Where Good Ideas Come From: A Natural History of Innovation
Where Good Ideas Come From is a fascinating collection of research of the birth, growth and cultivation of innovation in modern history. Steven Johnson is a great writer and meticulous researcher. Johnson outlines 7 patterns that lead to creative breakthroughs.
From Goodreads:
The printing press, the pencil, the flush toilet, the battery—these are all great ideas. But where do they come from? What kind of environment breeds them? What sparks the flash of brilliance? How do we generate the breakthrough technologies that push forward our lives, our society, our culture? Steven Johnson’s answers are revelatory as he identifies the seven key patterns behind genuine innovation, and traces them across time and disciplines. From Darwin and Freud to the halls of Google and Apple, Johnson investigates the innovation hubs throughout modern time and pulls out applicable approaches and commonalities that seem to appear at moments of originality. Where Good Ideas Come From gives us both an important new understanding of the history of innovation and a set of useful strategies for cultivating our own creative breakthroughs.
