The best-selling guide to overcoming creative blocks and unleashing a torrent of great ideas-updated for a new generation of problem solvers.

The best-selling guide to overcoming creative blocks and unleashing a torrent of great ideas-updated for a new generation of problem solvers.

From Teflon to Velcro, from bandwidths to base pairs, the artifacts of engineering and technology reflect the broad scope--and frustrating limitations--of our imagination. Best-selling author James Adams takes readers on an enlightening tour of this exciting world, demystifying such endeavors as design, research, and manufacturing.

Discover the cognitive tools that lead to creative thinking and problem-solving with this “well-written and easy-to-follow” guide (Library Journal). Explore the “thinking tools” of extraordinary people, from Albert Einstein and Jane Goodall to Mozart and Virginia Woolf, and learn how you can practice the same imaginative skills to become your creative best. With engaging narratives and examples, Robert and Michèle Root-Bernstein investigate cognitive tools such as observing, recognizing patterns, modeling, playing, and more. Sparks of Genius is “a clever, detailed and demanding fitness program for the creative mind” and a groundbreaking guidebook for anyone interested in imaginative thinking, lifelong learning, and transdisciplinary education (Kirkus Reviews). “How different the painter at the easel and the physicist in the laboratory! Yet the Root-Bernsteins recognize the deep-down similarity of all creative thinking, whether in art or science. They demonstrate this similarity by comparing the accounts that various pioneers and inventors have left of their own creative processes: for Picasso just as for Einstein, for Klee just as for Feynman, the creative impulse always begins in vision, in emotion, in intuition. . . . With a lavishly illustrated chapter devoted to each tool, readers quickly realize just how far the imagination can stretch.” —Booklist “A powerful book . . . Sparks of Genius presents radically different ways of approaching problems.” —American Scientist

A fun yet provocative look at the importance of staying curious in an increasingly indifferent world Everyone is born curious. But only some retain the habits of exploring, learning, and discovering as they grow older. Those who do so tend to be smarter, more creative, and more successful. But at the very moment when the rewards of curiosity have never been higher, it is misunderstood and undervalued, and increasingly monopolized by the cognitive elite. A "curiosity divide" is opening up. In Curious, Ian Leslie makes a passionate case for the cultivation of our "desire to know." Drawing on fascinating research from psychology, economics, education, and business, Leslie looks at what feeds curiosity and what starves it, and finds surprising answers. Curiosity is a mental muscle that atrophies without regular exercise and a habit that parents, schools, and workplaces need to nurture. Filled with inspiring stories, case studies, and practical advice, Curious will change the way you think about your own mental life, and that of those around you.

Creativity and Beyond offers a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary tour of cultures past and present to examine the different ways people have conceived of "creativity" and how the common understanding of creativity is changing in the current flux of global culture. Weiner analyzes the ways in which understanding creativity is tied to broader contemporary patterns, including intellectual concerns with postmodernism; trends in the arts; the changing status of women; the power of the electronic media; multiculturalism; developments in psychology, science, and technology; and the dramatic political, economic, and social transformations of our age.

What is the secret behind every successful product? Why are people willing to pay more for a BMW than a Chevrolet? How could Apple iPhones represent only 4% of the world’s cell phone market in 2011 but take in 50% of the profits? The answer is quality. In this provocative new book, bestselling author James L. Adams provides a brilliant, in-depth look at the powerful but elusive qualities that can make or break a product’s success. A must-read for managers, designers, manufacturers, and marketers, this groundbreaking approach will change the way you think about your product—and show you why it’s more important than ever to deliver the highest quality possible. In Good Products, Bad Products, you’ll learn how to: : Maximize your product’s performance—and minimize the cost Appeal to your customer’s emotions—with elegance and sophistication Make sure your product is a perfect fit—that’s human, cultural, and global With competition growing stronger and fiercer every year, product quality has become the number-one factor in a company’s success. Adams points out that there will always be a stable demand for a high-quality product. By addressing every aspect of product quality—from the technical to the practical to the aesthetic—you can develop a product that your company will be proud of and your customers will love. Along the way, you’ll hear fascinating case studies of famous brands that became victims of their own success—like Kodak, IBM, Zenith, and GM—and struggled to recover lost ground. You’ll see how some countries like Japan surged ahead by offering better products than anyone on the globe. You’ll learn how some U.S. manufacturers remained successful in spite of the foreign market’s lower wages. And you’ll discover the top industry secrets for prioritizing quality throughout the company, delivering products that are the best in their class. Now more than ever, quality matters. Good Products, Bad Products gives you the edge—so you can give your customers the best product possible. James L. Adams is professor emeritus at Stanford University, where he chaired several programs, taught courses on design and creativity, and participated in many executive programs. Trained as an engineer and artist, he has conducted corporate workshops around the world and has written the bestselling guide to creativity and innovation, Conceptual Blockbusting.