...new ideas are merely several old thoughts that occur at the exact same time. Jonah Lehrer More Quotes by Jonah Lehrer More Quotes From Jonah Lehrer The imagination is unleashed by constraints. You break out of the box by stepping into shackles. Jonah Lehrer boxesbreak-outimagination there simply is no way to describe the past without lying. Our memories are not like fiction. They are fiction. Jonah Lehrer memorieslyingpast How do we regulate our emotions? The answer is surprisingly simple: by thinking about them. The prefrontal cortex allows each of us to contemplate his or her own mind, a talent psychologists call metacognition. We know when we are angry; every emotional state comes with self-awareness attached, so that an individual can try to figure out why he's feeling what he's feeling. If the particular feeling makes no sense—if the amygdala is simply responding to a loss frame, for example—then it can be discounted. The prefrontal cortex can deliberately choose to ignore the emotional brain. Jonah Lehrer emotionalsimpleloss It is ironic but true: the one reality science cannot reduce is the only reality we will ever know. This is why we need art. By expressing our actual experience, the artist reminds us that our science is incomplete, that no map of matter will ever explain the immateriality of our consciousness. Jonah Lehrer ironicrealityart Even when alternative views are clearly wrong, being exposed to them still expands our creative potential. In a way, the power of dissent is the power of surprise. After hearing someone shout out an errant answer, we work to understand it, which causes us to reassess our initial assumptions and try out new perspectives. “Authentic dissent can be difficult, but it’s always invigorating,” Nemeth says. “It wakes us right up.” Jonah Lehrer californiaperspectiveviews By the age of 3, children from wealthier households hear, on average, about 500,000 encouragements and 80,000 discouragements. The ratio is reversed in households on welfare. Jonah Lehrer encouragementaveragechildren Cities force us to interact with strangers and with the strange. They pry the mind open. And that is why they are the idea that has unleashed so many of our new ideas. Jonah Lehrer citiesmindideas Distance and difference are the secret tonic of creativity. When we get home, home is still the same. But something in our mind has been changed, and that changes everything. Jonah Lehrer distancecreativityhome Just because an idea is true doesn't mean it can be proved. And just because an idea can be proved doesn't mean it's true. Jonah Lehrer meanideas Harlow would later write, "If monkeys have taught us anything, it's that you've got to learn how to love before you learn how to live. Jonah Lehrer monkeystaught-uswriting Knowledge can be a subtle curse. When we learn about the world, we also learn all the reasons why the world cannot be changed. We get used to our failures and imperfections. We become numb to the possibilities of something new Jonah Lehrer imperfectionreason-whyworld And so we keep on thinking, because the next thought might be the answer. Jonah Lehrer answersmightthinking Creativity is a catchall term for a variety of distinct thought processes. Jonah Lehrer creativitytermprocess Every creative story is different. And every creative story is the same. There was nothing. Now there is something. It's almost like magic. Jonah Lehrer magicdifferentcreative Design is the conscious imposition of meaningful order. Jonah Lehrer designmeaningfulorder The great ages did not perhaps produce much more talent than ours,' [T.S.] Eliot wrote. 'But less talent was wasted. Jonah Lehrer producetalentage Like a work of art, we exceed our materials. Science needs art to frame the mystery, but art needs science so that not everything is a mystery. Neither truth alone is our solution, for our reality exists in plural Jonah Lehrer realityartneeds It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say. Jonah Lehrer hard-thingshard The best way to solve a problem? Try explaining it to somebody outside your field. Jonah Lehrer leadershiptryingway I want to give people theories, I want to expose them to scientific stories that force them to re-evaluate the way they use these three pounds of meat inside their head. Jonah Lehrer meatgivingpeople
