Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery andThe classic study of the creative process from the bestselling author of Flow Creativity is about capturing those moments that make life worth living. Legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (“The leading researcher into ‘flow states.’” — Newsweek) reveals what leads to these moments—be it the excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab—so that this knowledge can be used to enrich people's lives. Drawing on nearly one hundred interviews with exceptional people, from biologists and physicists, to politicians and business leaders, to poets and artists, as well as his thirty years of research on the subject, Csikszentmihalyi uses his famous flow theory to explore the creative process. He discusses such ideas as why creative individuals are often seen as selfish and arrogant, and why the "tortured genius" is largely a myth. Most important, he explains why creativity needs to be cultivated and is necessary for the future of our country, if not the world. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - jasoncomely - LibraryThingCsikszentmihalyi is known for defining flow but "Creativity" is a much better book. I made several failed attempts to read "Flow" and it was too meandering, philosophical and impractical to stick with it. This book, on the other hand, is more practical and profound. Highly recommended. Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - AJBraithwaite - LibraryThingAn interesting approach to the analysis of creativity: looking at the lives of creative people and identifying similarities (and in some cases, differences) between them. Csikszentmihalyi also comes ... Read full review
Contents
23 | |
The Creative Personality | 51 |
PART II | 130 |
The Early Years | 151 |
The Later Years 183 | 211 |
DOMAINS OF CREATIVITY | 237 |
The Domain of Life | 265 |
The Domain of the Future | 291 |
The Making of Culture | 317 |
Enhancing Personal Creativity | 343 |
Appendix A Brief Biographical Sketches of the Respondents | 373 |
Interview Protocol Used in the Study | 393 |
References | 429 |