Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and

Using the theories put forth in his landmark book Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains the creative process, providing students with lessons on how to tap into their own creativity through the examples of nearly 100 people whose achievements have changed our world, including Jonas Salk, Stephen Jay Gould, Nadine Gordimer, and Eugene McCarthy.a

Creativity is about capturing those moments that make life worth living. The author’s objective is to offer an understanding of what leads to these moments, be it the excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab, so that knowledge can be used to enrich people’s lives. Drawing on nearly 100 interviews with exceptional people, from biologists and physicists to politicians and business leaders, poets and artists, as well as his 30 years of research on the subject, Csikszentmihalyi uses his famous “flow” theory to explore the creative process. He discusses ideas such as why creative individuals are often seen as selfish and arrogant, and why the tortured genius is largely a myth. Most important, he clearly explains why creativity needs to be cultivated and is necessary for the future of our country, if not the world, not only in the sciences and arts, but for the economy, government, and education.