The Runaway Species

A profound and powerful exploration of human creativity from the international bestselling author of The Brain.

Our relentless drive to create makes us unique among living creatures. What is special about the human brain that enables us to innovate? Why don't cows choreograph dances? Why don't squirrels build elevators to their treetops? Why don't alligators invent speedboats?

Weaving together the arts and sciences, neuroscientist David Eagleman and composer Anthony Brandt explore the need for novelty, the simulation of possible futures, and the social components that drive the inventiveness of our species. Taking us on a tour of human creativity from Picasso to concept cars to umbrellas to lunar travel, Brandt and Eagleman explore the cognitive software that generates new ideas, and illuminate the key facets of a creative mentality. Through understanding our ability to innovate - our most profound, mysterious, and deeply human capacity - we can meet the challenge of remaking our constantly shifting world.

About the Author

David Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Stanford University. His scientific research is published in journals from Science to Nature, and he is also the author of the internationally bestselling books Sum, Incognito and The Brain. He is the writer and presenter of the companion BBC television series The Brain.

Dr. Anthony Brandt is an internationally acclaimed composer and an Associate Professor of Composition and Theory at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. His musical output includes two chamber operas and works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, dance, theatre, film, and television and sound and art installations. He is Artistic Director of the award-winning new music ensemble Musiqa, which has presented the works of nearly two hundred modern composers and performed free educational concerts for over 50,000 public school students. He has co-authored two papers on music cognition and has organized three international conferences on music and the mind at Rice.