Chase, Chance, and Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty (MIT Press)

Chase, Chance, and Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty (MIT Press) Paperback – August 15, This first book by the author of Zen and the Brain examines the role of chance in the creative process. James Austin tells a personal story of the ways in which persistence, chance.
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• Chase, Chance, and Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty - James H. Austin - Google Книги
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• Chase, Chance, and Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty
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Autobiographical experiences dominate the first section, in which the author uses his experience as a physician and researcher in the field of neurology to highlight the ways in which the search for progress the chase can be influenced by apparently unrelated incidents or individuals, in ways that make luck seem essential to success.

One notable example, covering two pages, reports the significance of a mass growing on the neck of his pet spaniel Tom and how this led, eventually, to a better understanding of the mucopolysaccharide content of Lafora bodies found in patients with MLD. The second part of the book deals with the varieties of chance and is, by far, the most enjoyable and readable section.

The discussions of the memorable attitudes of Kettering, Pasteur, and Disraeli during their respective periods of influence, and the chance finding of cave drawings in Altamira, Spain in provide fascinating reading and make the book worthwhile. The numerous quotes that sprinkle the book add to its character and leave the reader eager to remember them; e.

Throughout, the author uses tables to emphasize or summarize the text. Some are redundant, but others bring immense clarity to the discussion.

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The third and final part of the book is a more theoretical treatise of the roots of creativity. This includes an essay written by the author at age 16 and published in his high school newspaper. In order to understand language, one must understand communication so one must study other forms of communication [F.

Coward, McCann and Geoghean, ].

To understand the interdependence of language and thought processes, one must study societies with differing thought patterns. To understand the character of scientific thought one must study nonscientific thinkingeven 'magical' thinking, where psychic conditions are at least as important as more physical aspects of the experimental conditions p.

The relationship between observed , measurable, detectable correlates and the actual state of the consciousness needs study. This subsumes that memory, for example, is invalid and that in deep sleep one does not talk, and this certainly does not emphasize the essential prerequirement that memory and speech are only so far as is known directly connected with received sensations, thought, feedback, etc. Even this is a question of definition.

If during withdrawal of heroin from an addict he reports fornication, is this because of misinterpretation of skin sensations, of a central neurochemical effect or ofa strictly psychic state if such a modality exists? The answer is not known. Even if a mechano-chemical explanation is forthcoming, does it give any insight into the actual state of the psyche during a 'cold turkey' cure? Berger suggests not, yet such research is not sterile, because any information on behaviour, thought and their interrelation is valuable, even if it is more useful in applied science than in basic science.

Main Currents in Western Thought: Franklin Le Van Baumer, ed. Reviewed by Robert F. He then goes beyond this story of serendipity to propose a new classification of the varieties of chance, drawing on his own research and examples from the history of science--including the famous accidents that led Fleming to the discovery of penicillin.

Finally, he explores the nature of the creative process, considering not only the environmental and neurophysiological correlates of creativity but also the role of intuition in both scientific discoveries and spiritual quests.

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This updated MIT Press paperback edition includes a new introduction and recent material on medical research, creativity, and spirituality. Paperback , pages.

• Chase, Chance, and Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty by James H. Austin!
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A good perspective into how certain aspects can affect your path and how luck is more than randomness, but really many different types. Gondwild rated it liked it May 17, Oct 15, Andy rated it really liked it Shelves: Alex rated it did not like it Dec 27, Jess Hoz rated it it was amazing Nov 20, Thor rated it really liked it Jul 24, Sarah Crowe rated it really liked it Sep 08, Peter Fallenius rated it really liked it Aug 11, Liz Logan rated it it was amazing Jun 26,