Fire in the Crucible
Understanding the Process of Creative Genius
What makes geniuses different from the rest of us? What is the difference between a prodigy and a genius? Are geniuses born or made? What is creative vision and where does it come from? What are the secrets of talent? And why do great creators seem to have so many oppositions in their personalities? In this mind-expanding investigation of creativity, John Briggs reveals that there is no special trait of genius. Geniuses are not necessarily smarter or more talented than other people, but they give their attention to subtle nuances, contradictory feelings and perceptions that others experience and ignore. By focusing on sensory nuances, geniuses create themselves.
John Briggs is a professor of English of Western Connecticut State University, has taught at the New School for Social Research in New York, and holds a doctorate in aesthetics and psychology. He is the author of Fractals: The Patterns of Chaos, and coauthor, with physicist F. David Peat, of Turbulent Mirror: An Illustrated Guide to Chaos Theory and the Science of Wholeness, and Seven Life Lessons of Chaos.