--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every brilliant experiment, like every…" description: "\"Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art, starts with an act of imagination.\" — Jonah Lehrer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/jonah-lehrer-9286_art_every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-gr_3103172.png" --- # Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art… ![“Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art, starts with an act of imagination.” quote by Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/jonah-lehrer-9286_art_every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-gr_3103172.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/jonah-lehrer-9286_art_every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-gr_3103172.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/jonah-lehrer-9286_art_every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-gr_3103172.png) > “Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art, starts with an act of imagination.” [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagination is the essential first step that transforms ideas into experiments or art. **In simple terms:** Imagination sparks creation. Key Takeaway Cultivate imagination before starting projects. Themes creativity innovation art science Mood inspired curious Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - research labs - art studios - product design - writing - teaching Key Concepts Imagination creative process inspiration Questions to Reflect On - How do you nurture imagination in daily work? - What barriers limit creative imagination? A Different Perspective Imagination alone isn’t enough; execution matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Experiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiment/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Provocative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/provocative/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) ## Related quotes > [“Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art, starts with an act of imagination. Unfortunately, our current culture subscribes to a very narrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-great-work-of-art-starts-with/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [My life has always been unplanned. So when something comes along, I feel like, Why not give it a try? It's fun to experiment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/my-life-has-always-been-unplanned-so-when-something-comes-along-i/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [We are like an experiment.And like an experiment,if you succeed they keep you in,but if you fail you will be abandoned,just like the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-pabualan/we-are-like-an-experiment-and-like-an-experiment-if-you-succeed-they/) [Jenny Pabualan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-pabualan/) > [Art starts alone - and convinces society later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-davis/art-starts-alone-and-convinces-society-later/) Douglas Davis > [Modern abstract art starts in Russia in about 1915 with Malevich, and then the Russian Revolution happens, and eventually all that experimental art gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-longo/modern-abstract-art-starts-in-russia-in-about-1915-with-malevich-and/) [Robert Longo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-longo/) > [“Every piece of art starts as an empty canvas, a lump of clay, or a mixture of fabrics and colors. It's all raw, stripped-down,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-mooney/every-piece-of-art-starts-as-an-empty-canvas-a-lump-of-clay-or-a/) Mick Mooney > [A good physiological experiment like a good physical one requires that it should present anywhere, at any time, under identical conditions, the same certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-good-physiological-experiment-like-a-good-physical-one-requires/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You know how it is when you go to be the subject of a psychology experiment and nobody else shows up and you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/you-know-how-it-is-when-you-go-to-be-the-subject-of-a-psychology/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Authority is itself inherently an act of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-sennett/authority-is-itself-inherently-an-act-of-imagination/) [Richard Sennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-sennett/) > [Without the act of imagination, humanity would have perished long back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thiruman-archunan/without-the-act-of-imagination-humanity-would-have-perished-long-back/) [Thiruman Archunan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thiruman-archunan/) > [An act of imagination is an act of self-acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hugo/an-act-of-imagination-is-an-act-of-self-acceptance/) [Richard Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hugo/) > [Faith isn't an act of intelligence, it's an act of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/faith-isn-t-an-act-of-intelligence-it-s-an-act-of-imagination/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [Life, he thought, is a blatant act of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/life-he-thought-is-a-blatant-act-of-imagination/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [Creativity can be defined as an original act of imagination that brings something into existence. It is a desire and innate drive to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-mcniff/creativity-can-be-defined-as-an-original-act-of-imagination-that/) [Shaun McNiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-mcniff/) > [“From the writer's perspective, audience is always an act of the imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-marshall-stoneking/from-the-writer-s-perspective-audience-is-always-an-act-of-the/) [Billy Marshall Stoneking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-marshall-stoneking/) ## More by Jonah Lehrer > [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [“When the mind is denied the emotional sting of losing , it never figures out how to win.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/when-the-mind-is-denied-the-emotional-sting-of-losing-it-never/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [“Insights, after all, come from the overlap between seemingly unrelated thoughts. They emerge when concepts are transposed, when the rules of one place are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/insights-after-all-come-from-the-overlap-between-seemingly-unrelated/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [“Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art, starts with an act of imagination. Unfortunately, our current culture subscribes to a very narrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-great-work-of-art-starts-with/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [“You break out of the box by stepping into shackles. From Imagine: How Creativity Works pg 23 (hardcover)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/you-break-out-of-the-box-by-stepping-into-shackles-from-imagine-how/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [So let's not pretend that travel is always fun. We don't spend 10 hours lost in the Louvre because we like it, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/so-let-s-not-pretend-that-travel-is-always-fun-we-don-t-spend-10/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [“In fact, most of us see perseverance as a distinctly uncreative approach, the sort of strategy that people with mediocre ideas are forced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/in-fact-most-of-us-see-perseverance-as-a-distinctly-uncreative/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [Grit is the stubborn refusal to quit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/grit-is-the-stubborn-refusal-to-quit/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [“Even when alternative views are clearly wrong, being exposed to them still expands our creative potential. In a way, the power of dissent is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/even-when-alternative-views-are-clearly-wrong-being-exposed-to-them/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [Cities force us to interact with strangers and with the strange. They pry the mind open. And that is why they are the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/cities-force-us-to-interact-with-strangers-and-with-the-strange-they/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [Distance and difference are the secret tonic of creativity. When we get home, home is still the same. But something in our mind has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/distance-and-difference-are-the-secret-tonic-of-creativity-when-we/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [In fact, the only way to remain creative over time--to not be undone by our expertise--is to experiment with ignorance, to stare at things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/in-fact-the-only-way-to-remain-creative-over-time-to-not-be-undone-by/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [“Science has discovered that, like any work of literature, the human genome is a text in need of commentary, for what Eliot said of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/science-has-discovered-that-like-any-work-of-literature-the-human/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [...new ideas are merely several old thoughts that occur at the exact same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/new-ideas-are-merely-several-old-thoughts-that-occur-at-the-exact/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [Like a work of art, we exceed our materials. Science needs art to frame the mystery, but art needs science so that not everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/like-a-work-of-art-we-exceed-our-materials-science-needs-art-to-frame/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) [Explore all 74 Jonah Lehrer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art, starts with an act of imagination.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonah Lehrer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-great-work-of-art-starts-with-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-great-work-of-art-starts-with-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/jonah-lehrer-9286_art_every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-gr_3103172.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/jonah-lehrer-9286_art_every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-gr_3103172.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/jonah-lehrer-9286_art_every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-gr_3103172.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art, starts with an act of imagination.” — Jonah Lehrer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jonah Lehrer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every brilliant experiment, like every great...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-great-work-of-art-starts-with-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/every-brilliant-experiment-like-every-great-work-of-art-starts-with-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```