Uncommon Genius: How Great Ideas Are Born

by Denise Shekerjian

Book Overview

Drawing on interviews with 40 winners of the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship--the so-called "genius awards"--the insightful study throws fresh light on the creative process.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140109862
• ISBN13: 9780140109863
• Release Date: February 1991
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

The best book I've found on creativity - an easy, useful, insightful read

This is my favorite book on creativity. It does an excellent job diving into the subject and coming up with realistic and practical answers about the creative process. It sends a good message that there isn't magic in the creative process - that creativity comes most from hard work and dedication - something that anyone is capable of. Its also an easy quick read which increases its attractivness and usefullness by ehnancing the underlying message that creativity isn't complicated and available to anyone to achieve.

Very worthwhile! Relevant to artists, scholars, scientists

Shekerjian tackles a tough topic and succeeds in bringing it down to earth. "Geniuses," or MacArthur Fellows, at any rate, are humanized here. They aren't struck by lightning, or born with great discoveries. They are hard workers and they have personality traits well-suited to creative endeavors. For a creative spirit such as myself, I was very intersted to glean insights from Shekerjian and from the MacArthur Fellows she spoke with. By normalizing these people, Shekerjian shows (among other things) that a.) people of all kinds of backgrounds can produce "genius," b.) "geniuses" work very hard, c. geniuses are capable of pursuing their interests in the face of criticism, defeat, and setbacks, d.) genius is fostered by play, by cross-pollination, by persistence, and by "doing," e.) et cetera--there are many more insights in the book. Shekerjian's prose is easy to read and well-organized. The reader doesn't have to work to figure out this book, and instead profits from the considerable work that the author put into translating "genius." She's done the legwork, had the conversations, and had to decipher what can seem like the ineffable. I'm glad I read the book. I took home many lessons for my own creative work; lessons that will hopefully linger for a long while. I recommend this book to artists, writers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and political activists. Geniuses are more ordinary than we suspect and they have more to share than their creations--they can share with us the process of creation itself.

The How is in the Doing

"How are creative people able to look at the same thing as everybody else but see something different?" Denise Shekerjian relying on interviews with forty MacArthur Foundation Fellowship winners tries to answer this in "Uncommon Genius." The Fellows, all having demonstrated creative genius across a variety of pursuits, provide a glimpse inside their own experience with the creative process. "All were driven, remarkably resilient, adept at creating an environment that suited their needs, skilled at honoring their own peculiar talents instead of lusting after an illusion of self, capable of knowing when to follow their instincts, and above all, magnificent risk-takers, and unafraid to run ahead of the great popular tide." This is a great read for both those who have already embraced their creative potential as well as for those who have not. Shekerjian surfaces the common threads of attitudes and behaviors that foster creativity. Creatives can use this book to build on the "why" of their creativity with confidence. For those interested in developing their creative potential, the book eliminates the mystery and lays out the "how" of being creative. But to be successful, one needs to make an "act of faith" in the "act of doing." Shekerjian's "doing" includes: 1. Find your talent. 2. Commit to it and make it shine 3. Don't be afraid of risk. Or even failure, which if seen in its proper light, brings insight and opportunity. 4. Find courage by looking to something stronger and better than your puny vulnerable self. 5. No lusting after quick resolutions. Relax. Stay loose. 6. Get to know yourself; understand your needs and the specific conditions you favor. 7. Respect, too, your culture. We can't, any of us, escape the twenty-first century. It's tucked up around our collective chin as snugly and as firmly as the bedsheet. 8. Then, finally, break free from the seductive pull of book learning and research and the million other preparatory steps that could delay the entire span of a life and immerse yourself in the doing. "Uncommon Genius' is written in an easy, engaging style. I had a difficult time putting the book down. And I will be unable to lend my copy out...as I have ruined it for others with my many notations, and highlights.

Surprisingly easy read

I thought it would be heavy theoretical-type stuff but it wasn't. Very down-to-earth practical information about interesting people. I found myself underlining sentences/phrases for re-reading. The wide spectrum of occupations/interests of the people featured made me realize I was stifling my own creative thoughts by assuming the creative people would be primarily artists. The book should make you start thinking "outside the box" in all aspects of your life. An excellent book for anyone, artist or otherwise.

learn about the creative process

Being creative can take many shapes and forms. Find what works for you. This book offers many strategies that work have worked for accomplished people. Certain under-lying principals commonly used by creative people are illuminated. i enjoyed the book and recommended it to my teenage child. regards to all....