Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative

3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 · rating details · 863 ratings · 137 reviews

'Ken Robinson writes brilliantly about the different ways in which creativity is undervalued and ignored in Western culture and especially in our educational systems.' JOHN CLEESE'Out of Our Minds explains why being creative in today's world is a vital necessity. This is a book not to be missed. Read and rejoice.' KEN BLANCHARD

'If ever there was a time when creativity was...more

Paperback, 225 pages

Published March 15th 2001 by John Wiley & Sons (first published January 1st 2001)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Bibliophilia 2012 - Goal Reading List for 2012

3rd out of 16 books — 1 voter

2013 livres :)

7th out of 26 books — 1 voter

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Dec 22, 2012 Jayme rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

We are not teaching our children how to be creative, but teaching them how not to be creative...I'm paraphrasing, of course...Ken Robinson stated in a more eloquent and thought-provoking way. Basically, he writes about how the educational system is broken and how we need to change it to foster creativity. Some readers who gave this book a bad review point out that he doesn't really write about how we can tap into our creativity. I think that's kind of his point...our formal education has taken a...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 04, 2013 Dominic rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teaching

I give 5 stars to Sir Ken Robinson's talks @ the TED conference and this animated talk on "Changing Educational Paradigms": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcD...

While I gobbled my way through this readable book, there is a lot of overlap between the various, easily accessible speeches online and what is pressed within these pages. Robinson has a plethora of evidence here--lots of examples of how different educational structures are reinvigorating schools, tapping creativity, and taking big ri...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 21, 2012 Loy Machedo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Loy Machedo’s Book Review – Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative by Sir Ken Robinson

Out of Our Minds is a book of 286 pages divided into ten chapters where the main focus is Education Versus Creativity, the History of Creativity, the Drawbacks, the Challenges and the Changes required in the Current Educational System to promote creativity.

In the book, the author believes that creativity is a skillset we are all born with, but then it gets shunted aside because the school systems attempt to...more Loy Machedo’s Book Review – Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative by Sir Ken Robinson

Out of Our Minds is a book of 286 pages divided into ten chapters where the main focus is Education Versus Creativity, the History of Creativity, the Drawbacks, the Challenges and the Changes required in the Current Educational System to promote creativity.

In the book, the author believes that creativity is a skillset we are all born with, but then it gets shunted aside because the school systems attempt to commoditize us into their preconfigured preplanned and pre-canned judging format of who and what we should become. To support his point of view, Robinson gives anecdotes of the Pixar World and also insights into Edison, Einstein, H.G. Wells, Jean Piaget, Johannes Gutenberg, John Kenneth Galbraith, Picasso, Shakespeare, Sir Frances Bacon taking us from the Industrial to the Information and now the current Networking Revolution. I especially loved when the author stated that the Educational System in US (and I believe it is the same the world over) was modeled on the needs of the Industrial Revolution – on Linearity, Conformity, Standardization, Unquestionable Obedience and Mass Production. (And this is what lead to the 2008 Financial Meltdown).

Throughout the book, he had great examples. I also found it thought-provoking when he added that in 1950, the average American traveled 5 miles per day. Ten years ago, it was 30 miles per day. In ten years (2020), it will be 60 miles per day. Another great example was when he reminded us that a digital wrist watch today has more computing power than the spaceship Neil Armstrong used to land on the moon.

And if you were every looking out to get out of Academia and into a Creative Career, this is one book that would convince you to make the transition easily. There is quite a lot of content dedicated to the current educational system, the pit-falls, the challenges, the blind-spots, and the drawbacks it currently suffers from. In fact the amount of content in this book can qualify this book to be a dissertation for a PhD. This book also addresses some very important questions like: Can you learn to be creative? How does a lack of thinking or acting in creative ways impact people, society, customs, culture, arts, and business? What are the global ramifications of the degradation of creativity? What kinds of environments and practices are conducive to enabling creativity? Where has the ability to identify and find forward leadership gone? Why didn't people see the problems ahead of time, or react to them quicker, or avoid them in the first place? Who is to judge what is creative and how is creativity judged? Why are core curriculum courses in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) considered more important than the studies under the umbrella of art? Why can't businesses find the types of workers and leaders they need to make their businesses successful and resilient on every level within a company? Why do so many people feel they are not creative?

