The ‘Hot Streak’ Is Real, But It’s Not About Luck
The greatest works of successful artists and scientists tend to be clustered together. Unlike in sports, that’s no coincidence.
Einstein never had another year like 1905. Why?
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There’s still a lot of mystery as to why and when people have their biggest, most important creative insights. Some new research suggests that within individual careers, the muse’s visits — although somewhat unpredictable — are not completely random.
The one part that does appear random is age, said Dashun Wang, a professor of management and organization at Northwestern University. A few years ago, he and colleagues analyzed records of the career achievements of more than 2,800 physicists, dipping back into the 19th century. The extremes get attention — it’s hard not to marvel at what Albert Einstein achieved by the tender age of 26 — but looking at a large sample of scientists’ life works, he said, creative peaks were just as likely to occur in the middle or later parts of a career. He published those results in Science in 2016.