Kit White: 101 Things to Learn in Art School
The Science of Creativity
Kit White is the author of the international best-selling book , which is based on his experience as a professor of art for 21 years at the Pratt Institute in New York. Many of the original drawings from the book are in the collection of the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery at the Corcoran School of Art and Design, George Washington University. He’s had more than 25 solo exhibitions of his artworks in galleries and museums. His artworks are in the permanent collections of the Guggenheim Museum, New York, and many others. He's frequently featured in magazines, newspapers, and television,...
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Dr. Ellen Winner: The Psychology of the Arts
The Science of Creativity
Ellen Winner is a retired Professor of Psychology at Boston College and Senior Research Associate at Harvard's Project Zero. She’s one of the world's leading experts in the psychology of art. She's studied the development of artistic abilities in childhood; how to teach art in high school; and what goes on in the mind when people are making art and perceiving art. She's also studied giftedness, dyslexia, left brain and right brain differences, and Alzheimer’s. She's the author or co-author of ten books, including three that we talk about in the episode: (1982), and (2019). She's...
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Dr. Erica Halverson: How the Arts Can Save Education
The Science of Creativity
Dr. Erica Halverson is one of the world’s leading experts in arts education. She’s a trained actor who’s founded two successful acting programs for school children, one in Chicago and one at her current home, the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She’s an expert in helping children realize their creativity. Her research shows that children learn much more from the arts than just painting or acting. They learn profound skills like collaboration, how to translate ideas into reality, and—most profound of all—they learn who they are. We’ll talk about her book called . For more...
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Dr. Mike Sharples: Artificial intelligence and creative writing
The Science of Creativity
Dr. Mike Sharples has been studying computers and creativity for over 40 years. He’s an expert in education, technology, and innovation. In the 1970s, he was one of the first people to argue that computers might someday be able to write stories. We talk about his 2022 book Story Machines: How Computers Have Become Creative Writers. He’s a psychologist who studies how people create stories and how readers understand stories. His 2002 book How we write: Writing as creative design tells us how (human) authors do their work. In 1993, he told a journalist that a computer would write a...
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Dr. Kenan Sahin on Entrepreneurship and Innovation
The Science of Creativity
Today’s episode is about creativity and entrepreneurship. Our guest, Dr. Kenan Sahin, founded several companies that are known for their technological innovation. His first company, Kenan Systems, sold in 1999 for $1.54 billion in stock. When he founded it in 1984, he was a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and many of the early employees were MIT graduates with expertise in artificial intelligence and in decision support systems. Our conversation ranges widely over topics that will be of interest to both creativity researchers and to aspiring entrepreneurs. Dr. Sahin’s...
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Messier: Build a Daily Creative Habit
The Science of Creativity
Messier is a smartphone app designed with input from a team of scientific advisors including one of today’s guests, Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, and also Dr. James Kaufman, who was the guest in episode 6 of “The Science of Creativity.” In this episode, I interview Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle and co-founder Josh Seidenfeld. We talk about ways you can enhance your creativity through daily practice. Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle is a Senior Research Scientist at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. She is the Director of the Creativity and Emotions Lab. She’s an expert in the psychology...
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Bob Mankoff, Cartoonist and New Yorker editor
The Science of Creativity
For over 40 years, has been a driving force of comedy and satire at some of the most honored publications in America, including The New Yorker and Esquire. He has devoted his life to discovering just what makes us laugh and seeks every outlet to do so, from developing The New Yorker’s web presence to integrating it with algorithms and A.I. For 20 years, Mankoff was the cartoon editor at The New Yorker magazine, which is famous for its single-frame black-and-white cartoons. In 2005, he created the “Cartoon Caption Contest” and it’s still in every issue of the magazine. Each week, the...
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Josh Linkner: Author, Entrepreneur, Innovation Consultant
The Science of Creativity
Josh Linkner is an innovation consultant, keynote speaker, venture capitalist, author, and entrepreneur. He’s been a professional jazz musician since high school, he attended the Berklee College of Music, and he's performed over 1,000 concerts around the world. He’s been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which sold for a combined value of over $200 million. In this interview, we talk about his 2011 book and his 2021 book . Josh also talks about his “Find A Way” innovation framework. For more information: Check out Josh’s podcast “Mic Drop” And his 2021 book: Music by...
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James Kaufman, Psychologist and Creativity Researcher
The Science of Creativity
Dr. Sawyer interviews the legendary creativity research Professor James Kaufman, of the University of Connecticut. Dr. Kaufman is an influential researcher who’s published 50 books and hundreds of scientific articles. Dr. Kaufman talks about his new book, The Creativity Advantage, where he develops his theory of self-transformational creativity. This kind of creativity has immense benefits to your mental health and well-being. Self-transformational creativity enhances your life in five ways: self-insight; healing; connection; drive; and legacy. Chapters: 0:00 Teaser 0:37 Welcome 1:03...
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Danah Henriksen: The Creative Power of Transdisciplinary Thinking
The Science of Creativity
In this episode, Dr. Sawyer talks with of Arizona State University. Dr. Henriksen and Dr. Sawyer are the co-authors of the book , published by Oxford University Press in 2024. Dr. Henriksen is an expert on creativity and teaching. She is a top scientist who does rigorous studies of creativity. She’s published well over a hundred scientific journal articles, book chapters, and academic presentations. Dr. Henriksen studies the seven habits of mind of exceptional creators, with a special focus on teaching, technology, and design thinking. Her research shows that the most creative people engage...
info_outlineToy Story is one of the best loved movies of all time. Released in 1995, it was the first fully digitally animated feature film. The Toy Story creation story is filled with surprising twists and turns. This episode reveals the secrets behind the movie, the paths not taken, the characters and events that never made it into the final movie. The initial script treatment was almost nothing like the movie we know and love. This episode tells you the backstory of Toy Story. None of your favorite characters was in the original script! When we look at how Toy Story was created, from start to finish, we see the essence of creativity. We see an improvisational, exploratory process. This episode shows you how you can use these lessons to enhance your own personal creativity.
Chapters:
(0:00) Welcome
(00:25) Introduction
(00:50) Pixar’s Challenge
(3:54) The Plot
(9:10) The Surprises
(18:18) The Improvisational Path
(28:08) The Lessons
(29:25) Outro
References:
David Price, The Pixar Touch
Keith Sawyer, “The Zig Zag Path to Toy Story”
Music by license from Soundstripe.com:
"Uptown Lovers Instrumental" by AFTERNOONZ
"What's the Big Deal" by Ryan Saranich
Copyright (c) 2024 Keith Sawyer
I do not hold the copyright to the Toy Story movie audio excerpts in this episode nor the episode cover art. The rights to the cover art and the audio clips remain with the original rightsholders. They are reproduced here under fair use.