The art of soluble

In the conventional wisdom the scientist is pictured as a data gatherer, methodically working towards general scientific laws by objective research and painstaking observation. But scientific creation is really more complex and more inspiring than this.

It depends up on an imaginative leap akin to that of the poet, and an ability to select problems that allow for that leap. This beautifully written work was hugely influential when first published, and continues to inspire today. As neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran says, 'it makes science seem like a grand, romantic adventure yet also fun’.