Why imagination is a practical skill we're losing — and how to reclaim it
By
Amy Kind
Summary
Philosopher Amy Kind argues that imagination is a practical, essential skill for decision-making, empathy, and self-discovery — not mere escapism or a childhood pastime. Drawing on Einstein's famous quote, she warns that imagination weakens without use, pointing to declining reading for pleasure, reduced parent-child play, and increasing reliance on AI for creative tasks as evidence that we are losing this critical faculty.
Source
Key quotes
· 3 pulledEinstein called imagination 'more important than knowledge,' yet we increasingly treat it as a childhood pastime we outgrow.
Like any skill, it weakens without use — and we're using it less.
Reading for pleasure has nearly halved in two decades, fewer parents play with their children each day, and we increasingly hand our creative work to machines.
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