The major drawback I found to this book was that the content was at times repetitive and recurring. It could be because I had read ‘The Element’ before but then again, because of his virtual online presence many of the anecdotal passages almost verbatim – a trait many professionals speaker adopt (which is understood as I found this to be the case earlier on in my career as a speaker) and also I felt that the Title was kind of misleading as it didn’t sorely focus on Creativity by itself rather the History of Creativity along with interesting anecdotes, factoids, statements, quotes, arguments, statistics, stories, suggestions, speculations and opinions.

Moment of Truth.
After evaluating the good and the repetitive sides of this book, I would recommend this book to Parents, Teachers, Evaluators, Decision Makers, Leaders, Managers, Children and just about anyone who can make a change and difference into the lives of others. However, if you are looking for an entertaining book or something easy to read and kill time with – this is not the book for you.

Overall Rating
7.5 out of 10

Loy Machedo
loymachedo.com & loymachedo.tv
(less)

1 like · like · see review

May 06, 2012 Bigmg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not so great for public education. Sr. Robinson has an illuminating grasp on the aspects of creativity. When we treat imagination, creativity, and innovation in personal growth programs we will naturally excel in our chosen fields.
Problem is, and he either hints at it or avoids it, the introductions of government meddling and cumbersome systems seldom succeed in helping this process.
He does use good examples of how individuals have used their vision to help lift some systems, but not how to make...more

like · see review

Nov 08, 2009 Nick rated it 5 of 5 stars

The argument in "Out of Our Minds: Learning to be creative" is by now a familiar one. There are multiple intelligences, schools tend to favor the rather narrow fact- and logic-based kinds, that damages our creativity and especially our children who have other kinds of intelligence (kinesthetic, spatial, artistic, emotional) and grow up thinking they're no good or at least not very smart. Astonishing numbers of these kids, according to Robinson, go on to become successes in interesting walks of l...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 05, 2009 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked up this book after listening to one of Ken Robison's TED talks on creativity and education. Ken covers a lot of territory, but it's a very readable introduction to some of the issues in education today and the necessity to stimulate creativity on personal and corporate levels.

I think more time could have been spent on solving the education problem. He suggests that education must be rebalanced so that there's balance across the curriculum, balance within the teaching of disciplines, an...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 26, 2008 Stacey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sir Ken Robinson is awesome and I think if you watch his TED video from a few years back, you get all you need to get, though the book is still interesting. His story about the dancer is absolutely inspiring, especially for people raising children, or for people who grew up thinking there was something wrong with them academically. Who knows the real answer, bu the book provides different avenues that I know I didn't think of. Makes me want a child therapist on hand while these boys grow up.

1 like · like · see review

Oct 04, 2008 Liz rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Liz by: Laurie Thompson

Covers a LOT of territory -- too much, too briefly. His use of headings drove me crazy: all the same level, so all the same importance? There was clearly some hierarchy of ideas here, but it wasn't displayed; rather, it was a series of sound bites. Found myself skimming a lot, as much of the summary I've read elsewhere.

Exposing people to creative mediums, though, came through as a message. We know 'em when we see 'em, but getting them in front of us still seems the trick.

3 likes · like · see review

Nov 15, 2012 Artur Coelho rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A reputação de Ken Robinson como evangelista da criatividade está bem estabelecida, particularmente após as suas influentes conferências TED. A sua crítica aos sistemas de ensino que apesar de apregoarem o objectivo de formação individual se centram cada vez mais no back to basics, memorização e testes padronizados é muito válida. Atendendo à realidade complexa do mundo contemporâneo, à necessidade de compreensão profunda das ciências e tecnologia, fica claro que a noção de criatividade se esten...more

like · see review

Jul 31, 2012 Manolo Frias rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ken Robinson analyzes the reasons why most educational systems in the world suck and why it's so important to promote creativity. He does it in a way similar to his presentations: simple, clear, with many examples and with personal anecdotes. I really enjoyed reading this book.

However, I was disappointed at the same time.

