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| The Act of Creation (Arkana) | 
 enlarge | Author: Arthur Koestler
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
Buy Used: $25.00
New (1) Used (11) Collectible (2) from $25.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 260677
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 752
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0140191917
Dewey Decimal Number: 153.35
EAN: 9780140191912
ASIN: 0140191917
Publication Date: June 5, 1990
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: 8vo. Very good plus to near fine. Minor shelfwear. PO name to ffep. Two price stickers to rear cover. Else clean and sound throughout.
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Product Description
The second volume in Koestler's trilogy on the human mind is an study of the processes of creativity and imagination in which Koestler explains that humans are most creative when rational thought is abandoned during dreams and trances.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
Indispensible January 8, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a remarkable book. Some years ago, I used it as the basis of a course I wrote on Thinking & Creativity. When I first read it, I was astonished to realise that the agonising process I had been going through daily in my (then) profession of advertising copywriter was something that all creative people went through - if they were trying hard enough.
One other thing struck me then. How much Edward de Bono appears to owe to Koestler's theories. Has he ever acknowledged this?
A Masterpiece, sadly forgotten, worth reviving April 29, 2006
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
Recently, I have read a lot of books on Creativity and Innovation. My big surprise is that virtually none of them mention Koestler's The Act of Creation. This is unfortunate because this book is probably the most authoritative examination of creativity. Attention to this classic is worth reviving.
Koestler examines three types of creativity - Humor, Science, and Poetry. Humor, according to him, is cruel (a valuable insight). Poetry, and other forms of art, integrate oneself with the World. Science occupies the neutral middle. It is amazing how Koestler manages to link all three kinds of creativity with a common framework.
My two biggest take-aways from this book are regarding the process of creation and its form.
As Koestler describes beautifully - "..uncovers, selects, re-shuffles, combines, synthesizes already existing facts, ideas, faculties, skills. The more familiar the parts, the more striking the new whole." This is corroborated by all geniuses who have stood `on the shoulder of giants'. Even inventors like Edison fit this framework. This is close to saying that instead of thinking `outside the box', link several boxes to each other.
The other great insight is that the final breakthrough is rarely verbal, but in images. So people see new insights in a dream-like trance, rather than expressing it in language. Language, probably, impedes creativity.
There are several more delightful and relevant insights on creativity in this masterpiece. Nearly a bible on creativity.
 The intersection of lines of thought August 5, 2002
34 out of 35 found this review helpful
This is the first of Koestler's big three serious science books. The second is "The Sleepwalkes", on the contribution of Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo. The third is "The Ghost in the Machine", which contains a critique of behaviorist psychology and Koestler's theory to account for the apparent self-destructiveness of human nature."The Act of Creation" offers a theory to account for the "Ah Ha" reaction of scientific discovery, the "Ha Ha" reaction to jokes and the "Ah" reaction of mystical or religious insight. In each case the result is produced by a "bisociation of matrices" or the intersection of lines of thought which brings together hitherto unconnected ideas and fuses them into a creative synthesis. When the lines of thought are scientic the result is a scientific discovery, when they are concerned with devotional matters the result is mystical insight and when they are on a more homely plane the result can be a joke. The model is fleshed out with a great deal of information ranging from the religions of the world to a theory about the nervous system to account for the build-up of tension and its discharge at the puchline of a joke. Peter Medawar's review was scathing in his comments on Koestler's science, which is a shame because the book can have the desirable effect of encouraging young scientists to read far beyond the usual range of their literature.
A rare masterpiece connecting the dots of insightful thought June 25, 1998
26 out of 37 found this review helpful
A fascinating read for the person who steps back and wonders - it gives glimpses and answers through an integrated body of research and a graceful and insightful fireside chat about it all. One of my all time favourite books. I can hardly wait to read it again!
The most authoratative text on creative processes I know. June 18, 1998
26 out of 31 found this review helpful
The book looks at creativity from a broader perspective than what is generally portrayed in society. It looks at the creativity involved in sciences, humour and of course the arts, showing that the three types are inextricably linked, and that the creative process for genius in all areas follow incredible parallels. His theory on bisociative deductions is marvellous. One of my favourite books.
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