Wired To Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind

Creativity may be the epitome of paradox. Its processes and products, often messy and enticing, can be the ideal toward which humans strive, or from which we shy away. Creativity makes individuals exactly that—surrounded by chaos while maintaining an allure—yet all the while, highly inventive people tend to engage in particular activities or possess specific attributes including imaginative play or sensitivity that help others decipher the mystery. Kaufman (scientific director, Science of Imagination Project, Positive Psychology Ctr., Univ. of Pennsylvania; Ungifted) and Gregoire (senior writer, Huffington Post) delineate the untidy ins and outs of inventiveness and how a person might also dislike his or her creative potential. This explorative how-to guide expands on the authors' Huffington Post article, "18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently," paring down the list to ten, and offers historical references, research, and quotable snippets that will have readers recognizing aspects of themselves on every page.