Scientific American Magazine

Introducing an issue on innovation in science. The argument: Although science and art are social phenomena, an innovation in either field occurs only when a single mind perceives in disorder a deep new unity

The first of four articles on innovation in four central fields. The mathematician seeks a new logical relationship, a new proof of an old relationship, or a new synthesis of many relationships

Faced with the facts of physical observation and experiment, the theoretical physicist applies the abstract relationships of mathematics to connect these facts and predict new facts

The biologist seeks to explain life in terms of the physical sciences, but the explanation will require physical sciences adequate to cope with the unique behavior of living systems

It is through technological innovations that science is brought to bear upon man's material existence. The difference between creative science and creative technology is chiefly one of motive

What activity of the brain underlies the creative process? The evidence indicates that electrical waves, traveling on multilane pathways among the 10 billion cells of the cortex, correspond to the experience of mind

Creativity has recently become the subject of formal study by psychologists. An account of one such study, which set out to ascertain the characteristics of creative individuals

What can be done to promote innovation? Money is not enough. Science is most likely to flourish in a society which not only educates its members but also gives free rein to the curiosity of the individual