The Genius in All of Us

On Becoming Van Gogh

2012-10-31T16:20:47-04:00

Interesting piece in the NYTimes about the development of Van Gogh's extraordinary ability.

The [Denver Art Museum] show traces van Gogh’s development through the 1880s from a struggling, inhibited neophyte, represented by works like the drawings “Girl Carrying a Loaf of Bread” (1882), to a painter in full flourish who could make the shimmering “Landscape from Saint-Rémy” (1889)….

Mr. Standring said he wanted to give nuance to the popular perception of the artist as sui generis. “People are generally unfamiliar with anything pre-“Sunflowers” or pre-“Wheatfields,” he said, referring to two of van Gogh’s iconic later series. “We’re doing corrective art history.”

Van Gogh’s struggles with illness and the artistic flourishing of his last two years may have warped the public’s perception of his learning curve, Mr. Van Tilborgh said.

“We all think he’s a genius, but he placed a lot of value on craftsmanship. When he started, he had no talent for drawing. If you look at his early drawings, they’re horrible. So how did he develop?”

The answer, Mr. Van Tilborgh said, was persistence. “If he couldn’t do it, he tried it 50 more times. He was one of those rare artists who had the energy to work through the fear of failure.”

"Van Gogh’s Evolution, From Neophyte to Master"

By Ted Loos

New York Times, October 26, 2012

http://nyti.ms/TuPkGX

2012-06-22T11:29:05-04:00

Foreign Editions for The Genius in All of Us:

COUNTRY PUBLISHER STATUS

Brazil Zahar Published as "O Genio Em Todas Nos"

UK Icon Published in hardcover and paperback

Spain Ariel Pub'd as "O Genio Que Todos Llevamos Dentro"

Korea KB Published

Germany Hoffmann & Campe Published as "Das Genie In Uns"

China CITIC Published, May 2012

Taiwan EPG Published

Japan Hayakawa Fall 2012 (tentative)

Russia Exmo Fall 2012 (tentative)

Vietnam Alpha Expected in 2013

Estonia AS Äripäev Expected by June, 2013

Another Blow to "Innate"

2012-04-04T09:08:28-04:00

A new study of identical twins confirms that genetics are a poor predictor of disease. It's yet another indicator of how the public needs to understand genes as knobs and switches rather than blueprints. Here's my piece at The Atlantic.

Brooklyn Public Library event, Sunday, May 15

2011-05-12T14:07:14-04:00

New Yorkers:

Join me at the Brooklyn Public Library this Sunday, May 15, 1:30 pm, to hear my book spiel and to ask me vexing questions about IQ, math genes, and musical ears.

If you come, I'll tell you what these mice

and this taxicab

have to do with your ability to juggle a soccer ball on your head.

FREE • Sunday, May 15, 1:30pm, Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture, Brooklyn Public Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn NY 11218. Map here. Event listing here. Books for sale and signing.

"Genius" in paperback

2011-03-08T09:11:45-05:00

Please raise your coffee mugs and help me welcome my bouncing new paperback:

**A New York Times bestseller** **A London Guardian BookShop bestseller**

Some nice reviews:

"A deeply interesting and important book."

-- THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

"Profound."

-- LONDON EVENING STANDARD

"The Genius in All of Us has quietly blown my mind."

-- LAURA MILLER, SALON

"A welcome new book…compelling."

-- THE BOSTON GLOBE

"A thinking man's Outliers."

-- NEW YORK MAGAZINE

"Cogent and compelling."

-- THE WEEK

"Engrossing."

-- BOOKLIST (starred review)

"Readable and well-researched...The big idea in this book is that talent is not a matter of genetic endowment, but of an ongoing interaction between genes and environment. The nature/nurture debate is therefore dead (or should be)."

-- THE INDEPENDENT

"Inspiring."

-- THE SCOTSMAN

"An incredibly well-researched meditation on the nature of human talent."

-- KEVIN ROBERTS, CEO WORLDWIDE, SAATCHI & SAATCHI

"One of the best books I have read in the last year."

-- RUFUS GRISCOM, BABBLE

"Rather than championing nurture and downplaying nature, [Shenk] paints a picture in which genes and environment interact in a much more complicated way."

-- THE LONDON OBSERVER (Paperback Book of the Week)

"With a flair for explaining scientific research, [Shenk] debunks outdated assumptions that genes are destiny and shows how environment and mindset are just as important."

-- THE DAILY BEAST (A Book Pick)

"Empowering...myth-busting...entertaining."

-- KIRKUS REVIEWS

_____________

DAVID SHENK

davidshenk.com

Subscribe to my GeniusBlog.

The orange in all of us: new design and a new subtitle for my U.S. paperback

2011-02-16T17:43:43-05:00

My new US paperback drops in three weeks, complete with a new cover, new iconography, and a much more sober subtitle:

The Genius in All of Us: New Insights into Genetics, Talent, and IQ

My son approves.

More to come on this soon.

My 15 minutes of (Canadian) Fame

2011-01-27T16:52:54-05:00

In the future, everyone will be famous in Canada for 15 minutes. My 15 minutes happened Tuesday night on a very thoughtful TV program, "The Agenda with Steve Paikin," in a Charlie Rose-style one-on-one discussion.

More from the UK

2011-01-18T13:07:46-05:00

The London Observer just picked The Genius in All of Us as its Paperback of the Week. Review here.

Also, the BBC asked me to write something about the book for their site, which I did. My piece here.

Tiger Mother, Kitten Dad

2011-01-14T15:30:39-05:00

Babble.com invited me to weigh in on the Wall Street Journal "Tiger Mother" mishegoss. Here's my piece. http://bit.ly/fil9hI

UK paperback

2011-01-06T11:40:40-05:00

Icon Books has just released the UK paperback of The Genius in All of Us. (US paperback coming in March, with new cover, new subtitle, and a few other changes).

Today's London Evening Standard calls the book "profound."