Tweezaam genie

If relationships shape us so fundamentally, how — in the study of creativity — could they also be so obscure? Why are we preoccupied with the lone genius, with great men (and, more now than in the past, great women)?

The shift in understanding creativity is well underway. The stereotypes of miraculous breakthrough moments — and the incessant drive to locate them in the head of epic individuals — are slowly yielding to a portrait of complex, meandering, inherently social paths toward innovation.

Prachtartikelreeks van Joshua Wolf Shenk in het prachtblad Slate over hoe mensen elkaar tot creatieve hoogten kunnen brengen (o.a. de samenwerking tussen John Lennon en Paul McCartney wordt besproken). Iets dat nooit goed onderzocht is, maar daar komt verandering in: “Notable pioneers of this thinking include the psychologists Keith Sawyer and Vera John-Steiner and the popular writers Steven Johnson, author of the forthcoming Where Good Ideas Come From and my brother, David Shenk (it’s true, not just sibling love), with The Genius in All of Us.”