As machines advance, human imagination will become a company’s most valuable resource. This, says DAVID EAGLEMAN—neuroscientist, bestselling author and host of PBS’ The Brain—is the dawn of The Creativity Economy. In his new book, The Runaway Species, he explains why the brain is hardwired to innovate, and how an understanding of this can help organizations thrive. 

Human beings are unique in their drive to create—and reshape—the world. And yet we know so little about this fundamental urge. Where does it come from? Can it be learned? Eagleman and his co-author, composer Anthony Brandt, are already winning rave reviews for their illuminating work. In a recent Wired excerpt, they illustrate their ideas using the creative path of the iPhone, characterized not by eureka moments, but rather a slow and careful reworking of existing, imperfect ideas into crystal clarity: “human creativity does not emerge from a vacuum. We draw on our experience and the raw materials around us to refashion the world. Knowing where we’ve been and where we are, points the way to the next big industries.”