One of our most innovative, popular thinkers takes on-in exhilarating style-one of our key questions: Where do good ideas come from? read full description
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Apr 21, 2011
David
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I picked up this book after hearing Steven Johnson's interview on CBC's Spark. His arguments are compelling, and the book is chock full of invention origin stories - a very interesting read!
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Apr 19, 2011
Nicholas
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Fantastic! The single most important book for anyone looking for an accurate and comprehensive description of the creative process that they have heretofore been unable to verbalize. Johnson breaks creativity down to 7 basic underlying principles: the adjacent possible, liquid networks, slow hunch, serendipity, error, exaptation, and platforms. In doing so, he not only allows readers to become more conscious of the patterns that creativity follows, but he also provides inspiring examples of the
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Feb 18, 2012
Taras
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This book can be summarized as - where good ideas die. I expected to book to serve as a guide as how inventions evolved into new inventions. Instead the book turned out to be a cross between something like a business book "how to foster new ideas" and a self-help one "how to be more inventive". The fact that it's written by a yuppie Silicon Valley entrepreneur makes it that much more difficult to stomach - the book raves about twitter as a platform and plugs some data-mining
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Oct 27, 2011
Ismail
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I read a lot of business books. Some I pick up on my own and some are given to me by the Chairman of the company I work at. Not all the books I read are good, but those that are usually have one important takeaway that sticks with me.
This book is one of those good ones. So much so that it has inspired me to write this blog post on Edmunds Technology Blog.
It is rife with great takeaways, or as I like to call them, themes. Those "themes" manage to tie together all t More...
This book is one of those good ones. So much so that it has inspired me to write this blog post on Edmunds Technology Blog.
It is rife with great takeaways, or as I like to call them, themes. Those "themes" manage to tie together all t More...
May 18, 2011
Arjen
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Hmm, here we go again. Another 'popular / best selling' author with a 'great' book full of 'new' insights.
Johnson describes where good ideas come from (hence the title) by breaking it down into 7 patterns: the adjacent possible, liquid networks, the slow hunch, serendipity, error, exaptation, platforms. Each chapter describes a pattern by starting out with an anecdote of some inventor x in city y in year z. Then the pattern is defined / described and finally a bit elaborated upon wi More...
Johnson describes where good ideas come from (hence the title) by breaking it down into 7 patterns: the adjacent possible, liquid networks, the slow hunch, serendipity, error, exaptation, platforms. Each chapter describes a pattern by starting out with an anecdote of some inventor x in city y in year z. Then the pattern is defined / described and finally a bit elaborated upon wi More...
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Apr 21, 2011
Paul
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Steven Johnson's "Where Good Ideas Come From" is a rich addition to the literature on creativity, innovation, and collaboration, and a tremendous resource for anyone needing a reminder that little is created in a vacuum. While much of the book is rooted in examples of scientific exploration, discovery, and innovation, its scope encompasses everything from Darwin's work with coral reefs to literary historian Franco Moretti's writings on the evolution of the novel. He draws on the work o
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Apr 04, 2011
Terry
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I think the author cuts through the crap regarding where inspiration comes from and produces some reasonable trends that explain where a lot of good ideas come from for instance:
The adjacent possible - Often many good but almost identical ideas come out at the same time. Innovation usually happens in an area not too different from where the status quo is, so a requisite innovation allows many new ideas to flower which several people may work on at once.
The author also gives More...
The adjacent possible - Often many good but almost identical ideas come out at the same time. Innovation usually happens in an area not too different from where the status quo is, so a requisite innovation allows many new ideas to flower which several people may work on at once.
The author also gives More...
Mar 16, 2011
Brian
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Analogies to the natural world aside, some interesting insight actionable advice for fostering innovation
Somewhat entertaining. An attempt to abstract the conditions in which innovation thrives, along the way making many analogies to nature (e.g. sex is good for innovation because it brings disparate 'ideas' together and allows for a small amount of error).
