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Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently | 
| Author: Gregory Berns
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $19.77
You Save: $10.18 (34%)
Rating:  40 reviews
Sales Rank: 7967
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2
ISBN: 1422115011
Dewey Decimal Number: 612.8
EAN: 9781422115015
ASIN: 1422115011
Publication Date: September 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
No organization can survive without iconoclasts -- innovators who single-handedly upturn conventional wisdom and manage to achieve what so many others deem impossible.
Though indispensable, true iconoclasts are few and far between. In Iconoclast, neuroscientist Gregory Berns explains why. He explores the constraints the human brain places on innovative thinking, including fear of failure, the urge to conform, and the tendency to interpret sensory information in familiar ways.
Through vivid accounts of successful innovators ranging from glass artist Dale Chihuly to physicist Richard Feynman to country/rock trio the Dixie Chicks, Berns reveals the inner workings of the iconoclast's mind with remarkable clarity. Each engaging chapter goes on to describe practical actions we can each take to understand and unleash our own potential to think differently -- such as seeking out new environments, novel experiences, and first-time acquaintances.
Packed with engaging stories, science-based insights, potent practices, and examples from a startling array of disciplines, this engaging book will help you understand how iconoclasts think and equip you to begin thinking more like an iconoclast yourself.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 35 more reviews...
You Too, Can Become an Iconoclast...Maybe December 26, 2008
bronx book nerd (Bronx, NY USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is about what makes someone into an iconoclast, that is, someone who does or accomplishes things others said could not be done or that no one knew could happen. Gregory Bernes tells us it boils down to three things: seeing things differently, lacking or controlling fear, and social intelligence. He gives as examples of iconoclasts people like Picasso, the father of cubism, and Steve Jobs, the father of Apple-ism. To support his thesis, Bernes sites various brain and psychological studies that support his three pillars of iconoclasm. To be honest, I get lost in the technical biological and chemical details, reaffirming my decision over twenty years ago to drop out of pre-med studies. Sadly, he concludes his work with a chapter on pharmaceuticals that could help people in the the areas above, including drugs like LSD, peyote and other more mainstream drugs like Prozac. He provides a disclaimer that this is not medical advice but then proceeds to list iconoclastic "benefits". I hope some desperate soul doesn't take this as "look the other way" advice to experiment.
I am not too sure that I agree that the three characteristics he mentioned are required for iconoclasm. For example, he compares Van Gogh to Picasso. According to Bernes, the latter is a true iconoclast because he was charismatic (socially intelligent) and made millions from his art; the former is not because he lacked social graces and died a pauper. So Van Gogh, the father of Impressionism takes the back seat in Bernes' iconoclasmobile, which I find hard to accept. To my mind, Van Gogh should be sitting aside Picasso as the car rushes by blurred landscapes.
For those who aspire to Bernes' description of iconoclasm, the book provides a basic checklist to see if you've got what it takes and steps to improve: to see things differently, you need new experiences (which is also advice given by others to improve creativity); to reduce your fears, face them; to improve your social intelligence, build a social network. Oh, and there is also a graduate level iconoclasm where you become an icon, like a Steve Jobs, who are inconoclasts who are worhipped by legions of fans for their reputation and accomplishments.
I think there is enough here to motivate the reader in the direction of iconoclasm, even if the reader does not achieve the great accomplishments of the examples included; perhaps in your own small world you can work toward becoming a local iconoclast, and improve your life and those of others around you, or at least make it more interesting, which may be a sufficient accomplishment in and of itself.
The science of the pack December 22, 2008
P. Wagner (Indigo chilled)
Iconoclast starts off slowly but then starts to roll along at a good pace.
Outlining the pathways of perception then how shifts occur before settling into incidents and experiments on populist opinions. That iconoclasts are outliers is proven but that not all outliers are iconoclasts leaves some thinking space.
Do I need to be a Crackpot to become the next big thing?
Overall a good read, that is more Neuroscience/Psych than NLP on thinking different.
N N Taleb's 'The Black Swan' is a good read if this title caught your attention.The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
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