Chase, Chance, and Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty (Mit Press)

This first book by the author of Zen and the Brain examines the role of chance in the creative process. James Austin tells a personal story of the ways in which persistence, chance, and creativity interact in biomedical research; the conclusions he reaches shed light on the creative process in any field.Austin shows how, in his own investigations, unpredictable events shaped the outcome of his research and brought about novel results. He then goes beyond this story of serendipity to propose a new classification of the varieties of chance, drawing on his own research and examples from the history of science--including the famous accidents that led Fleming to the discovery of penicillin. Finally, he explores the nature of the creative process, considering not only the environmental and neurophysiological correlates of creativity but also the role of intuition in both scientific discoveries and spiritual quests. This updated MIT Press paperback edition includes a new introduction and recent material on medical research, creativity, and spirituality. Contents......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 10 Preface to the MIT Press Edition......Page 12 Preface......Page 14 By Way of Introduction......Page 18 Part I The Meandering Chase......Page 22 1 Of Nerves and Neurologists; Boston, 1950......Page 24 2 Enlarged Nerves; Oakland, 1951......Page 27 3 Metachromasia; New York City, 1953......Page 29 4 Microscopic Studies; New York City, 1953......Page 31 5 Sulfated Lipids; Portland, Oregon, 1955......Page 36 6 Molecules and Meanderings, 1957......Page 45 7 Controls and the Experimental Globoid Response, 1960......Page 51 8 Enzymes and India, 1961, 1962–1963......Page 57 9 Flashback; The Chase, 1942......Page 63 10 Tom and Lafora Bodies, 1965......Page 64 11 Finger Prints on the Window; Filling in the Hole......Page 70 12 Overview: What Next? So What?......Page 72 Part II The Varieties of Chance......Page 80 13 Chance and the Creative Adventure......Page 82 14 On the Trail of Serendipity......Page 84 15 The Kettering, Pasteur, and Disraeli Principles......Page 91 16 Personal Encounters with Chance I–IV......Page 98 17 The Spanish Connection......Page 101 18 Altamirage......Page 105 19 The Fleming Effect: Examples of Chance in Biology and Medicine......Page 107 20 Never on Monday; The Unhappy Accidents......Page 112 Part III The Roots of Creativity......Page 118 21 Some Dimensions of Creativity......Page 120 22 The Creative Personality: Pro......Page 125 23 The Creative Personality: Pro and Con......Page 133 24 Motivations Underlying Creativity......Page 139 25 Flashback: Life with Father, 1941......Page 147 26 The Search for Novel Stimuli......Page 150 27 Right Brain/Left Brain; One Brain......Page 157 28 The Quest; The Quests......Page 165 29 The Creative Setting......Page 168 30 The Creative Prelude......Page 180 31 Moments of Creative Inspiration......Page 185 32 Follow Through; A More Personal View......Page 189 33 All Quiet on the Eastern Front?......Page 194 34 Prescription for Creativity......Page 206 35 Summary......Page 210 36 In Closing......Page 211 Suggested Further Reading......Page 214 A Condensed Plot of The Three Princes of Serendip......Page 216 B Examples of Chance III and IV in Biology and Medicine......Page 221 C Life in a Laboratory Examined......Page 223 C......Page 226 H......Page 227 L......Page 228 M......Page 229 S......Page 230 W......Page 231 Cast of Characters......Page 232 Permissions......Page 238 Notes......Page 242 C......Page 260 F......Page 261 J......Page 262 N......Page 263 R......Page 264 W......Page 265 Z......Page 266 A personal story of the ways in which persistence, chance, and creativity interact in biomedical research.This first book by the author of Zen and the Brain examines the role of chance in the creative process. James Austin tells a personal story of the ways in which persistence, chance, and creativity interact in biomedical research; the conclusions he reaches shed light on the creative process in any field. Austin shows how, in his own investigations, unpredictable events shaped the outcome of his research and brought about novel results. He then goes beyond this story of serendipity to propose a new classification of the varieties of chance, drawing on his own research and examples from the history of science—including the famous accidents that led Fleming to the discovery of penicillin. Finally, he explores the nature of the creative process, considering not only the environmental and neurophysiological correlates of creativity but also the role of intuition in both scientific discoveries and spiritual quests. This updated MIT Press paperback edition includes a new introduction and recent material on medical research, creativity, and spirituality. A personal story of the ways in which persistence, chance, and creativity interact in biomedical research. This first book by the author of Zen and the Brain examines the role of chance in the creative process. James Austin tells a personal story of the ways in which persistence, chance, and creativity interact in biomedical research; the conclusions he reaches shed light on the creative process in any field. Austin shows how, in his own investigations, unpredictable events shaped the outcome of his research and brought about novel results. He then goes beyond this story of serendipity to propose a new classification of the varieties of chance, drawing on his own research and examples from the history of scienceincluding the famous accidents that led Fleming to the discovery of penicillin. Finally, he explores the nature of the creative process, considering not only the environmental and neurophysiological correlates of creativity but also the role of intuition in both scientific discoveries and spiritual quests. This updated MIT Press paperback edition includes a new introduction and recent material on medical research, creativity, and spirituality.

This first book by the author of Zen and the Brain examines the role of chance in the creative process. James Austin tells a personal story of the ways in which persistence, chance, and creativity interact in biomedical research; the conclusions he reaches shed light on the creative process in any field.Austin shows how, in his own investigations, unpredictable events shaped the outcome of his research and brought about novel results. He then goes beyond this story of serendipity to propose a new classification of the varieties of chance, drawing on his own research and examples from the history of science—including the famous accidents that led Fleming to the discovery of penicillin. Finally, he explores the nature of the creative process, considering not only the environmental and neurophysiological correlates of creativity but also the role of intuition in both scientific discoveries and spiritual quests. This updated MIT Press paperback edition includes a new introduction and recent material on medical research, creativity, and spirituality.

This first book by the author of Zen and the Brain examines the role of chance in the creative process. James Austin tells a personal story of the ways in which persistence, chance and creativity interact in biomedical research; the conclusions he reaches shed light on the creative process in any field. Austin shows how, in his own investigations, unpredictable events shaped the outcome of his research and brought about novel results. He then goes beyond this story of serendipity to propose a new classification of the varieties of chance, drawing on his own research and examples from the history of science-- including the famous accidents that led Fleming to the discovery of penicillin. Finally, he explores the nature of the creative process, considering not only the environmental and neurophysiological correlates of creativity but also the role of intuition in both scientific discoveries and spiritual quests. This updated MIT Press paperback edition includes a new introduction and recent material on medical research, creativity and spirituality