But there are the seeds of good recommendations here, tied to each of the environmental factors he identifies that encourage i More...
Somewhat entertaining. An attempt to abstract the conditions in which innovation thrives, along the way making many analogies to nature (e.g. sex is good for innovation because it brings disparate 'ideas' together and allows for a small amount of error).
But there are the seeds of good recommendations here, tied to each of the environmental factors he identifies that encourage i More...
Mar 11, 2011
Leslie
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Points that I liked:
* The environment effects the amount of innovation
* Cities geometrically increase the amount of innovation
* It takes 20 years to mainstream innovations: The 10/10 Rule
* The adjacent possible: the next level of "new" based on what is available now.
* "The multiple": multiple independent scientists or inventors simultaneously develop the same brilliant idea.
* When the time is ripe, a new idea will happen
* Liquid netw More...
* The environment effects the amount of innovation
* Cities geometrically increase the amount of innovation
* It takes 20 years to mainstream innovations: The 10/10 Rule
* The adjacent possible: the next level of "new" based on what is available now.
* "The multiple": multiple independent scientists or inventors simultaneously develop the same brilliant idea.
* When the time is ripe, a new idea will happen
* Liquid netw More...
Feb 01, 2011
Matt
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I found myself picking up this book after watching Steven Johnson's highly engaging TED talk of the same name.
The book is more of the same, as you would expect, and reads similarly to a Malcolm Gladwell novel, although I would be reticent to label it as 'Pop Science'.
Johnson examines what constitutes an idea, and then uses several catchy and memorable expressions to express various theories on how the ideas are developed, using anecdotal evidence to sustain the theories. More...
The book is more of the same, as you would expect, and reads similarly to a Malcolm Gladwell novel, although I would be reticent to label it as 'Pop Science'.
Johnson examines what constitutes an idea, and then uses several catchy and memorable expressions to express various theories on how the ideas are developed, using anecdotal evidence to sustain the theories. More...
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Dec 17, 2010
Julie
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I first became acquainted with Where Good Ideas Come From through Steven Johnson's TED talk, which I highly recommend if you've got a spare 17 minutes. In that talk -- and the book -- Johnson argues that most people are wrong when they imagine where new, innovative ideas come from. Many people have in their mind a lone scientist working in his lab, suddenly arriving at a "Eureka" moment, perhaps with a proverbial light bulb over their head. It's the apple falling on Isaac Newton, or Da
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Oct 17, 2010
Book
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 24, 2012
Thomas
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This book is really more like a 3.5 star book, but I can't do that on here and I do really like Steven Johnson's writing in general (been in a fan back into the early FEED days). I also should admit that part of the reason for that half-star demotion might be that I listened to this as an audiobook. The issue was not the narrator or anything you would typically expect, but rather a simple matter of making it difficult (I was listening to it driving to and from work) to stop and ponder or jot dow
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Jan 24, 2011
Courtney
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I tend to avoid reading this kind of book. The Cluetrain Manifesto, The Tipping Point, Freakonomics, The Black Swan. They all hit the web, and they all pass me by in a largely undifferentiated wash of bold typography, sentence-length sub-titles and (too) easily summarised central points.
I'm not sure now why I ordered 'Where good ideas come from' at the library, but having done so, I dutifully picked it up and settled in to read it over the long weekend. The double line spacing immedi More...
I'm not sure now why I ordered 'Where good ideas come from' at the library, but having done so, I dutifully picked it up and settled in to read it over the long weekend. The double line spacing immedi More...
