As if by design : how creative behaviors really evolve / Edward A. Wasserman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wasserman, Edward A., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Creative ability.

Creative thinking.

Inventions--Psychological aspects.

Inventions.

Technological innovations--Psychological aspects.

Technological innovations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 318 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2021.

Summary:

The eureka moment is a myth. It is an altogether naïve and fanciful account of human progress. Innovations emerge from a much less mysterious combination of historical, circumstantial, and accidental influences. This book explores the origin and evolution of several important behavioral innovations including the high five, the Heimlich maneuver, the butterfly stroke, the moonwalk, and the Iowa caucus. Such creations' striking suitability to the situation and the moment appear ingeniously designed with foresight. However, more often than not, they actually arise 'as if by design.' Based on investigations into the histories of a wide range of innovations, Edward A. Wasserman reveals the nature of behavioral creativity. What surfaces is a fascinating web of causation involving three main factors: context, consequence, and coincidence. Focusing on the process rather than the product of innovation elevates behavior to the very center of the creative human endeavor.

Contents:

Cover

Half-title

Title page

Copyright information

Dedication

Contents

List of Figures

Acknowledgments

Section 1 Introduction

Prelude

Setting the Stage

The Ultimate Game of Trial and Error

Lessons to Be Learned Through Adversity

References

Previewing the Vignettes

The Three Cs: Context, Consequence, and Coincidence

Making the Most of the Vignettes

Section 2 The Vignettes

Part I Sports

1 Dick Fosbury's High Jump Was No Flop!

2 Shedding Fresh Light on the History of the Butterfly Stroke

The Stroke

The Kick

Putting It All Together

Making It Official

3 The Monkey Crouch: Jockeying for Position

Further Material

4 Riding Acey-Deucy

5 The High Five: One Singular Sensation

One Fine Day

Celebrate Good Times . . . Come On

Baby, What a Big Surprise

More Than a Feeling

One Is the Loneliest Number

Still the One

They Can't Take That Away from Me

Part II Medicine

6 The Apgar Score: ''Millions Have Been Saved''

The Apgar Score Is Introduced

A Short Story with Long-Lasting Consequences

Virginia Apgar: A Life of Resilience and Excellence

Apgar beyond the Score

7 The Ponseti Method: Effective Treatment for Clubfoot Only 2,400 Years in the Making

8 The Heimlich Maneuver

Origin of the Maneuver

Epilog

9 Eating to Live: The Lifesaving Contribution of Stanley Dudrick

10 What's in a (Drug) Name?

Naming Process: Generation and Selection

Postscript

11 Self-Medication by People and Animals

Medical History and Prehistory

Self-Medicating Animals?

References.

Further Material

12 Personalized Medicine: The End of Trial-and-Error Treatment?

The Human Genome Project

The Promise of Personalized Medicine

Promises, Promises

A Revealing ''Success'' Story

How Can We Evaluate the Success of Personalized Medicine?

A Historical Note on the Origin of Personalized Medicine

Part III Hygiene

13 Florence Nightingale: Advancing Hygiene through Data Visualization

Ignaz Semmelweis: Passionate but Unpersuasive

Florence Nightingale: Convincing as Well as Vehement

Florence Nightingale: Privileged Upbringing

Florence Nightingale: Passionate Statistician

Florence Nightingale: A Prepared Mind

A travel tip:

About Ignaz Semmelweis

About Florence Nightingale

14 Taking Mental Floss to Dental Floss

15 A Very Close Shave

Part IV Arts, Entertainment, and Culture

16 Ansel Adams: Art for Art's Sake?

Fine Art versus Practical Art

Fine Art versus Practical Art Photography

Ansel Adams: Fine Art and Practical Art Photographer

Ansel Adams: Early Influences

Adams's Formative Years in Photography

Artistry and Advocacy Converge

Back to the Question: Art for Art's Sake?

Final Reflections on Ansel Adams's Evolution as an Artist

17 Basil Twist: ''Genius'' Puppeteer

18 Moonwalking: And More Mundane Modes of Moving

Lunar Lumbering

Back to the Backslide

Walk Like a Man

Taking Baby Steps

19 Play on Words

Malapropism

Ignoramus

Robot

Etymology and Ed

About Malapropism

About Ignoramus

About Robot

20 Cuatro Festivales Españoles

Running of the Bulls (Los Sanfermines Festival)

La Tomatina.

Human Towers (Els Castells)

Baby Jumping (El Salto del Colacho)

About Running of the Bulls (Los Sanfermines Festival)

About La Tomatina

About Human Towers (Els Castells)

About Baby Jumping (El Salto del Colacho)

21 Tchaikovsky: Puzzles of the Pathétique

On Puzzles and Solutions

22 The Evolution of the Violin: Survival of the Fittest or the Fondest Fiddle?

Part V Is This Heaven? No, It's Iowa!

23 The Rise and the Demise of the Iowa Caucus

The Rise

The Demise

24 Iowa's Blackout Plates: Artistic License Hits the Road

De gustibus non est disputandum

Surprising Austerity

It All Began at Dordt University

Everything Old Is New Again

25 If I Write It, They Will Build It

The Book

The Movie

The Field

Closing Comments

Section 3 Putting It Together

26 Context, Consequence, and Coincidence

Further Developing the Three Cs: Context

Further Developing the Three Cs: Coincidence

Further Developing the Three Cs: Consequence

The Law of Natural Selection and the Law of Effect

The Law of Effect: Asserting Its Role in the Evolution of Behavior

Some Possible Concerns

Overt or Covert Processes in Behavioral Evolution?

What Exactly Is Meant by Design?

How Compelling Is My Case?

27 Are We Just Making It Up as We Go Along?

Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 01 Jul 2021).

ISBN:

1-108-78827-0

1-108-80824-7

1-108-77489-X

OCLC:

1266906520