The problems are wonderfully explained but not the solutions. I would have liked to read his ideas on how to improve the educational systems. He does give some hints and theory....more

like · see review

May 17, 2013 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Times change--or as the hymn says, "New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth".

Sir Ken is creative in accepting as a quote from Socrates, something the great philosopher never said, although it is a very nice shorthand version of the Platonic concept of anamnesis--a loss of forgetfulness. In Phaedo, as Socrates is preparing to take the poison, he is said to have arrived at a knowledge of the eternal nature of the soul by an understanding that it must have originally come f...more Times change--or as the hymn says, "New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth".

Sir Ken is creative in accepting as a quote from Socrates, something the great philosopher never said, although it is a very nice shorthand version of the Platonic concept of anamnesis--a loss of forgetfulness. In Phaedo, as Socrates is preparing to take the poison, he is said to have arrived at a knowledge of the eternal nature of the soul by an understanding that it must have originally come from the realm of ideals. Thus learning is not taking in anything, it is a recollection, a remembering of that which was forgotten as a result of entering the body. The quotation is "Education is a kindling of a flame, not a the filling of a vessel." As aphorisms go, it does pretty much sum up Platonic anamnesis, albeit poorly. So a quote about the mind(soul/psyche) and body dualism and the nature of recovering ideal knowledge forgotten at birth is reborn as a creative act itself.

It is fortunate that Robinson has noted the pace of change in this digital age, and some of us have tried to stay a bit ahead of the curve. The quote attributed to Socrates is easily tracked down, if the student understands how to do more than simply accept everything on the Internet as true, or everything in physical books. Simply searching the quote will give hundreds of results which just point to Socrates as the source with no reference to any specific citation. The student must dig deeper to uncover the truth. Perhaps this is a problem with education, that there is too much creativity and not enough rigor. Like the quotation wrongly attributed to Socrates, creativity can be a red herring in the quest for improving education. Russell and Whitehead strongly advocated for the teaching of logic, since that is what was perceived as one of the fundamental reasons for teaching any mathematics at the dawn of the 20th Century. This eventually led to the adoption of what became known as "new math" of set theory and all of the logical propositions it entailed. It is unfortunate that retail businesses needed people who could make change and add a bill, not logicians. Technology has solved that dilemma by providing cash registers that overcome the failings of clerks who don't know how to make change.

Robinson is a good cheerleader for the progressives in education, for bringing together a host of resources to tackle the needs of our children as they face a tremendously changed world from the one their grandparents or parents or even their older siblings faced. Children tend to be very resilient, and as he points out--they no longer see the need to have wristwatches like the older folks do. I tend to think the kids are far ahead of us and we keep trying to hold them back from running headlong into their future.

(less)

like · see review

Aug 23, 2012 Wendy rated it 3 of 5 stars

If you've had the pleasure of hearing Ken Robinson speak (or seen his TED talk), you've already experienced most of the best bits of this book. This is a very entertaining book, with an important message, but in my case, I felt it was preaching to the choir. It is certainly nice to have someone saying that creativity is important in nearly all fields of endeavor, not just the arts; that creativity is a basic human skill that everyone can develop and nurture, not just special people; and that mod...more

like · see review

Aug 19, 2012 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: real-world

Lots of good information here and a tutorial on innovation, imagination, creativity, etc.. . Who knew the Blue Man Group had a school? It starts out great but then gets a little dry. Robinson says our education system is the product of the industrial revolution and completely inadequate to meet the needs of the information age. He shares many great ideas from around the world from diverse sources. We basically need a transformation or revolution of our education system. Lots of great quotes like...more

like · see review

Apr 15, 2011 Rachelterry rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: psych

I love watching Ken Robinson's TED talks. He's a wonderful speaker, so I was excited to get my hands on this book. I had to get it through Interlibrary loan from University of Wyoming. I'm sad to say that I was pretty disappointed. It wasn't focused or deep enough for me to come away with many new insights. There were so many statistics in the first couple of chapters that they lost their punch. I agree with him on many points, especially about how school systems need to change to prepare studen...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 02, 2013 Vivian rated it 2 of 5 stars

Maybe I should have read a few reviews before reading this book, since it was not at all what I anticipated based on the title. Most of these reviews are positive, which should be a good sign, but, still, I would have thought that the author was offering ideas to stimulate creativity in individuals given the cover. Instead we have an overview of educational systems going back thousands of years, changing paradigms, anecdotal stories of geniuses, most of whom flourished in spite of stifling socie...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 14, 2013 Zdenka rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, school-of-life

I have been very intrigued by the Ken Robinson TED Talk and wanted to know more.

