cover image Shared Minds: The New Technologies of Collaboration

Shared Minds: The New Technologies of Collaboration

Michael Schrage. Random House (NY), $21 (227pp) ISBN 978-0-394-56587-3

Collaboration is a fundamental yet underappreciated force in business, the arts and sciences, stresses Schrage, columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Most organizations, he observes, lack structures that allow people to pool their talents creatively. In place of the bastardized American notion of ``teamwork,'' he advocates genuine collaborative interaction aided by ``shared spaces'' like blackboards or brainstorming sessions. One chapter demonstrates how shared computer screens can reduce the politics and boredom of corporate meetings. Though he sometimes belabors the obvious, Schrage has written a trailblazing guide to help people in diverse fields move from mere communication to true collaboration. Snippets on such duos as Picasso/Braque, F. Scott Fitzgerald/Maxwell Perkins and Francis Crick/James Watson (co-discoverers of DNA's double helix) throw light on the collaborative process. (Aug.)