How important ideas get reawakened, with David Byrne

Episode 1408  ·  Oct 06, 10:00 AM
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Why do some breakthroughs go dormant—and then wake up? Artist David Byrne writes about these sleeping beauties in his new book.

On Science Friday, we love to talk about ideas, especially ideas that have the power to shape the future. But there are plenty of groundbreaking ideas that almost don’t make it out of the lab or the art studio: ideas that are birthed but then fall into a deep slumber until, years later, they’re reawakened.

Why this happens is the subject of the new book, “Sleeping Beauties: Why Good Ideas Go Dormant and How They Wake Up,” by David Bryne, artist, musician, and lead singer for Talking Heads. He joins Flora to explain.

Read an excerpt from “Sleeping Beauties.”

Guest:

David Byrne is an artist, musician, and the lead singer for Talking Heads.

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