There are a lot of valuable ideas and arguments in this book and I have to say that overall, I am convinced of the need to better foster creativity in children and adults (I might have been convinced even before I read this book actually). I also believe, as the author repeats regularly, that everyone has some creative ability and has something to offer, if we teach them a way to do it... I also believe of the link b...more I have been very intrigued by the Ken Robinson TED Talk and wanted to know more.

There are a lot of valuable ideas and arguments in this book and I have to say that overall, I am convinced of the need to better foster creativity in children and adults (I might have been convinced even before I read this book actually). I also believe, as the author repeats regularly, that everyone has some creative ability and has something to offer, if we teach them a way to do it... I also believe of the link between failure of the current education system to engage youth and criminal behaviour. So I did like the book becasue it confirmed to me some of these beliefs.

In the first half of the book, the author explains how he got to the work on creativity in the first place and how one can be creative in other disciplines than in arts. This section I think was the most interesting ad I have got many new ideas and he gets his main point across: creativity is not just the arts, creativity is key to address our current challenges and expecially to deal with long term issues in a new way and - most importantly - the current education system does not much to foster this creativity, on the contrary, it is largely responsible for stifling it in children.

There is another very good section in the middle of the book on management for creativity, using interesting examples of creative companies and of Ken Robinson's own experience as a manager, which I would willingly print out and hand as compulsory reading to many of my boss.

The book also has a fairly useful collection of case studies and is a catalogue of sorts on innovative projects linking education and creativity.

BUT there are several weaknesses both in the argument and in the book:

- the author criticises the current education system and appeals for a fundamental reform that would not limit creativity to arts, but falls into his own trap when bringing forward examples of "how dance saved some delinquents" or "music for poor children from favellas" which deal with art. I have been a bit dissapointed by this, hoping for more examples such as some projects in India, where making a computer available to children in slums their creativity is developed in the area (usually not associated with creativity too much) of computer technology - and hich actually provides them with the skills needed by the IT business in India... I think that this is a missed opportunity and the book could be improved and the argument strenghtened.

- Similarly other arguments are stated, and reexplained over and over, but not explored in sufficient depth (from my point of view) - with direct consequences on schools and pupils and the general context.

- There are no real practical tips/concrete guidance for the managers or the educators. The statements on the marking system and managerial tools for schools (schedule/curriculum) are spot on, but no real alternative is presented. I have been a little dissappointed at that.

- No real direct (even revolutionary, why not ?!) recommendation to the policy-makers really (although this might not have been the first objective of the book compared to trhe report to the UK government). Only a frustrated complaint to have the report referred to as the "arts report". The argument stays at the "change the system"/"need for a new paradigm" level and keeps ou waiting for more...

My overall feel on the book is: A very good and interesting manifesto for more creativity in education and less "discrimination" between "academic" and "artsy" disciplines, but a bit dissapointing if you are looking for concrete guidance for reforming our educations systems or making the change happen from the reader's perspective(bottom up)...

Maybe the author himself is in a way the victim of the education system he criticises - more creativity in coming up with ways to implement of his ideas in practice would have be welcome...(less)

like · see review

Jul 29, 2011 irfan darian rated it 4 of 5 stars

A good read for those who wants to uncover the thing that limits one creative potential. The link between imagination, creativity and innovation is also discussed here. It is interesting to note how creativity is not just a trait of a few individuals, but seen as something that is inherent in everyone. Ken also touched on the idea of Creative Leadership, the strategies of how leaders who wants to give their organizations that added edge, would need to adopt an attitude that catalyses creativity....more

like · see review

Feb 16, 2010 Kristian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Interesting book about how we need to adjust the education system to embrace the idea that intelligence is not just how well one can read and do math. It is also found in the creative arts. Is not Picasso as intelligent as the scholar who writes about Picasso? Just in a different way?

