Insights—like Darwin’s understanding of the way evolution actually
works, and Watson and Crick’s breakthrough discoveries about the structure of
DNA—can change the world. We also need insights into the everyday things that
frustrate and confuse us so that we can more effectively solve problems and get
things done. Yet we know very little about when, why, or how insights are
formed—or what blocks them. In Seeing What
Others Don’t, renowned cognitive psychologist Gary Klein unravels the mystery.
Klein is a keen observer of people in their natural settings—scientists,
businesspeople, firefighters, police officers, soldiers, family members,
friends, himself—and uses a marvelous variety of stories to illuminate his
research into what insights are and how they happen. What, for example, enabled
Harry Markopolos to put the finger on Bernie Madoff? How did Dr. Michael
Gottlieb make the connections between different patients that allowed him to
publish the first announcement of the AIDS epidemic? What did Admiral Yamamoto
see (and what did the Americans miss) in a 1940 British attack on the Italian
fleet that enabled him to develop the strategy of attack at Pearl Harbor? How
did a “smokejumper” see that setting another fire would save his life, while
those who ignored his insight perished? How did Martin Chalfie come up with a
million-dollar idea (and a Nobel Prize) for a natural flashlight that enabled
researchers to look inside living organisms to watch biological processes in
action?
Klein also dissects impediments to insight, such as when organizations claim to
value employee creativity and to encourage breakthroughs but in reality block
disruptive ideas and prioritize avoidance of mistakes. Or when information
technology systems are “dumb by design” and block potential discoveries.
Both scientifically sophisticated and fun to read, Seeing What Others Don’t
shows that insight is not just a “eureka!” moment but a whole new way of
understanding.
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