Powers of Two, Joshua Wolf Shenk
Powers of Two, Joshua Wolf Shenk
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Powers of Two
How Relationships Drive Creativity

Author: Joshua Wolf Shenk

Narrator: Andrew Garman

Unabridged: 11 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 08/05/2014

Synopsis

A revelatory synthesis of cultural history and social psychology that shows how one-to-one collaboration drives creative success Weaving the lives of scores of creative duos-from John Lennon and Paul McCartney to Marie and Pierre Curie to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak-Joshua Wolf Shenk identifies the core qualities of that dizzying experience we call "chemistry." Revealing the six essential stages through which creative intimacy unfolds, Shenk draws on new scientific research and builds an argument for the social foundations of creativity-and the pair as its primary embodiment. Along the way, he reveals how pairs begin to talk, think, and even look like each other; how the most successful ones thrive on conflict; and why some pairs flame out while others endure. When it comes to shaping the culture, Shenk argues, two is the magic number, not just because of the dyads behind everything from South Park to the American Civil Rights movement to Starry Night, but because of the nature of creative thinking. Even when we're alone, we are in a sense "collaborating" with a voice inside our head. At once intuitive and surprising, Powers of Two will change the way we think about innovation.

About Joshua Wolf Shenk

JOSHUA WOLF SHENK is a curator, essayist, and the author of Lincoln's Melancholy, a New York Times Notable Book. A contributor to The Atlantic, Harper's, The New Yorker, and other publications, he directs the Arts in Mind series on creativity and serves on the general council of The Moth. He lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Heidi

Joshua Wolf Shenk examines creatives pairs throughout history in an effort to see why and how they work, and also why they end. "The dyad is also the most fluid and flexible of relationships. Two people can basically make their own society on the go. When even one more person is added to the mix, the......more

Goodreads review by Trish

Joshua Wolf Shenk, celebrated author of the New York Times Notable Book Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness, has a new book due out August 5 which focuses on the power of creative pairs. Using a number of compelling examples, Shenk posits that except......more

Goodreads review by David

I should say from the start that I never really wanted to read a light psychology/sociology book, so I came at this with some initial hostility and that may have influenced my reaction. However, it was a book club selection so I'd already paid for it and read it anyway. Really, the main insights see......more

Goodreads review by Tristan

I dig it! If you have a partner of any kind, it might be worth studying partnerships. It’s a great concept to dive into, and I was favourable to pretty much all the examples given, particularly the frequent Lennon and McCartney stories, and the great attempts at characterising creative pair dynamics......more

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