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Jan 05, 2011
Emily
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I'm giving this five stars ("it was amazing"), even though my excitement about it petered out by the end. I was compelled to finish it in a matter of 26 hours, so I guess that means something. I'd been looking for a book that described, and well as explained, insight--that AHA! feeling, where you realize you've just figured out something new. That feeling is my favorite part of my job, and I'd like to increase its frequency. To that end, this book started out very helpful but got l
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Sep 22, 2010
I first came across Steven Johnson five or six years ago, via Everything Bad is Good for You. At the time, I was considering switching careers—I wanted to make videogames—so Everything Bad resonated very personally with me. I also loved the straightforward writing and the cross-disciplinary ideas in the book, which led me to read several more of Johnson’s books: The Ghost Map and The Invention of Air. Both of those books lived up to my high expectations, so I have been eagerly awaiting the next
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Jan 23, 2011
Anne
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Saw Steve Johnson speak at the Boston Book Festival in 2010, so I got the book out of the library. Interesting discussion of how "good ideas" develop:
-- the adjacent possible. sorta the next step from where the idea is now. Innovative environments help their inhabitants explore the adjacent possible, because they expose a wide and diverse sample of spare parts and they encourage novel ways of recombining those parts. Get exposed to as many ideas as you can and be rewarded for ex More...
-- the adjacent possible. sorta the next step from where the idea is now. Innovative environments help their inhabitants explore the adjacent possible, because they expose a wide and diverse sample of spare parts and they encourage novel ways of recombining those parts. Get exposed to as many ideas as you can and be rewarded for ex More...
Oct 31, 2010
Parker
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Regardless of its origin, sometimes a good idea forms the entire basis of a non-fiction book. Often this idea is capable of being summed up in a single pithy sentence which serves as the title--maybe "The Tipping Point," or "The Long Tail,"--and after the concept is explained in the first few paragraphs, chapters full of anecdotes flesh out the work to book length, business publications praise it, and the author can command some serious speaking fees at conferences and corpor
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Apr 04, 2011
Jaylia3
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An inspiring, couldn’t-put-it-down book about how to nurture insights and creativity.
Every year the Website Edge poses a question to thinkers in a variety of fields. The 2011 question submitted by Steven Pinker with some input from Daniel Kahneman is “What scientific concept would improve everybody’s cognitive toolkits?” See http://edge.org/q2011/q11_index.html , to see the responses. And if you are interested in acquiring scientific concepts to improve your thinking, read Steven Jo More...
Every year the Website Edge poses a question to thinkers in a variety of fields. The 2011 question submitted by Steven Pinker with some input from Daniel Kahneman is “What scientific concept would improve everybody’s cognitive toolkits?” See http://edge.org/q2011/q11_index.html , to see the responses. And if you are interested in acquiring scientific concepts to improve your thinking, read Steven Jo More...
Aug 06, 2011
Leah
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I loved this book (though I'll admit I'm somewhat of a sucker for the well-written, easily accessible non-fiction book about contemporary ideas). Each chapter raises another interesting point and provides plenty of material to mull over. I especially enjoyed the idea of the adjacent possible, both as it applies to my own creative work and as it applies to ideas in a society as a whole. The theses posited here seem especially relevant in the current information environment, for which we requir
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Dec 09, 2010
Bookmarks Magazine
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Applauded as "a voyage of discovery" by the Dallas Morning News and "a magical mystery tour" by the Oregonian, Good Ideas is an in-depth exploration of creativity that mines both the human and natural worlds for insights and patterns in an attempt to understand what stirs the human mind. The critics were generally pleased with Johnson's nimble writing and illuminating conclusions, but a few pointed out some problems in execution -- namely, the copious anecdotes he uses to sup
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Sep 29, 2010
Kristine
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I won this book from Goodreads. This is a fascinating book I would recommend to anyone even remotely interested in creativity and the history of the ideas that changed our world and the way we interact with it. He tackles the similarities in how ideas form, from Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection to the internet and twitter. Johnson's writing is tight and engaging--his ideas scream for contemplation and incorporation into one's intellectual life, yet I found it difficult to pul
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Mar 25, 2011
Beth
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A fascinating look at how various innovations were developed throughout history. I particularly enjoyed reading about the array of knowledge that goes into an innovation: for instance, Gutenberg's idea for how to develop a printing press was likely influenced by the wine presses in the region where he lived.
