The Eureka Effect: The Art and Logic of Breakthrough Thinking

"Perkins' style is engaging—not for eggheads only—and the brainteasers are entertaining and surprisingly fresh."—Chicago Tribune

From Archimedes' discovery of the principle of water displacement while taking a bath to Einstein's Theory of Relativity, from Brunelleschi's development of perspective drawing to the Impressionist revolution, from the taming of fire to the creation of the laser, "breakthrough thinking"—that is, a sudden, seemingly unaccountable moment of inspiration—has shaped and...