I think part of it with childhoods is that if you have a very difficult or traumatic childhood, it releases you from being normal. So you're much more likely to take huge risks and I think that really helps you. And the other thing that I wonder about is mobile phones and technology and how we get the attention span back for our children. The qualities of a successful city can, to some extent, be replicated in a successful office. In cities there's an organic sense of bumping into each other, of imperfect corners, of slightly jumbled up streets. We're all attracted to the artistic quarters of Paris,. It was in the back streets of Brennes-ence Florence that all
What is it to imagine exactly? How do we go about it, and why is it so important that we imagine for ourselves? In July 2023 author and Condé Nast Britain managing director Albert Read came to Intelligence Squared to explain that the imagination is not just the preserve of artists and creatives but rather a muscle – an essential faculty of the mind which we can all train and develop throughout our lives. Drawing on his new book The Imagination Muscle, Read explains how the imagination is central to human achievement. In conversation with Times columnist and author of What I Wish I'd Known When I Was Young: The Art and Science of Growing Up, Alice Thomson, the discussion touches on art, music, film, literature, science and entrepreneurship. As technology advances and threatens to take over the creative aspects of our lives, Read's book suggests it is more pressing than ever to harness the power of our imaginations.
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