Archimedes' Bathtub The Art and Logic of Breakthrough Thinking

Inventors differ from the average person because they practice an art and logic that enables them to make breakthroughs in solving problems which ordinary reason and common sense fail to solve. This author selected as a prime example of such insightful thinking the oft told story of how Archimedes, some 2200 years ago, determined if the king's crown was made of pure gold. As you may recall from elementary school, as Archimedes lowered himself into his bathtub, the water rose and an insightful thought occurred to him. He realized the volume of the irregularly shaped crown could be determined by how much water it would displace and with knowing the density of pure gold he could establish what the crown should weigh for its volume. The book is devoted to answering the question of how breakthrough thinking works. Many examples of such thinking are given and analyzed. The author notes five stages or steps that many breakthroughs seem to follow: "Long search, little apparent progress, precipitating event, cognitive snap, and transformation". He cites Leonardo's helicopter and the Wright brothers as examples. He offers Edison's search for a practical light bulb filament as an example of the long search process. He notes that Edison called his systematic scanning process "draghunt". The author uses the Great Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-1899 to illustrate four basics that underlie breakthrough thinking. He calls these the "wilderness of possibilities, the clueless plateau, the narrow canyon of exploration, and the oasis of false promise. He applies these four "Klondike logic" elements to many examples of problems requiring breakthrough solutions. He suggests how detecting clues, reframing, and decentering can put an end to going in circles. To avoid being dry and abstract, the book contains many simple puzzles that illustrate how these analogies and techniques can be applied. Some will amuse you and some may infuriate you. We, as humans, tend to look only for the reasonable solution and miss the "unreasonable". The book also looks at several of the familiar idea producing and creative problem solving techniques such as brainstorming and techniques not as not as well known such as bisociation, Synectics, and the triarchic theory of intelligence. He examines both their positive and negative aspects. The author compares how mother nature has solved problems with human solutions. For example, how by evolution the insects and birds have achieved flight. Much effort, through the years, has been devoted to trying to understand how insightful thinking takes place and how it might be acquired. For example, in 1927, a German psychologist studied the familiar observation that we remember unsolved problems better than we remember solved problems (Zeigarnik effect). Why do impasses seem to circulate in our memory banks and can we utilize this trait better? The author calls attention to the fact that "knowing too much for your own good" can be a villain

Excellent book by David N. Perkins who explores "breakthrough" thinking. The author reflects a "need to understand" demeanor that is profoundly the essence of real learning. Archimedes'Bathtub expresses the contemporary motivation of the intelligent person's need to understand. Don't put the book away until you really make a "connection" to what the author is saying. He is brilliant. When does one know the moment, they cross the invisible line of "affluence" to "opulence"? ...Rob Harriman, Ed.D. Solana Beach, California USA

This book itself is a breakthrough. I have yet to read a book on creativity that so effectively combines real-world advice on how to achieve breakthrough thinking in such an engaging and clearly presented way. As a book which is targeted toward the business person, rather than the academic, it does an excellent job of focusing on the key points and practical applications of breakthrough thinking without getting bogged down into too much detail.The authors start out by drawing you in with simple and compelling points on creativity and problem solving along with simple exercises to illustrate each point. They then build from there to elaborate and drive home both the techniques and the rationale behind those techniques in a way that continues to be engaging.As with any book of this sort, 50% is stuff you already know (but may not be practicing). However, I'll bet the other 50% will really make you to think about ways to improve your personal and your company's ability to achieve breakthrough thinking.

This is a great book that will help you refine your mental process and develop your potential for break-through thinking. The author provides many examples of break-through thinking and all of them are very interesting examples of real geniuses thinking up really brilliant solutions to problems that have stumped ordinary people. I highly recommend this book. It is fun to read and it will lubricate your rusty brain!

What a smart book! It's fun to read and it will help you exercise your brain! If you like solving puzzles, tackle difficult hyphothetical problems, you'll love this book! It is very good on explaining all the science and math behind the intersting problems that have challenged brilliant scientists and thinkers in the past. And it is also a very nice brain-teaser! Also, the author is not only interested in showing you how other geniuses have solved their problems, but teaching you how you can do these things yourselves by applying his logical thinking steps in your life. So the book is useful and also very fun at the same time!