Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: 1934–2021

November 15, 2021 Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi 1934–2021 The work that I'm best known for is flow theory and the studies of flow experience. People have applied the studies all over the world, and it has influenced many schools, factories, offices, and even political systems. If I were to try to go back to the origins of the theory, I would say that it probably started germinating in 1944–45, when I was ten years old. At that time, the war was creating a lot of anxiety everywhere, and as a ten-year-old I saw the whole world I took for granted crumbling. I realized, however, that when I played chess, I completely forgot what was going on, and for hours I had a great time. I felt completely involved, my mind was working, I had to be alert, and I had to process information about what was happening. I didn't have any chance to be distracted or any chance to worry about anything. I also noticed then that if I played against somebody really good, it wasn't much fun. If I played against somebody who played badly, it wasn't fun either because I started getting distracted and thinking about other things. But if my opponent was somebody in my own range of abilities, then the game was fun. MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI (1934–2021) was a Hungarian-born polymath who recognized and named the psychological concept of "flow," a highly focused mental state conducive to productivity. He was Claremont Graduate University’s Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management as well as founder and co-director of the Quality of Life Research Center (QLRC), a nonprofit research institute that studies positive psychology, which looks at human strengths such as optimism, creativity, intrinsic motivation, and responsibility. Csikszentmihalyi was also former head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago. His research and theories on the psychology of optimal experience have revolutionized psychology and have been adopted in practice by national leaders such as Bill Clinton and Tony Blair as well as top members of the global executive elite who run the world's major corporations. Csikszentmihalyi is the author of several popular books about his theories, including the bestselling Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience; The Evolving Self; Creativity; Finding Flow; and Good Business. The Wall Street Journal has listed Flow among the six books "every well-stocked business library should have." Though published in the early 1990s, Flow has continued to draw attention from both researchers and the general public and has been translated into more than twenty languages. He was a member of the American Academy of Education, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Leisure Studies. --------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS - Introduction by Russell Weinberger - Flow: Positive Human Behavior - A Conversation with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi [August 2004] - Essays in Response to the Edge Annual Question (1998-2014) — "What *Should* We Be Worried About?" (2013) — "What is Your Favorite Deep, Elegant, or Beautiful Explanation?" (2012) — "What Will Change Everything?" (2009) — "What Are You Optimistic About?" (2007) — "What is Your Dangerous Idea?" (2006) — "What Do You Believe is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It?" (2005) — "What Are the Pressing Scientific Issues for the Nation and the World?" (2003) — "What Now?" (2001) — "What is Today's most Unreported Story?" (2000) — "What is the Most Important Invention in the Past 2,000 Years?" (1999) — "What Are The Questions You're Asking Yourself?" (1998) --------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION The late Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced "chick-SENT-me high") was a long-time friend and contributor to Edge whose work changed our understanding of creativity, creation, and how meaningful work transforms the way that work is experienced. He was a deep thinker whose creativity in his own research could have been a template for the sort of creativity that he explained through experimentation. In August 2004, Mike, as he was known to those not familiar with Hungarian, stopped by our offices on 59th Street for a wide-ranging conversation that covered everything from his study of that state when play and work overlap (famously called "flow"), to creativity, to building a better future and understanding the role income disparity plays in destabilizing nations. It was a wonderful talk full of the sort of insight that we had come to expect from him. But something happened in the dog days of summer—and his Edge conversation was never published. Only after news of Mike's passing in October did we happen to come across the unpublished feature in our archive. So we are pleased to present a two-part tribute to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: First, the premiere of "Flow: Positive Human Behavior," published eighteen years late. Second, a retrospective look at his numerous responses to the Edge Annual Question from 1998 to 2014. Enjoy! Russell Weinberger Publisher, Edge [ [Continue]( ] Edge Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit private operating foundation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](