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How to Steal Fire

How to Steal Fire

The Myths of Creativity Exposed, The Truths of Creativity Explained

Summary

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‘Promises to show readers how to think boldly and spark imaginative thought’ (FT)
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Creativity is a powerful force. It drives innovation, boosts our economy and enables us to fulfil our human potential. But what actually is creativity? Is it overrated? And where exactly do ideas come from in the first place?

In this book, design gurus Stephen Bayley and Roger Mavity debunk the myths and common misconceptions that form our current thinking around this complex subject. In showing readers how to think boldly and remain undaunted by challenges, they examine the phenomenon from all sides: not only the creativity of invention and of imagination but also that of perception and of discovery, in order to reveal the truths we often overlook.

Ultimately, How to Steal Fire will help you reclaim yourself from the anonymous dreariness of a data-driven culture and spark imaginative thought.

Reviews

  • Very interesting... Talks a lot about the origins of creativity.
    Andrew Marr, Start the Week

About the authors

Stephen Bayley

Stephen Bayley was the person for whom the term "design guru" was coined, something he accepts with what he likes to think of as self-deprecating irony. After a short and blameless period in provincial academe, he joined Terence Conran in an attempt to popularise design. This resulted in The Boilerhouse Project in London's V&A which became the most successful gallery of the eighties. The Boilerhouse evolved into the unique Design Museum which Mrs Thatcher opened in 1989, after some finger wagging and insisting it should not be called a "museum". During this period he learnt a lot about the perversity of genius and the absurdity of ambition.


Stephen Bayley has written many books and hundreds of articles which have shaped the popular understanding of design. This is his first attempt at fiction. He is Chairman of The Royal Fine Art Commission Trust, an honorary visiting professor at the Liverpool University School of Architecture and a Chevalier de l'Ordre Des Arts et Des Lettres, France's highest artistic accolade.
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Roger Mavity

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