A Brain for Innovation

Min W. Jung offers a new understanding of the neural basis of innovation in terms of humans’ exceptional capacity for imagination and high-level abstraction.

Min W. Jung is a vice director of the Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions at the Institute for Basic Science in South Korea and a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. He received his PhD from the University of California, Irvine. His primary interests are the neural mechanisms of memory, imagination, and decision making.

Daeyeol Lee, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience and Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University:
A Brain for Innovation is a highly approachable account of how the human brain’s ability to imagine with abstract concepts has been applied to demystify this same ability. After entertaining us with his skillful crisscrossing of neuroscience, AI, and philosophy, Jung also reminds us that imagination is a double-edged sword and must be used cautiously to save our future.

Lynn Nadel, Regents Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Arizona:
In this wide-ranging and scholarly book, Min W. Jung conveys many of the complexities of modern cognitive neuroscience in an accessible way for readers with minimal scientific background. While his particular focus is on how the human brain became so good at innovation, his broad interests make this book a treat no matter one's background.

György Buzsáki, author of Rhythms of the Brain and The Brain from Inside Out:
Although memory, imagination, and planning are discrete concepts, this insightful book by Min W. Jung, an internationally respected researcher, demonstrates that the brain does not make such distinctions. Written in delightful prose, this volume will spark interest for the specialist and other curious minds alike.