The butterfly stroke. The Heimlich maneuver. The light bulb. All were incredible innovations, that seemingly originated overnight. But a new book argues the opposite.
In As If By Design: How Creative Behaviors Really Evolve, author Edward A. Wasserman explains how context, consequence and coincidence have more to do with innovation than any "eureka" moment. On this episode of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe teases out wide-ranging examples of achievement resulting from iterating waves of trial and error.
Then we hear from the minds bringing Langston Hughes' Black Nativity to Moline, Illinois. The production will take place between December 10 and 12 at Playcrafters Barn Theater. Tickets are available online.
Guests:
- Edward A. Wasserman, professor of psychology at the University of Iowa
- Karen Robuck, director of Black Nativity
- Joseph Obleton, producer and assistant director of Black Nativity
