At iOi we challenge ourselves to inspire lifelong learning and discovery through the promotion of imagination. One pathway to that is empathy, one of our key themes on Imagination Matters. Michael Brenner is a speaker, author and CEO. Here he brings us his literary inspirations for his book Mean People Suck – a manifesto for…
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In this fascinating excerpt from his book, Life Finds a Way, author and professor Andreas Wagner likens creativity to nature’s determination to problem-solve. We love the idea that being playful isn’t just for practise or fun, but it actually promotes flexibility and prepares for unpredictability. This can extend to dreaming and mind-wandering, too. Suspending judgement…
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In this article, author Bernardine Evaristo talks about the importance of the arts to her future career. In particular to winning the 2019 Booker prize for her novel Girl, Woman, Other. While we believe the arts and learning have value outside and beyond achievements, we love the idea of incubators of creativity. This concept connotes…
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This article into a new area of research, dubbed culturomics, is fascinating. Long before massive digital infrastructure and the concept of ‘big data’, humans have been creating a record. What we thought culturally important to write down tells our story, not just our tales. And more important than anything is to get the measure of…
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Today we’re taking a look at philosophy and professor Tom McLeish‘s new book on science and creativity. We often espouse the benefits and importance, as Tom does, of imagination in learning and scientific discovery. However, what he does here too is argue for the study of science as integral to all learning. It’s easy to…
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This chapter from Larry G Maguire‘s The Artist’s Manifesto is an interesting exploration of a potentially binding concept we take for granted. In making our creativity timeless, we make room for new methods of expression, other points of view and openness of thinking. It can even free us from other common restrictions such as prescribed…
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It seems that we’ve been searching for places to imagine for centuries, as Dan Schindel of Hyperallergic is finding out. Researcher and author Paul Dobraszczyk’s book is an inspiring and eye-opening exploration of the breadth and depth of our collective aspirations. Last year, we explored your visions of the architecture of an urban future with…
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We’ve been focusing on the next generation over the last few weeks, and this is a really exciting project on that theme. A lot of the time we’re teaching young people in order to make their futures better, and while we can’t future-proof that, this piece of art is using creativity to connect with it.…
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Climate change is at the forefront of many hearts and minds looking to build engagement. Tackling a subject using creativity and imagination can increase understanding, but just as important are optimism and hope. We love ‘solarpunk‘, the idea that the freedom of fiction allows us to imagine a better future and, crucially, how we might…
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It’s interesting to look at an idea for humanity that isn’t driven by necessity, disaster, or damage control; to look at it from another angle. And as well as being an interesting concept, the extremes and unknowns of life on other planets also provides rich ground for creative thinking. Here, in The Atlantic, author Charlie…
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