Our current education system functions much the same way it did 100 years ago. The problem is the system was designed to produce workers for the industrial age. Robinson asks why, in the 21st century, is our educati...more

1 like · like · see review

May 07, 2013 John rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: education

I was interested in reading Ken Robinson’s for a couple of reasons. First, I’m an educator who thinks that my classes should perhaps be doing more to foster creativity in my students. I thought that I might get some ideas from a book subtitled “Learning to Be Creative.” Second, I’ve watched some of the videos of Robinson’s famous TED talks. He makes some large (i.e. schools follow and industrial model and so don’t promote creativity) and controversial (i.e. student cheating, if done in the busin...more I was interested in reading Ken Robinson’s for a couple of reasons. First, I’m an educator who thinks that my classes should perhaps be doing more to foster creativity in my students. I thought that I might get some ideas from a book subtitled “Learning to Be Creative.” Second, I’ve watched some of the videos of Robinson’s famous TED talks. He makes some large (i.e. schools follow and industrial model and so don’t promote creativity) and controversial (i.e. student cheating, if done in the business world, would be called collaborating) claims in the videos, and I wanted to see if he could back up the claims. I came to the book interested and open to his ideas.

Unfortunately, I came away from Out of Our Minds very disappointed. I was disappointed for several reasons. First of all, I thought that it featured a real lack of creative ideas and suggestions for producing creativity. During the section at the end of the book, when Robinson attempts to give teachers advice on methods for promoting creativity, I kept thinking, “What is new here?” With regard to suggestions for how to actually conduct a class, I can’t see what he would suggest that we don’t already do and haven’t been doing for decades. Robinson does make some more novel suggestions about ways that whole schools or school districts could be structured differently so as to promote creativity. These, however, struck me as wildly unrealistic and unwieldy for public schools to implement. They also struck me as failing to take into account the diverse, and often troubled, set of students that we attempt to teach in schools. I have read a lot of reviews from non-educators who fault the book for not offering them any takeaways. The book, some of these reviewers have said, is focused too much on the education world. As an educator, I’m sad that the book failed to offer any takeaways for me either.

The bigger problem that I had with the book is Robinson’s tremendous failure to back up his claims with research. Over and over and over Robinsons arrives at conclusions which he supports only with anecdotal evidence or with statements from people he’s consulted with in the business world. For example, on page 235, Robinson begins a section called “Creativity loves collaboration.” This, in fact, is one of the themes of Robinson’s videos and of this book (it’s also something that I hear continually from my school administrators), and I was very curious what he had to say on the subject. After all, I’ve read several studies and books that dispute the notion that creativity works best in collaborative atmosphere (read Susan Cain’s popular Quiet for a much better researched discussion on the subject). Some people and some types of creativity require collaboration, this research says, but not most.

How does Robinson support his argument? With an anecdote, of course. Pixar runs a school in which all employees, including engineers, security people, and janitors, may learn about the creative arts of filmmaking in the hope that the whole company will be fostering new connections and innovations. Pixar’s is an interesting idea and set-up, but nothing in the anecdote demonstrates that the company-wide creative training has actually contributed to any of Pixar’s creations. And the anecdote certainly doesn’t adequately support the general notion that collaboration loves creativity.

This is just one example of the either unfounded or, at best, unsupported claims which saturate the book. I’m not sure that Robinson is all wrong on what he says. A lot of other people are echoing him. But I think this book is bold and loud and, ultimately, pretty empty. This is an interesting subject, but I’d look elsewhere to learn about it.(less)

like · see review

Jan 19, 2013 Stas Sajin rated it 1 of 5 stars

Those who have read this book, or plan to, largely did it because of the TED talk he gave sometime in 2008, which was a great talk, really. This book on the other hand reads more like the disjointed notes written by a freshman for intro to psychology and philosophy classes. The arguments are fairly simplistic, there are instances where he is plainly inaccurate (especially when he talks about neurosciency stuff), and he really does show a lack of creativity and imagination in telling us how we mi...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 12, 2011 Kristen Rudd rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: education, non-fiction, 2011

I was sadly disappointed by this book. I am a huge fan of Sir Ken Robinson's TED talks on creativity - they're one of my go-tos when I feel like throwing in the homeschooling towel - and I loved "The Element". This one had some good information and few things stuck out, but overall, I slogged through it and found it hard to stay focused and read.

