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Where Good Ideas Come From
- The Natural History of Innovation
- Narrated by: Eric Singer
- Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
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Publisher's summary
One of our most innovative, popular thinkers takes on - in exhilarating style - one of our key questions: "Where do good ideas come from?"
With Where Good Ideas Come From, Steven Johnson pairs the insight of his best-selling Everything Bad Is Good for You and the dazzling erudition of The Ghost Map and The Invention of Air to address an urgent and universal question: What sparks the flash of brilliance? How does groundbreaking innovation happen?
Answering in his infectious, culturally omnivorous style, using his fluency in fields from neurobiology to popular culture, Johnson provides the complete, exciting, and encouraging story of how we generate the ideas that push our careers, our lives, our society, and our culture forward.
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Best-selling author Steven Johnson recounts - in dazzling, multidisciplinary fashion - the story of the brilliant man who embodied the relationship between science, religion, and politics for America's Founding Fathers. The Invention of Air is a title of world-changing ideas wrapped around a compelling narrative, a story of genius and violence and friendship in the midst of sweeping historical change that provokes us to recast our understanding of the Founding Fathers.
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Good scientific history
- By Roger on 05-03-10
By: Steven Johnson
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The Upright Thinkers
- The Human Journey From Living in Trees to Understanding the Cosmos
- By: Leonard Mlodinow
- Narrated by: Leonard Mlodinow
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In this fascinating and illuminating work, Leonard Mlodinow guides us through the critical eras and events in the development of science, all of which, he demonstrates, were propelled forward by humankind's collective struggle to know. From the birth of reasoning and culture to the formation of the studies of physics, chemistry, biology, and modern-day quantum physics, we come to see that much of our progress can be attributed to simple questions - why? how? - bravely asked.
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10/10 Got What I Wanted.
- By Austin on 09-22-15
By: Leonard Mlodinow
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Sync
- How Order Emerges from Chaos in the Universe, Nature, and Daily Life
- By: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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At once elegant and riveting, Sync tells the story of the dawn of a new science. Steven Strogatz, a leading mathematician in the fields of chaos and complexity theory, explains how enormous systems can synchronize themselves, from the electrons in a superconductor to the pacemaker cells in our hearts. He shows that although these phenomena might seem unrelated on the surface, at a deeper level there is a connection, forged by the unifying power of mathematics.
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Engaging, but maybe better suited for non-audio
- By Ryan on 05-26-12
By: Steven Strogatz
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The Master Algorithm
- How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World
- By: Pedro Domingos
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Under the aegis of machine learning in our data-driven machine age, computers are programming themselves and learning about - and solving - an extraordinary range of problems, from the mundane to the most daunting. Today it is machine learning programs that enable Amazon and Netflix to predict what users will like, Apple to power Siri's ability to understand voices, and Google to pilot cars.
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Great book, irritating narration
- By N. G. PEPIN on 09-24-15
By: Pedro Domingos
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About Time
- Cosmology, Time and Culture at the Twilight of the Big Bang
- By: Adam Frank
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The Big Bang is all but dead, and we do not yet know what will replace it. Our universe's "beginning" is at an end. What does this have to do with us here on Earth? Our lives are about to be dramatically shaken again - as altered as they were with the invention of the clock, the steam engine, the railroad, the radio and the Internet.
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More fluff than science
- By Ivan the Reviewer on 04-15-13
By: Adam Frank
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Why Information Grows
- The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies
- By: César Hidalgo
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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What is economic growth? And why, historically, has it occurred in only a few places? Previous efforts to answer these questions have focused on institutions, geography, finances, and psychology. But according to MIT's anti-disciplinarian César Hidalgo, understanding the nature of economic growth demands transcending the social sciences and including the natural sciences of information, networks, and complexity. To understand the growth of economies, Hidalgo argues, we first need to understand the growth of order.
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Great book!
- By bpjammin on 01-07-17
By: César Hidalgo
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The Idea Factory
- Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation
- By: Jon Gertner
- Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Idea Factory, New York Times Magazine writer Jon Gertner reveals how Bell Labs served as an incubator for scientific innovation from the 1920s through the1980s. In its heyday, Bell Labs boasted nearly 15,000 employees, 1200 of whom held PhDs and 13 of whom won Nobel Prizes. Thriving in a work environment that embraced new ideas, Bell Labs scientists introduced concepts that still propel many of today’s most exciting technologies.
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Great story -- horrible pauses
- By Rodney on 01-29-13
By: Jon Gertner
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Confessions of an Alien Hunter
- A Scientist's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
- By: Seth Shostak
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This engaging memoir reveals the true story of the Search for ExtraterrestrialIntelligence (SETI), and discloses what we may very soon discover. Chronicling the program’s history with insight and humor, SETI senior astronomer Seth Shostak assures us that if there is sentient life in the universe, we are within decades of picking up its signal.
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Somewhat Disappointed...
- By Tim on 11-12-10
By: Seth Shostak
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Abundance
- The Future Is Better Than You Think
- By: Steven Kotler, Peter H. Diamandis
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Space entrepreneur turned innovation pioneer Peter H. Diamandis and award-winning science writer Steven Kotler document how progress in artificial intelligence, robotics, digital manufacturing synthetic biology, and other exponentially growing technologies will enable us to make greater gains in the next two decades than we have in the previous 200 years.
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Perhaps multiply his time estimates by 10
- By Rick on 11-06-21
By: Steven Kotler, and others
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great material, but outdated.
