If it wasn't for Wilbur Wright's younger brother Orville, would aviation still exist? Could Francis Crick have discovered the structure of a DNA molecule without James Watson? Today at noon on Think, Joshua Wolf Shenk, essayist and author of Powers of Two: Finding the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs, will join Krys Boyd to discuss why two minds are more successful than one.
While individuals like Einstein or Picasso have been heralded through history for their breakthroughs or creations, their triumphs were the result of acollaborative effort, Shenk writes for The New York Times.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney are an example of a creative pair often seen as separate musical visionaries. Shenk analyzes for The Atlantic the necessity of McCartney to Lennon and vice versa for the production of their music.
David Brooks uses Shenk's evaluation of Lennon and McCartney to assert that harmony is the outcome of differences coming together, a primary factor in creativity.
The idea that partners benefit from each other's strengths exists in the business realm as well, as assessed in The Huffington Post.
Shenk recognizes that all pairs are not meant to be in an advice letter to an inquiring individual struggling with a one-sided partnership.
Rolling Stone provides music videos of 20 great music duos through the ages. Mental Floss shares its own list of prominent musical pairs and how they met.
