How To Fly A Horse

The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery

Kevin Ashton

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Paperback

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English

Windmill Books
18 April 2016

History; History of ideas; Cognition & cognitive psychology; Business innovation; Impact of science & technology on society

In the vein of Susan Cain's Quiet and Malcolm Gladwell's David And Goliath, How To Fly A Horse is a smart, empowering book that dispels the myths around genius and creativity.

There is a myth about how something new comes to be; that geniuses have dramatic moments of insight where great things and thoughts are born whole. Poems are written in dreams. Symphonies are composed complete. Science is accomplished with eureka shrieks. Businesses are built by magic touch. The myth is wrong. Anyone can create. Necessity is not the mother of invention. We all are. In How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention and Discovery, acclaimed technology pioneer Kevin Ashton takes us behind the scenes of creation to reveal the true process of discovery. From Archimedes to Apple, from Kandinsky to the Coke can, from the Wright brothers - who set out to 'fly a horse' - to Woody Allen, he exposes the seemingly unremarkable individuals, gradual steps, multiple failures and countless ordinary and often uncredited acts that led to our most astounding breakthroughs.

Along the way he explores why innovators meet resistance and how they overcome it, why most organisations stifle creative people, and how the most creative organisations really work. In a passionate and profound narrative, How to Fly a Horse explodes the myths on how 'new' comes to be.

By: Kevin Ashton
Imprint: Windmill Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 22mm
Weight: 236g
ISBN: 9780099591771
ISBN 10: 0099591774
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 18 April 2016
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Kevin Ashton began his career at Procter & Gamble, where he led pioneering work on RFID (radio-frequency identification), for which he coined the term the Internet of Things. He went on to cofound the Auto-ID Center at MIT and led three successful start-ups in the field. His writing about innovation and technology has appeared in The New York Times, the Atlantic, Quartz, and Medium.

Reviews for How To Fly A Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery

Many of these anecdotes are rather lovely - a chapter on the credit denied female scientists is fascinating * Daily Telegraph * An inspiring vision of creativity that's littered with practical advice, and is a cracking read to boot. * BBC Focus * Ashton is persuasive ... His well chosen examples reinforce the idea that there is no magic or myth to creation or discovery, making this an approachable, thought-provoking book that encourages everyone to be as good as they can be. * Observer *