The author brings up some excellent points; my favorites:
-innovation is often the result not of hard work but of taking breaks, woolgathering, idle brainstorming, and simply goof More...
The author brings up some excellent points; my favorites:
-innovation is often the result not of hard work but of taking breaks, woolgathering, idle brainstorming, and simply goof More...
Nov 22, 2010
Hippopottoman
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An enjoyable tour through Johnson's musing on the way people and environment combine to give rise to good ideas. I liked the structure of the book, with identifiable themes in each chapter. Most of the examples were interesting, and as usual, I liked Johnson's style.
I did feel the book lagged at the end - I would've preferred not to have the last chapter. This chapter was essentially justification for the rest of book. The mechanism was to show examples of inventions and classify them More...
I did feel the book lagged at the end - I would've preferred not to have the last chapter. This chapter was essentially justification for the rest of book. The mechanism was to show examples of inventions and classify them More...
Sep 12, 2010
Les
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Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation by Steven Johnson is an outstanding book exploring the realms of creativity. Johnson traces the history of innovation from the early inventors through today, and attempts to determine how best to foster invention. Some of his results are somewhat surprising, as he finds that large cities have been one of the leading indicators of the places innovation springs from. He also explores how the internet has become the place for some of
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Sep 28, 2011
Michael
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Johnson is an entertaining writer with an original theory relating human innovation and invention to biological evolution. His arguments are well reasoned and larded with entertaining anecdotes. He also manages to fall into the current vogue of books about cities as essential incubators of ideas, a la the recent "Triumph of the City," a notion I strongly agree with.
So why only three stars? Because I suspect deep down the guy is slinging glibly Gladwellian, high-grade poop. More...
So why only three stars? Because I suspect deep down the guy is slinging glibly Gladwellian, high-grade poop. More...
Oct 02, 2011
Diogo
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The book depicts a conceptual framework for framing the issue of innovation. The framework is organized in seven patterns that can be combined to align innovation in a four-quadrant model. The patterns are: the adjacent possible, the slow hunch, liquid networks, serendipity, error, exaptation, and platforms. The four-quadrant model is structured as a combination of market/non-market, invidual/network, namely innovations that are motivated by or have an immediate market for being adopted and inn
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Jun 29, 2011
Matt
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In "Where Good Ideas Come From" Steven Johnson also attempts to identify actors that have played leading roles in human innovation throughout the centuries:
The Adjacent Possible - Good ideas are not conjured out of thin air, but are built out of a collection of existing ideas which expands over time. Building block ideas are spare parts that can be reassembled into useful new configurations. The trick to having good ideas is not to sit around in glorious isolation and try More...
The Adjacent Possible - Good ideas are not conjured out of thin air, but are built out of a collection of existing ideas which expands over time. Building block ideas are spare parts that can be reassembled into useful new configurations. The trick to having good ideas is not to sit around in glorious isolation and try More...
Dec 07, 2010
Jay
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I found the writing in this book to be engaging and interesting. It felt sort of like the old Connections book, taking diverse examples, where you don't initially know how they relate to the topic, and following the author through reasoning to the topic, in this case creativity. This is not really a prescriptive book, it is more of a study on the topic. An issue I had with the book is that it seemed like many of the examples have been featured in other books recently. I believe a book called "
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Feb 03, 2012
Gil
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Be sure you read the subtitle of this book before reading. Johnson uses the model of nature to explain where humans get our ideas.
In almost every chapter, Johnson uses Darwin as the prophet of understanding how nature thinks. Johnson also goes to lengths anticipating critics suggesting his idea are Socialistic, which made me look for Socialist ideas.
His analysis and conclusions in his final chapter using the four quadrant model gets him close to Socialism as he suggest t More...
In almost every chapter, Johnson uses Darwin as the prophet of understanding how nature thinks. Johnson also goes to lengths anticipating critics suggesting his idea are Socialistic, which made me look for Socialist ideas.
His analysis and conclusions in his final chapter using the four quadrant model gets him close to Socialism as he suggest t More...
