How to fly a horse : the secret history of creation invention and discovery What do Thomas Jeffersons ice cream recipe Coca Cola and Chanel No. 5 have in common They all depended on a 19th century African boy who with a single pinch solved one of natures great riddles and gave birth to the multi million dollar vanilla industry. Kevin Ashton opens his book with the fascinating story of the young slave who launched a flavor revolution to show that invention and creation come in unexpected shapes and sizes. From the crystallographers laboratory where the secrets of DNA were first revealed by a long forgotten woman to the electromagnetic chamber where the stealth bomber was born on a 25 cent bet Ashton weaves tales of humanitys greatest creations to unpack the surprising true process of discovery. Drawing on the Amish and the iPhone Kandinsky and cans of Coke Lockheed South Park and the Wright brothers who set out to fly a horse he showcases the seemingly unremarkable individuals gradual steps multiple failures and countless ordinary and usually uncredited acts that lead to our most astounding breakthroughs. Creators he shows apply everyday ordinary thinking that we are all capable of in particular ways taking thousands of small steps working in an endless loop of problem and solution. He explores why innovators meet resistance and how they overcome it why most organizations stifle creative people and how the most creative organizations work. In a passionate and profound narrative that amazes and inspires Ashtons book sheds new light on how new comes to be Inspiring and empowering this journey behind the scenes of humanitys greatest creations reveals the surprising way we make something new. What do Thomas Jeffersons ice cream recipe Coca Cola and Chanel No. 5 have in common They all depended on a nineteenth century African boy who with a single pinch solved one of natures great riddles and gave birth to the multimillion dollar vanilla industry. Kevin Ashton opens his book with the fascinating story of the young slave who launched a flavor revolution to show that invention and creation come in unexpected shapes and sizes. From the crystallographers laboratory where the secrets of DNA were first revealed by a long forgotten woman to the electromagnetic chamber where the stealth bomber was born on a 25 cent bet Ashton weaves tales of humanitys greatest creations to unpack the surprising true process of discovery. Drawing on the Amish and the iPhone Kandinsky and cans of Coke Lockheed South Park and the Wright brothers who set out to fly a horse he showcases the seemingly unremarkable individuals gradual steps multiple failures and countless ordinary and usually uncredited acts that led to our most astounding breakthroughs. Creators he shows apply everyday ordinary thinking that we are all capable of in particular ways taking thousands of small steps working in an endless loop of problem and solution. He explores why innovators meet resistance and how they overcome it why most organizations stifle creative people and how the most creative organizations work. In a passionate and profound narrative that amazes and inspires Ashtons book sheds new light on how new comes to be