The Origins of Creativity

Posted on 23 February 2017 by Edward O. Wilson

In this profound and lyrical book, one of our most celebrated biologists offers a sweeping examination of the relationship between the humanities and the sciences what they offer to each other, how they can be united, and where they still fall short Both endeavours, Edward O Wilson reveals, have their roots in human creativity the defining trait of our species.Reflecting on the deepest origins of language, storytelling, and art, Wilson demonstrates how creativity began not ten thousand years ago, as we have long assumed, but over one hundred thousand years ago in the Paleolithic age Chronicling this evolution of creativity from primate ancestors to humans, The Origins of Creativity shows how the humanities, spurred on by the invention of language, have played a largely unexamined role in defining our species And in doing so, Wilson explores what we can learn about human nature from a surprising range of creative endeavors the instinct to create gardens, the use of metaphors and irony in speech, and the power of music and song.Our achievements in science and the humanities, Wilson notes, make us uniquely advanced as a species, but also give us the potential to be supremely dangerous, most worryingly in our abuse of the planet The humanities in particular suffer from a kind of anthropomorphism, encumbered by a belief that we are the only species among millions that seem to matter, yet Wilson optimistically reveals how researchers will have to address this parlous situation by pushing further into the realm of science, especially fields such as evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and anthropology.With eloquence and humanity, Wilson calls for a transformational Third Enlightenment, in which the blending of these endeavors will give us a deeper understanding of the human condition and our crucial relationship with the natural world. Best Download eBook The Origins of Creativity Author Edward O. Wilson – kino-fada.fr I have arguedthan once that the advice to write what you know is not very sound After all, where would science fiction be if everyone followed that rule When it comes to nonfiction, though, I think it applies Edward O Wilson is an esteemed scientist and deservedly so He has written over thirty books and hundreds of papers and he knows a lot, but nonetheless, in The Origins of Creativity he clearly wanders far past his expertise and it shows in the somewhat shambolic organization and I have arguedthan once that the advice to write what you know is not very sound After all, where would science fiction be if everyone followed that rule When it comes to nonfiction, though, I think it applies Edward O Wilson is an esteemed scientist and deservedly so He has written over thirty books and hundreds of papers and he knows a lot, but nonetheless, in The Origins of Creativity he clearly wanders far past his expertise and it shows in the somewhat shambolic organization and meandering arguments.As someone who loves the humanities, who studied literature and history and loves art and music, I am happy that such a renowned scientist wants to defend the humanities in this era of retrenchment Wilson certainly does a good job of showing how terribly the humanities are neglected and devalued, comparing funding for humanities to funding for science, technology, engineering and math, the STEM discliplines The STEM vs humanities facts are dismal and depressing I am glad Wil...Struggling to stay on messageThis is a curious book It is titled The Origins of Creativity a hefty topic It is also, at 250 odd pages, not a weighty book, and therefore it doesn t come as a surprise that the author appears to dive right into why humans are unique, and why that makes them uniquely creative But somewhere soon after setting off on this path, he takes turn into a by lane and from there on just wanders along What starts out as history then becomes a series of comments Struggling to stay on messageThis is a curious book It...The author, a well known and respected naturalist, evolutionary biologist, Pulitzer Prize winner, and former Harvard professor, after noting that science has come to greatly exceed the humanities in popular interest and funding, argues that the two disciplines should be combined That, he argues, would extend the reach of science and correct the alleged myopia of the humanities.The book is skillfully written and Wilson is obviously well qualified to discuss both fields of study And while the The author, a well known and respected naturalist, evolutionary biologist, Pulitzer Prize winner, and former Harvard professor, after noting that science has come to greatly exceed the humanities in popular interest and funding, argues that the two disciplines should be combined That, he argues, would extend the reach of science and correct the alleged myopia of the humanities.The book is skillfully written and Wilson is obviously well qualified to discuss both fields of study And while the conclusion he reaches is enticing, the path he takes to get there reflect...Rare is the scientist who writes as well as Edward O Wilson As I mention on my blog post on the book Sects and Violence in the Ancient World