Don Ambrose

Don Ambrose, PhD, is an interdisciplinary scholar who investigates influences on high ability (giftedness, creativity, intelligence, talent). Author of many books and academic articles, and editor of an international academic journal (Roeper Review), most of his research and writing aims at expanding our notions of human potential. The following questions, derived from one of his recent books, illustrate some intriguing ways in which these investigations can make us think more broadly and insightfully about who we are and what we do: Can gifted leaders and intelligent citizens erode their own rationality and do harm in the world by falling prey to periodic resurgences of emotion-drenched, aggressive romanticism? How does giftedness "change" when developed nations worldwide shift from modern-materialist to postmodern-postmaterialist values? How does allocating most of an industry's rewards to a few superstars create talent imbalances in other arenas of human endeavor? Can creative problem solvers create many more problems when they try to do just one thing in a system?