
The Creating Brain
The Neuroscience of Genius
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Narrated by:
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Kate Reading
She examines what extraordinary creators have said about creating and how their insights reflect particular qualities of creative people, and she includes her fascinating interview with the playwright Neil Simon, in which he described how his mind and brain work. This book offers insight into what creates the creative brain as well as advice to nurture creativity in both children and adults.
©2005 Nancy C. Andreasen (P)2008 Dana PressListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"The author's passion and admiration for creative genius and the arts...is evidenced in her exploration...vividly describe[s] mental activities that are anything but ordinary." ( Publisher's Weekly)
Awesome
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The book includes an excellent history of the science of creativity, which I thought was interesting and worth reading. The author talks at length about some creative people like DaVinci and other artists, which was well done.
However I did think the mixture of literary criticism with a little bit neuroscience was a bit haphazard at times. I would have preferred a more in depth approach to the brain science of creativity. Which would talk about specific brain systems instead of trying to merge art, history, literary criticism, and neuroscience. Even though the author's intent is to show that such a synthesis is in itself creative.
I still recommend you listen to it because while I was reading the book I had a creative explosion in my mind, turned off my ipod and sat on a park bench for 2 hours scribbling some notes about an idea I thought was novel. Check it out.
Well written history of creativity
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I admit to feeling somewhat underwhelmed with what I actually ended up learning. Dr. Andreasen seems to have a soft spot for the traditional understanding of "genius", a concept I've always found rather unscientific. Rephrasing "genius" to "extraordinary creativity", Dr. Andreasen invokes the concept but does not defend it satisfactorily to leave me fully convinced.
What do I now know at the end of this book? Creativity is both innate and learned. Creative peoples are mysteriously more likely to suffer mental illness. Creative individuals throughout history had environments that contributed immensely to their success. If these concepts are new to you, then Dr. Andreasen gives a lovely introduction, and Kate Reading's performance is pleasant to listen to. If, like me, these concepts don't seem new, then the six hour listen is probably not worth the amount of new information you'll be presented with.
Slightly underwhelming, but well read
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Finally a study focusing in creativity
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A Big Disappointment
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Nothing new so I stopped listening
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