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It will delight you
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A totally new perspective on life
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Good scientific history
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Slow
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Thought provoking
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The Innovator's Cookbook
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Steven Johnson, an acknowledged best-selling leader on the subject of innovation, gathers essays, interviews, and cutting-edge insights from exciting field leaders. Johnson also provides new material from Marisa Mayer of Google, Twitter's Biz Stone and Jack Dorsey, and Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's former chief software architect. With additional commentary by Johnson himself, this book reveals the innovation found in a wide range of fields, including science, technology, energy, transportation, education, art, and sociology, making it vital, fresh, and fascinating reading for our time, and for the future.
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Not good for audio format
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Beautifully captures inner torment
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This is an old book!
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Learn something new
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Useful approach, not for everyone
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The Heart of Innovation
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Four innovation experts from the startup world, large enterprises, nonprofits, and academia come together to reveal the secret of uncovering authentic demand to build successful innovations. Books on innovation mostly focus on how to nurture innovative cultures and brainstorm ideas. The Heart of Innovation is the first popular book to concretely delve into what innovations really are and how to create them.
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Great read
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What listeners say about Where Good Ideas Come From
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tim in Boston
- 10-13-17
Fascinating
An excellent book that is unfortunately overshadowed by the narrator's poor execution of a "British" accent. I'm not sure why that's necessary? Historical people are not characters. Just read the book, please.
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- Stephanie Romer
- 05-04-21
Doesn’t really Understand but good
This was interesting but the personality of the writer was evident in his philosophy of being against intellectual property. He takes a communist view of that when it is not like that. You have to encourage people who are inscrutable and difficult to understand and not able to negotiate the social world very well. These are the creators. Like it or not, the pioneer spirit and high intelligence and motivation for truth are extremely rare, and if you give authority to those who simply want to make a living, then they drag us all down. We need these people who do these things and we need to support them. I know people who predicted the intellectual history of the west 30 years ago but no one listened to them because of the “lowest common denominator” cacophony of voices which TRANSMIT interesting ideas and therefore stimulate the creative thinkers.
The problem is that people don’t know what they don’t know... and so they actually locked up Marconi in an insane asylum after he began talking about his idea for radio. In a more current sense, we ignore people who don’t have degrees when getting a higher degree REQUIRES conformity to the current view.
I think this book is excuse making for the proliferation of people who decide that they know what “thinking” is because they have a degree. It’s like the same old social patterns of religion declaring that it knows truth. He cites Kuhn, without really understanding what Kuhn is saying about social forces.
So if you know that going in, it’s a stimulating read—ironically by accident in just the way he touts in the book, which supports that part of the ideas which is really good. That’s the best part of this—how ideas are found by accident. I know why this happens so there is much more to the story and I wrote a critical review because this book was worth it.
I highly recommend this book even with the “everybody wins” or “everyone gets the creativity out of the blue because that feels good” assertion, Lol. MUCH better than most but not always for the reasons that the author intended. Much love.
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- SpiriTT
- 06-15-21
On Serendipity and its role in innovation
This audio book is a great summary on innovation both in nature, science and the arts. I got the Kindle edition for note taking and reviewing concepts.
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- Janiqua
- 06-15-19
Listening to this book is a GOOD IDEA 👌
Excellent, from start to finish, especially for entrepreneurs. The conclusion is my favorite of all the chapters.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Bill
- 04-16-12
Another Steven Johnson feast
Would you listen to Where Good Ideas Come From again? Why?
I might listen again but more importantly I take away ideas that change my habits and get me excited.
Who was your favorite character and why?
John Locke - He really is but I haven't finished. The book is a review of aspects of creativity not a story. I listen in short bursts and it is a good thing since every two minutes, I hear another idea that keeps me occupied for a day.
What about Eric Singer’s performance did you like?
I can't decide if I like his using different accents for historical figures or not. He is very good at it.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, too rich, too powerful
Any additional comments?
Johnson's The Invention of Air is another gold mine
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- Kyle
- 06-09-20
Loses gas
interesting and intriguing until its not. It's not a long book to begin with. So many similar titles that give so much more
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- Rodrigo Suguimoto
- 05-03-20
Innovation isn't just the Eureka moment
This book changes the common thinking that great ideas come from a single Eureka moment. Ideas start with a slow hunch and they need the environment with the right amount of order and chaos, a liquid network, and great people to make it a reality.
There are hundreds of innovations that only happened because one innovation came first. For example, there would be no Instagram with no internet. There would be no YouTube with no computer. That's the adjacent possible. You open one door, and suddenly, you opened four more possibilities.
Some other learnings from the book:
* Serendipity only happens for the ones who try;
* Errors guide you in the search of the truth. They're the inevitable path to innovation. Don't be afraid of failing;
* Take notes. All the time. You may not know that you're cultivating a slow hunch.
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- Buster
- 02-22-15
Awesome
Brilliant balanced and intellectual while still very accessible with easy lessons that can be implemented. The reef analogy comparison to cities in great
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- Jesse Langel
- 05-26-19
A solid, deep, fairly advanced book
It’s not an “easy” read but nothing good comes easy. It’s dense but highly valuable. This author is no joke when it comes to human innovation, history, and esoteric vocabulary.
I’ll see you at the coral reef!
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- Gabriel Dib
- 06-04-19
Fantastic.
Extremely good reading performance, fantastic connections between topics and solid research. Definitely recommend it. Get it now
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