[Innovation Generation: How to Produce Creative and Useful Scientific Ideas] [By: Ness, Roberta B.] [March, 2012]

by Roberta B. Ness

Whether you are a student or an established scientist, researcher, or engineer, you can learn to be more innovative. In Innovation Generation, internationally renowned physician and scientist Roberta Ness provides all the tools you need to cast aside your habitual ways of navigating the every-day world and to think "outside the box." Based on an extraordinarily successful program at the University of Texas, this book provides proven techniques to expand your ability to generate original ideas. These tools include analogy, expanding assumptions, pulling questions apart, changing your point of view, reversing your thinking, and getting the most out of multidisciplinary groups, to name a few. Woven into the discussion are engaging stories of famous scientists who found fresh paths to innovation, including groundbreaking primate scientist Jane Goodall, father of lead research Herb Needleman, and physician Ignaz Semmelweis, whose discovery of infection control saved millions. Finally, the book shows how to combine your newly acquired skills in innovative thinking with the normal process of scientific thinking, so that your new abilities are more than playthings. Innovation will power your science.

Genres: Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Norman Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Provides history of innovations in mostly health among other things, while providing frameworks to think out of the box. Recommended for those stuck in the box.

[Taylor Halsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good themes and interesting topic but confusingly structured and doesn't flow as well as I would have liked. Would still recommend for anyone looking for ideas about how to think more creatively

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this book up at a Los Angeles Times tour. It's an interesting read--showing how to get rid of the built-in biases and perceptions we have in order to truly look at things a whole new way.

[Brian Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes a sound argument for the place of creativity in science-based professions.

[Mills College Library]

501.9 N463 2012