Review of Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Time of Change, by Leonard Mlodinow. New York: Pantheon Books

Abstract

In Leonard Mlodinow's 2018 book Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Time of Change, the author explores what creative thinking is, how to harness it, and aspects of modern society that hinder this kind of thought. Part one of the book explains how people confront change. Mlodinow claims that there is no hard evidence supporting aversion to change, and that in fact all people crave change to varying degrees. The second part of the book examines how we think, categorizing thought into analytical and creative/elastic thinking. In this section, Mlodinow also claims that people are not usually thinking while analyzing new information, but instead running on "autopilot" based on past experiences and expectations. Part three of the book discusses how new ideas are formed. Mlodinow claims that the most creative and paradigm shifting new ideas are formed when the mind is relaxed, at which point it can thinking divergently. He warns against the distractions from technology, as they prevent us from using our idle time to find creative solutions to the problems we face. In the last part of the book, Mlodinow shares strategies on how to think more elastically, suggesting drugs and alcohol as a means to enhance creativity.