How To Fly A Horse
The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery
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- 9,49 €
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- 9,49 €
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WINNER OF THE 800-CEO-READ BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2015
In the vein of Susan Cain's QUIET and Malcolm Gladwell's DAVID AND GOLIATH, HOW TO FLY A HORSE is a smart, empowering book that dispels the myths around genius and creativity.
There is a myth about how something new comes to be; that geniuses have dramatic moments of insight where great things and thoughts are born whole. Symphonies are composed complete. Science is accomplished with eureka shrieks. Businesses are built by magic touch.
The myth is wrong. Anyone can create.
Acclaimed technology pioneer Kevin Ashton takes us behind the scenes of creation to reveal the true process of discovery and how ‘new’ comes to be. From Archimedes to Apple, from Kandinsky to the Coke can, from the Wright brothers – who set out to ‘fly a horse’ – to Woody Allen, he exposes the seemingly unremarkable individuals, gradual steps, multiple failures and countless ordinary and often uncredited acts that led to our most astounding breakthroughs.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ashton wastes no time debunking the creativity myth, explaining in the preface to this book (his first) why creativity is not the domain of a select few individuals but the result of hard work by anyone willing to put in the effort. A pioneer in radio-frequency identification networks, the author coined the phrase "the Internet of things" and is no stranger to the topic of innovation. His theory that everybody is capable of creating applies to individuals as diverse as a 19th-century slave who at the age of 12 discovered how to fertilize vanilla flowers, Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson, South Park masterminds Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the rock band Fleetwood Mac, and the Wright Brothers (whose attempts to develop "a bicycle with wings" inspired the title of the book). Ashton explores common barriers to creativity, including fear of failure and aversion to change. While he belabors some points and indulges in unexpected pep talks, the author's detailed account of the origins of Coca-Cola, for instance, makes for fascinating reading, as does his shorter synopsis of Apple's evolution. Many examples come from the medical and science fields, but taken collectively, the creations documented in this thought-provoking book prove that creative power resides in us all.