What I am looking for is more "teeth" to his references to different types of intelligences and how to actually foster more creativity, especially in e...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 10, 2010 brian dean rated it 3 of 5 stars

Like many others, I really enjoyed Sir Robinson's TED Talk. In book form , however, I never really felt he proved his point. He describes 1) how creativity is being crushed by modern schools, 2) schools decide what is and isn't important - the three 'r's are important, but dance is not, 3) how creativity is needed in all aspects of study, and 4) arts are therefore important.

The first point, I readily grant - I live and teach in South Korea, the home of crushed creativity.

The third point is both...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 18, 2012 Michael Moseley rated it 4 of 5 stars

A very powerful quote from this book " We will not succeed in navigating the complex environment of the future by peering relentlessly into the rear view mirror. To do so would be out of our minds"

Ken Robinson is a very experiancece and highly regarded educationalist who believes that we are not training people to deal with the problems of the future with the skills and experience of the past. That we must develop new ways of educating people to develop the skills to tackle the 21st & 22nd c...more

like · see review

Jan 25, 2009 Ron rated it 5 of 5 stars

For anyone who want to explore the way in which we SHOULD look at creativity, this book is a must. I know and met the author on several occasions and he is, shall we say, a genius who addresses why we insist on sustaining an education system that is narrow, partial, entirely inappropriate for the 21st century and deeply destructive of human potential when human beings have so much latent creative ability to offer. I borrowed some of my comments from the review by Wally Olins, Founder, Wolff-Olin...more

like · see review

May 13, 2013 Natalie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, psychology, non-fiction, teaching

This book had a lot of great ideas, but be forewarned - it reads more like a college textbook. If you want a lighthearted read, this is NOT the book for you. Basically Sir Robinson talks about how creativity affects our future and makes a case for why we need more of it in public schools. I'm just going to put a few of my favorite quotes in here. I actually have quite a bit underlined.

"Life is not linear. When you follow your own true north you create new opportunities, meet different people, h...more

like · see review

Feb 19, 2009 Emily marked it as to-read

Shelves: not-finished

Saw the author on TED:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ke...

and decided to read his book

I'm about half way through and he's spent a lot of time laying out the history of our view of intelligence and education. He goes much farther back than most folks, who start with the industrial revolution. It can feel a bit dry and I want him to get to the point that resonates with me, which is that the way we go about education is all wrong and fails to value our true talents as humans.

Robinson definitely...more

like · see review

Apr 15, 2013 Joe rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was introduced to Ken Robinson's books on the subject of creativity with The Element, which he wrote in 2009. Out of Our Minds (2001) covers a lot of the same ground, but each of these books describes the subject from a very different perspective. Out of Our Minds is an historical and somewhat scientific treatise on the subject, (the origins of modern educational systems, the science of the brain's development of creativity, etc.). Its coverage is in-depth and scholarly (but very readable). Th...more I was introduced to Ken Robinson's books on the subject of creativity with The Element, which he wrote in 2009. Out of Our Minds (2001) covers a lot of the same ground, but each of these books describes the subject from a very different perspective. Out of Our Minds is an historical and somewhat scientific treatise on the subject, (the origins of modern educational systems, the science of the brain's development of creativity, etc.). Its coverage is in-depth and scholarly (but very readable). The book ends with some practical steps for solving the problems Robinson exposes. The Element makes many of the same points, but through anecdotes, case studies, and personal stories. It also weaves a more compelling explanation of the connections between intelligence, creativity, learning, and imagination, with just the right dose of scientific and historical back-up information. I found Out of Our Minds to be informative; I found The Element to be transformative. Read The Element first!

Robinson's driving assumptions:
• All of us have creative talents - we just may not know what they are.
• These talents are an organization's greatest resource; but we need a systematic approach to bringing them out.

