Sharing what I have learned from what I have read: A blog by Joe Abittan
In Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman comments on research studying people's mood and cognitive performance. He writes the following about how we think when we are in a good mood, "when in a good mood, people become more intuitive and more creative but also less vigilant and more prone to logical errors." We … Continue reading Mood, Creativity, & Cognitive Errors
"The Inspiration Paradox – the idea that innovation and creativity are greatest when we are not at our best, at least with respect to our circadian rhythms," is an idea that Daniel Pink writes about in his book When. Time is important for us human beings. We all have experienced first hand how frustrating it … Continue reading Afternoon Creativity – The Inspiration Paradox
"Many U.S. cities are, in essence, a fact-free zone when it comes to public assets. They have little knowledge of the assets they own and the market value of those assets, either under current or altered zoning regimes. Ironically, U.S. cities know what they owe (such as pension liabilities) but not what they own. Rectifying that … Continue reading Cities Suffer From Loss Aversion
When I sat down to read Ryan Holiday's book Ego is the Enemy, I expected to hear about the importance of compassion and humility and to read anecdotes about why we should try to avoid self-aggrandizement, but I didn't expect to get a quick lesson in creativity. Holiday includes a short section in which he … Continue reading A Creative Skill
In his book The Coaching Habit author Michael Bungay Stanier explains that we are more creative when we are in safe spaces and we are less creative when we feel stressed and threatened. He explains that our brain is constantly examining the where we are, scanning the environment, and determining whether we are in a safe … Continue reading Danger
In his book Political Realism Jonathan Rauch describes the importance of negotiations in politics. The act of negotiating is the act of coalition building, finding support for an idea, position, or program among legislators with varied interests. Negotiation needs to be creative, with all options on the board for at least consideration or evaluation. Within a … Continue reading Negotiations
Amanda Gefter’s book, Trespassing on Einstein’s Lawn, mostly focuses on physics and the complex state of how our leading physicists were thinking about the universe in 2014. The book also, however, focuses on Gefter’s journey into science journalism, about her life and experiences, about our quest for knowledge, and about the ways in which we … Continue reading Finding Your Voice in Writing
I was recently listening to an episode of Smart People Podcast where host Chris Stemp interviewed Jennifer Mueller to discuss creativity. One of the ideas that Mueller shared was that there is never truly a best way to do something, and that we can be creative to look beyond what has been tried in the … Continue reading A Single Best Way
There are three parts to overcoming our obstacles that Ryan Holiday lays out in his book The Obstacle is the Way. In a single short quote he gives us a quick roadmap for developing ourselves and facing our challenges. “Overcoming obstacles is a discipline of three critical steps. It begins with how we look … Continue reading What it Takes to Overcome Obstacles
In his book The Obstacle is the Way, author Ryan Holiday writes about the struggles we face in reaching our goals, and what is required of us when we face obstacles along the path to success. “All great victories, be they in politics, business, art, or seduction, involved resolving vexing problems with a potent cocktail of creativity, … Continue reading Creativity and Goals