Psychologist, author, and speaker Scott Barry Kaufman is former scientific director of the Imagination Institute and a professor of positive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also cofounder of The Creativity Post, co-author of âWired to Create: Unravelling the Mysteries of the Creative Mindâ, and author of âUngifted: Intelligence Redefinedâ. Kaufman won the 2011 Daniel E. Berlyne Award from Division 10 of the American Psychological Association for outstanding research on aesthetics, creativity, and the arts by a junior scholar, and is a 2011-2012 recipient of the Mensa International Award for Excellence in Research. He is listed on Business Insider as one of the â50 groundbreaking scientists who are changing the way we see the worldâ.
He received his B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University, where he was Nobel Prize Winner Herbert A. Simonâs last research assistant. In 2005, he received his M.Phil. from Kingâs College, Cambridge under a Gates Scholarship, where he worked with Nicholas Mackintosh. After Cambridge, Kaufman earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Yale University where he was mentored by Robert Sternberg, Jeremy R. Gray, and Jerome L. Singer. From 2009-2010, he was a post-doctoral fellow at the Center Leo Apostel for Interdisciplinary Studies.
Kaufmanâs research focuses on the measurement and development of intelligence and creativity, and its implications for education, business, and society. Kaufman has over 50 scientific papers in numerous books and journals, including Cognition, Intelligence, and the Journal of Creative Behavior. He is also editor of The Philosophy of Creativity (with Elliot Samuel Paul, Oxford, 2014), The Complexity of Greatness: Beyond Talent or Practice (Oxford, 2013), The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence (with Robert Sternberg, Cambridge, 2011), and The Psychology of Creative Writing (with James C. Kaufman, Cambridge, 2009).
With creativity and a more robust understanding of intelligence becoming increasingly critical in designing future world systems, Qualia welcomes Scottâs singular exploration of these issues. His work will meaningfully inform both our products and our approaches towards solutions, for years to come.
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