Outline of Out of Our Minds:
1. How technology is driving change that is widening the gap between education and what our companies, our communities, and ourselves need.
2. A review of how our educational systems evolved, and how their single focus on academic ability (what he calls "academicism") has actually stifled creativity, exacerbating the gap.
3. Survey of advances in our understanding of how the brain works, and how this relates to intelligence and creativity.
4. How academicism has separated feelings (such as for the arts) from intellect in the educational process, thus retarding the development of creativity.
5. More in-depth analysis of how creativity is developed.
6. How development of creativity affects our cultural development and the development of effective organizations.
7. Steps that educational organizations, companies, and communities can take to develop and harness creativity in ways that address the gap he outlines in the beginning of the book.

The traditional model for education won't work anymore: that is, conformance to government-mandated norms, standardized tests (that one struck home!), etc. The world is changing too fast - for example, rapid tech growth and change. [Some of this material is dated after a dozen years. E.g., the population explosion is not seen as quite so dire a problem; in fact, low birth rates may lead to more traumatic change worldwide. Nevertheless, his point is a good one: change is a-comin'.] A college degree is not worth what it once was; what's missing from education are creativity and adaptability.

The educational establishment focuses on developing certain academic abilities, while excluding other forms of learning - in a harmful way. It separates arts from sciences, wasting creative intelligence. Experts don't agree on the definition of intelligence, but the establishment view is that it is IQ plus academic achievement or ability. Robinson says it is much more. The goals of legacy educational systems have been to satisfy the needs of industry (developing certain skills for trades, for example) and pursue academic performance (learning standardized curriculums). The arts have not been considered key parts of academic learning; they were held in lower esteem, priority, and status compared to the sciences, math, etc. [I'm not sure how to reconcile this with the decline of STEM over these same years. Robinson's view would seem more valid over the period of the 1960's thru 1990's, but not so much since then. But then, he wrote the book in 2001. Or maybe this neglect to teach creative thinking in the curriculum has diminished our proficiency in both the sciences and the arts.]

Intelligence and creativity have three important characteristics: multifaceted; interactive and dynamic; we each have a different profile of intellectual and creative abilities. Intelligence is more broad than what can be measured in an IQ test - it also involves the visual, sound, other senses. Traditionally, these are usually not included. Creativity is a process of seeing new possibilities.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Dec 02, 2012 Irene rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: education, non-fiction

If you've seen any of Sir Ken Robinson's TED Talks, then you're already familiar with his philosophy about the importance of creativity in every aspect of education. He has a fantastic sense of humor that makes his ideas even more accessible. As I read this book, I would frequently hear his voice, his inflection, his jokes. That kind of connection makes non-fiction read much faster for me.

While the entire book is worth reading, my favorite chapters focused on creative leadership and how you can...more

like · see review

Apr 11, 2012 Prashant rated it 4 of 5 stars

I had to review this book for my 'Management of Change' class and thus I had to do a very through analysis of every part of the book. This is just inform that this review can sound very descriptive to some, so bear with me.

The author talks about the challenges facing the HR professionals and the business executives in the ever changing business environment.
The book starts with an example how we used to see situations in isolation. This approach can no longer be used in present dynamic situatio...more I had to review this book for my 'Management of Change' class and thus I had to do a very through analysis of every part of the book. This is just inform that this review can sound very descriptive to some, so bear with me.

The author talks about the challenges facing the HR professionals and the business executives in the ever changing business environment.
The book starts with an example how we used to see situations in isolation. This approach can no longer be used in present dynamic situations when every company is fighting for the top notch talent and the fierce competition in the market.

Author’s friend, Dave is an actor and had severe drinking problem. He cherished 12 pints a day of a local beer which was a very powerful drink. When he suddenly started to feel severe back pain his physician referred him to a kidney specialist. The kidney specialist after coming to know the full situation advised him to switch to spirits. On this, Dave told him that he fears to develop Cirrhosis of liver if he changes to spirits. The specialist replied that he is not concerned about his liver because he has come to him in relation to his kidney.

The above is a classical example of what in medical terms is called Septic focus, the tendency to look at a problem in isolation from its context. Similarly, companies are witnessing major changes in the environment they work in. As the axis is shifting towards intellectual labours and services, they urgently need people who are creative, innovative and flexible.

