Eric Weiner Quotes Page 3


 
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Best 80 Quotes by Eric Weiner – Page 3 of 3

The Geography of Genius Quotes

“Culture is the enormous yet invisible ocean in which we swim.”

The Geography of Genius

“Divergent thinking is when we come up with multiple, unexpected solutions to problems. Divergent thinking is spontaneous and free-flowing. Convergent thinking, by contrast, is more linear and entails a narrowing, rather than an expanding, of your options. Convergent thinkers are trying to find the one correct answer to a question. Divergent thinkers reframe the question.”

The Geography of Genius

“Geniuses are always marginalized to one degree or another. Someone wholly invested in the status quo is unlikely to disrupt it.”

The Geography of Genius

“Ideas are like bananas. That bananas grow only in tropical regions doesn't make them any less delicious in Scandinavia.”

The Geography of Genius

“In a fascinating study, psychologist David McClelland found a direct link between Greek accomplishments and the prominence of “achievement themes” in the literature of the day. The greater the amount of such inspirational literature, the greater their “real-world” achievements. Conversely, when the frequency of inspirational literature diminished, so did their accomplishments.”

The Geography of Genius

“It is a fatal fault to reason whilst observing.”

The Geography of Genius

“Just as not all butterflies produce a hurricane, not all outbreaks of bubonic plague produce a Renaissance.”

The Geography of Genius

“Nothing kills creativity faster than a wall.”

The Geography of Genius

“Philosophy is like wine. There are good years and bad years but, in general, the older the better.”

The Geography of Genius

“Places of genius challenge us. They are difficult. They do not earn their place in history with ethnic restaurants or street festivals, but by provoking us, making demands of us. Crazy, unrealistic, beautiful demands.”

The Geography of Genius

“See what is before you, the thing itself. Analyze later.”

The Geography of Genius

“Silicon Valley’s success is built on the carcasses of its failures. In the Valley, failure is fertilizer. Like all fertilizer, though, it must be used wisely by a skilled farmer, otherwise it is useless and smells bad.”

The Geography of Genius

“Studies have found that creative people have an especially high tolerance for ambiguity. I suspect this holds true for places of genius as well. Cities such as Athens and Florence and Edinburgh created atmospheres that accepted, and even celebrated, ambiguity.”

The Geography of Genius

“The expectation of a reward or evaluation, even a positive evaluation, squelches creativity.”

The Geography of Genius

“The less-is-more phenomenon holds true not only for individuals but for entire nations. A good example is the “oil curse,” also known as the paradox of plenty. Nations rich in natural resources, especially oil, tend to stagnate culturally and intellectually, as even a brief visit to Saudi Arabia or Kuwait reveals. The citizens of these nations have everything so they create nothing.”

The Geography of Genius

“The number of geniuses who appear in any given field at any given time is a function not of the pool of talent available but, rather, the attractiveness of the field.”

The Geography of Genius

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“If negativity starts to cloud your thoughts, get on your hands & knees and pull out the weeds.”


More quotes by John Addison

“The story of the world is not the story of coups and revolutions. It is the story of lost keys and burnt coffee and a sleeping child in your arms. History is the untallied sum of a million everyday moments.”

The Geography of Genius

“There’s a simple reason for this. The more shots you get at the target, the more likely you’ll eventually score a bull’s-eye, but the more misses you’ll accrue as well. The bull’s-eyes end up in museums and on library shelves, not the misses. Which, when you think about it, is a shame. It feeds the myth that geniuses get it right the first time, that they don’t make mistakes, when, in fact, they make more mistakes than the rest of us.”

The Geography of Genius

“We are more willing to offend someone with whom we have weak ties, and a willingness to offend is an important part of creativity. Strong ties make us feel good, make us feel that we belong, but they also constrict our worldview.”

The Geography of Genius

“What is honored in a country will be cultivated there.”

The Geography of Genius
 
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