“The increasing complexity of human knowledge, coupled with the escalating difficulty of the remaining questions, means that people must either work together or fail alone.” But what are the best ways to be creative in a group? And what makes up a good group?

A recent article by Jonah Lehrer published in the New Yorker discusses the best ways to think creatively in groups. The article explains why brainstorming doesn’t work, and it describes the work by psychologist Charlan Nemeth on the usefulness of criticism and exposure to unfamiliar perspectives, and the work by sociologist sBrian Uzzi and Isaac Kohane on the ideal composition of teams, including the brilliant example from Building 20 at M.I.T.