This book proposes 3 basic ideas that are being explained with suitable examples

1. Everyone has creative capacities, but they often do not know what they are;

2. These capacities are the greatest resource available to an organization; and that

3. Developing and exploiting creative capacities calls for a systemic strategy to generate a culture of innovation across the whole organization – but not only- the creative departments.

The challenges mentioned by Robinson which are driving the need to learn an organization to be creative and to drive it are

1. The war for talent
2. The dearth of talent in spite of high number of jobless people
3. Technological changes
4. Progress in the mode of transportations
5. Mode of communication
6. Nanotechnology
7. E-business
8. Population Growth
9. The Grey Revolution
10. Work from home
11. Academic Inflation

What is Creativity?

Creativity is never in an abstract. Creativity is applying the imagination.

Power of imagination: imaginative processes with outcome in the public world

Being Original: Creative outcome can be original on different levels: personal originality, social originality, historic originality.

Values: Relationship between cultural values and creativity have implications in promoting creative activities in organizations.

The author brings the point home by giving a very fitted example:

An Australian farmer had a large tract of land which he has inherited from his forefathers. Every year he diligently tilled the land and tried to grow something in it. But the produce was always negligible and stunted. After a few years he grew tired and frustrated and decided to give up the land. According to the law in Australia at that time the whole land went to the government after the abandonment.

Few years later the farmer decided to visit his lands once more. When he reached there He found a lot of factories and houses constructed on the land. On inquiry he came to know that the land had steel reserves just 10 feet below the ground.

The man had been tilling just above the reserve the whole time, if he had just gone a little deeper.

By this the author wants to convey the irony that if only we can dig a little deeper, what we may find is known to no one. All the treasure we are looking for may be right here!
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Oct 29, 2011 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Any book that tries to revolutionize education will get my attention. I think he is simply trying to open up a dialogue about bringing creativity into our education system. I really agreed with his statement that "In every discipline [subject], creativity also draws on skill, knowledge and control." He argues against the belief that creativity is a free for all environment. Anyone who has ever created anything knows that creative work is hard work and you must have the "skills, knowledge and con...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (14)

More editions...

Genres

Non Fiction

61 users

Education

57 users

Psychology

15 users

Teaching

11 users

Business

9 users

Science

7 users

Parenting

4 users

Culture

3 users

Art

3 users

Self Help > Personal Development

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Ken Robinson

Sir Ken Robinson (born Liverpool 4 March 1950) is an internationally recognized leader in the development of innovation and human resources. He has worked with national governments in Europe and Asia, with international agencies, Fortune 500 companies, national and state education systems, non-profit corporations and some of the world’s leading cultural organizations. They include the Royal Shakes...more

More about Ken Robinson...

Books by Ken Robinson

The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything

Finding Your Element: How to Discover Your Talents and Passions and Transform Your Life

Призвание. Как найти то, для чего вы созданы и жить в своей стихии

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Out of Our Minds:...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Out of Our Minds: Lear...

“I asked a professor of nanotechnology what they use to measure the unthinkable small distances of nanospace? He said it was the nanometre. This didn't help me very much. A nanometre is a billionth of a metre. I understood the idea but couldn't visualise what it meant. I said, "What is it roughly?" He thought for a moment and said, "A nanometre is roughly the distance that a man's beard grows in one second". I had never thought about what beards do in a second but they must do something. It takes them all day to grow about a milllimetre. They don't leap out of your face at eight o'clock in the morning. Beards are slow, languid things and our language reflects this. We do not say "as quick as a beard" or "as fast as a bristle". We now have a way of grasping of how slow they are - about a nanometre a second.” — 6 people liked it

“If all you had was academic ability, you wouldn't have been able to get out of bed this morning. In fact, there wouldn't have been a bad to get out of. No one could have made one. You could have written about possibility of one, but not have constructed it.” — 4 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative
avg rating	preview: Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative Goodreads rating: 3.88 (863 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77503.Out_of_Our_Minds?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347504070l/77503.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77503.Out_of_Our_Minds?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative by Ken Robinson[/url]

Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website