Wilson strangely calls out creation myths as the problem with religion Otherwise the book is a strong argument that sciences and humanities are both necessary to save our world Yes, there is an apocalyptic urgency to this Let me back up a moment.Wilson is a biologist He believes science explains our world but the humanities give it value Creativity Rare is the...I disagree with the author s premises, so I m going to present my argument Creativity is the unique and defining trait of our species No, it s not We have observed creativity many times in other species Tool making monkeys and apes Song making birds and whales Evasive tactics by insects Fight and flight tactics by hunter and prey and its ultimate goal, self understanding This is so obviously speculation that no counterargument is called for It shouldn t be asserted as fact I disagree with the author s premises, so I m going to present my argument Creativity is the unique and defining trait of our species No, it s not We have observed creativity many times in other species Tool making monkeys and apes Song making birds and whales Evasive tactics by insects Fight and flight tactics by hunter and prey and its ultimate goal, self understanding This is so obviously speculation that no counterargument is called for It shouldn t be asserted as fact What, then, is creativity It is the innate quest for originality No, it s not The father of invention may be wit, but the mother is necessity It s not because we crave novelty that we devise a way to keep the basement from flooding It s because we want the basement dry We judge creativity by the magnitude ...Two major things struck me from this book First the concept that at some point, there is a tipping point in evolution between what might misleadingly be called group selection and individual selection As I understand it, the process of natural selection is going to favor replication and survival and depending on the extent of sociality in the species, genetic changes and natural selection will favor either the group or the individual Humans are paradoxically and maddeningly somewhere in Two major things struck me from this book First the concept that at some point, there is a tipping point in evolution between what might misleadingly be called group selection and individual selection As I understand it, the process of natural selection is going to favor replication and survival and depending on the extent of socialit...I am always curious to see what Dr Wilson has to say in his increasingly ambitious discussions of science and society By looking at the tiny world of ants, he has been reflecting on our place in the planet and, sadly, considering if we re going to have any future as species He is one of the most intelligent writers out there, and he doesn t disappoint, although perhaps he takes off in a few wild tangents here and there The issue of human creativity, and further or further away the I am always curious to see what Dr Wilson has to say in his increasingly ambitious discussions of science and society By looking at the tiny world of ants, he has been reflecting on our place in the planet and, sadly, considering if we re going to have any future as species He is one of the most intelligent writers out there, and he doesn t disappoint, although perhaps he takes off in a few wild tangents here and there The issue of human creativity, and further or further away the confrontation between science and the humanities, used to be a topic or the topic, if you are like me, a scientist who occasionally swam in a pool of artists of the educated conversations The book is a refresher course in many of the aspects of this cultural divide that, although sometimes curr...Jeffrey Bairstow once said that good writing is clear thinking made visible Edward O Wilson s The Origins of Creativity is full of compelling jewels and gems of wisdom Dr Wilson is clearly the polymath, pulling examples from everywhere from film and pop culture, to biology, earth and social sciences, as well as his specialty of entomology His ideas are brilliant The problem is making them clear and visible I can easily imagine that a respected Harvard scientist is fully capable of clear Jeffrey Bairstow once said that good writing is clear thinking made visible Edward O Wilson s The Origins of Creativity is full of compelling jewels and gems of wisdom Dr Wilson is clearly the polymath, pulling examples from everywhere from film and pop culture, to biology, earth and social sciences, as well as his...Five discs worth of pablum read by an insipid reader I did learn a few things but paid a heavy price for expanding my knowledge What ever there was of interest was left crammed into my cortices by a pummeling of pusillanimous repetition of vague opinions masquerading as sagacity and irretrievably inaccessible beneath layers of the author s self invested aggrandizement I am glad he had a life time of fun looking for new ants but the pursuit of these colonizing wonders seems to have only Five ...This one will require a few re reads It s mostly a bit of philosophical meandering, but there is a binding thread It s a quick read and worth a weekend of contemplation Enjoy where it leads you.

23 February 2017

Edward O. Wilson