definition be creative. A paradoxical and, I guess, creative
observation.. C is especially intriguing when he discusses creativity
as the result of interaction between the individual, the field, and
the domain. Creativity is not a private enterprise but occurs only
when an individual, who has mastered his subject matter is
acknowleged by the gatekeepers of his field of endeavor or if, like
Freud or the Wright brothers, creates his own field. The social
aspect of creativity is nowhere better discussed. Unfortunately, C
articulates no clear thesis, and with the exception of long quotes
from notably creative people, the last third of his book degenerates
into platitude and truism.