We all know a good idea when we see one. Cubic equations, the printing press, the pencil, the flush toilet, the battery, Google-these are all great ideas. But where do they come from? What kinds of environments make them more likely? What sparks the flash of brilliance? How do we generate the groundbreaking ideas that push forward our careers, our lives, our society, our culture? In "Where Good Ideas Come From", Steven Johnson tackles these questions, and the answers he discovers are revelatory and convincing. With his infectious, culturally omnivorous style, Johnson uses his fluency in fields from neurobiology to urban studies to Internet culture to identify the seven key patterns behind genuine innovation, and to trace them across time and disciplines. Beginning with Charles Darwin's first encounter with the teeming ecosystem of the coral reef and drawing connections to the intellectual hyperproductivity of modern megacities and to the instant success of YouTube, Johnson shows us that the question we need to ask is, What kind of environment fosters the development of good ideas? His answers are never less than revelatory, convincing, and inspiring. What he finds gives us both an important new understanding of the roots of innovation and a set of useful strategies for cultivating our own creative breakthroughs.

Introduction: reef, city, web -- The adjacent possible -- Liquid networks -- The slow hunch -- Serendipity -- Error -- Exaptation -- Platforms -- Conclusion: the fourth quadrant -- Appendix: chronology of key innovations, 1400-2000.