Jonah Lehrer Plenary

• wow a v smart guy!
• insight: comes out of the blue with a feeling of certainty that this is IT, the answer
• the answer often arrives when you stop looking for it
• GRIT: creative geniuses keep trying...they have GRIT...keep working in spite of rejection
• practice makes perfect
• 80% of success is showing up (Woody Allen)...that is the grit bit!
• also about choosing the right goal
• does the goal pass the underwear test?...do you feel your underwear?...no, b/c you have adapted to its feel...the brain is designed to be ungrateful...so pursuits that don't bore us keep us interested...grit...passion/love...Love is the opposite of underwear!
• when you feel like you've hit the wall is the time to relax
• if you feel like the answer is on the tip of your tongue, you need to keep focussing / working and use grit
• creative collaboration: cross-disciplinary teams are proven more creative / able to solve complex problems...work together or fail alone
• ideal template for creative collaboration = SPACE
  
• and libraries can provide that to communities
• human interaction is essential...the jostle of human interaction is essential
• physical space is VIP (even more in this time of the interwebs)
• something magical happens when people bump into eath other irl
• no technology can replace people meeting in the flesh
• the imagination is a magic trick of matter