Reviews

The Act of Creation by Arthur Koestler

grifen87's review against another edition

4.0

Koestler discusses with remarkable clarity and eloquence the psychology of creativity, namely in terms of humor, discovery, and art. I found Book I very interesting and thought-provoking, and, having read it, I'm afraid now I will be over-analyzing human thought and behavior even more than before. I especially appreciated his discussion on our "current" (ca. 1964 but still true today) mindset regarding technology and our approach to scientific education. Book II goes into the mechanics and implications of the psychological processes involving creativity. I did not find Book II nearly as interesting, but that is due to my motivation for reading the book.

jjupille's review

5.0

This is one of the finest books I have ever read. The act of creation is the bisociation of previously independent matrices of thought. Koestler is one of those amazing polymaths who ranges across the sciences, the arts, the humanities, the history of all of these things, and has got an awful lot of things figured out. It's not a breezy read, but it's astonishing and worth your time.