Genius, Creativity and Invention

I was reading In the Air by Malcolm Gladwell, in the May 12, 2008 New Yorker magazine about how inventions come about and whether there could be a way to manufacture a setting for new ideas to flow. As a jazz musician I have always been keenly curious about how creativity originates and leads to musical invention. According to the article, it doesn't take a genius to invent something new....phew!
Nathan Myhrvold, the guy who started Microsoft’s research division, wanted to create insights—to come up with ideas. He thought that if he brought lots of very clever people together to collaborate they might increase the number of inventions and ideas they might patent. The experiment succeeded way beyond their expectations. Hundreds of ideas have reached the patent office, with thousands more still yet to be submitted, many of significant interest, like filtering cancer cells out of the blood or stopping hurricanes or building safe, passive nuclear reactors.
Gladwell observed that in math and science there seem to be clearly defined periods of time of discovery and invention. When we are exposed to a culture ripe with information, history tells us that several people often invented the same thing around the same time. Gladwell writes:
This phenomenon of simultaneous discovery—what science historians call “multiples”—turns out to be extremely common. One of the first comprehensive lists of multiples was put together by William Ogburn and Dorothy Thomas, in 1922, and they found a hundred and forty-eight major scientific discoveries that fit the multiple pattern. Newton and Leibniz both discovered calculus. Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace both discovered evolution. Three mathematicians “invented” decimal fractions. Oxygen was discovered by Joseph Priestley, in Wiltshire, in 1774, and by Carl Wilhelm Scheele, in Uppsala, a year earlier. Color photography was invented at the same time by Charles Cros and by Louis Ducos du Hauron, in France. Logarithms were invented by John Napier and Henry Briggs in Britain, and by Joost Bürgi in Switzerland.
This made me think that a particular cultural environment sets the stage and the ideas follow closely behind.
Gladwell also spoke about how the power of observation leads to discovery. Being attuned to the cultural climate and our surroundings enhances the opportunity for discovery and invention. As an example, for years people in archaeological expeditions walked past complete, intact skeletons of very large dinosaurs in Montana and never saw them until Nathan Myhrvold, that guy who started Microsoft’s research division, and Jack Horner, the American paleontologist, put their teams together to go looking. With his powerful ability to observe his surroundings Myhrvold has found 9 T. Rex dinosaurs in the last ten years when the previous 90 years had yielded only 18 discoveries. So it seems that having these very refined powers of observation is critical to discovery.
Throughout the article Gladwell cites examples where having clever people on your team helps as well to increase your chances of invention. Several folks working together can equal the potential for invention of one genius working alone.
So the lessons to be learned:
a) Create a world around you alive with curiosity and bubbling with new information
b) Develop, refine and use your powers of observation
c) Get together regularly with inquisitive friends to brainstorm

Gladwell’s talking points apply to scientific geniuses, nature and their ability to invent. He doesn't think that these ideas relate to artistic geniuses but I disagree. His feeling is that artistic genius is a singular phenomenon. Who would like to brainstorm with me on this? Maybe together we can create a convincing argument to challenge his otherwise provocative piece.

Going Beyond the Physical

Krista Tippett hits a home run with this interview with Seane Corn concerning the heart of Yoga on her radio show Speaking of Faith. Worth the listen and even worth a listen to the unedited version. Brew some relaxing tea and settle into your favorite cozy spot to listen and enjoy.
Here's a little teaser:
"Because that is the experience that one has when they are aligning the mind with the body. And that's really the next part of it, too, when you're talking about the benefits of this practice. It comes to this: In the practice of yoga what we're taught is that there is no separation between the mind and the body, and everything that we're thinking or feeling or experiencing over the course of a lifetime, or lifetimes, has an effect on your cellular tissue. So your body remembers everything and even though we have as human beings a gorgeous ability to reconcile or to reason, our bodies don't have that same ability to heal unless we're moving through experiences in our life in a spiritual way. So what I'm saying is if we're holding onto hate, blame, shame, anger, rage, sadness, or grief, something like that, those emotions can be as toxic on our physical body as a poor diet or as inertia. They manifest as tension, stress, and anxiety. So our physical body is actually masking the emotional resonance that lies beneath it."

All the Time in the World

Here in the northern hemisphere we are winding down from our summer schedules. Most are getting back to work, back to school and for many of us back to a busy schedule.
In the southern hemisphere they are heading into summer, a time for beaches, relaxation and time with family and friends.
In our plugged in world it is easy to long for a slower pace with more fun stuff to do. On the other hand there is a palpable restlessness in the air. It makes it hard for some of us to sit still anymore. We fail to enjoy our surroundings or indulge in long, relaxing conversations. There seems to be the ever frequent interruptions from our blackberries, cell phones, internet and emails.
Taking breaks to experience the present moment is one way to break the frenetic cycle. We don't have to wait until next summer to watch a bird soaring above or listen to the sound of chimes in the wind. Taking time away from our busy schedule requires some determination but the rewards are many. Better health, improved mood and the gift of inspiration are all the "side effects" of taking some time out of our day to enjoy what is right in front of us. Best of all it's free!