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Creativity across the life-span: A systems view. Csikszentmihalyi, M. Talent Development III, pp. 9-18 Gifted Psychology Press 1995 This article by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi looks at three major issues related to creativity over a lifespan. They are: what can be learned about creativity; a model of optimal aging; and how to work with creative children. The author based this work on six years of interviews with scores of older adults who are still actively creative.

I am going to talk about a set of studies on creativity which focuses on adults and which will result in a book scheduled to appear next year (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996). I had the good fortune of being able to interview, over the past 6 years, about 100 creative men and women, generally in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and even in their 90s-who are still very actively involved in creative activities. Most of you are interested in creativity in children, and of course that makes sense, because that's where the long process of creative development begins.

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Creativity. Creativity examples. Creativity education. Lateral thinking. Creativity quotes. Creative tools. Creativity methods. Creative thought process. Chrishoeller : @andyb6 I'm sure you can relate... Personal Creativity Lives in All of Us. Philmckinney | June 24, 2013 We have all heard someone say, “Oh, I am not a creative person at all. I don’t paint, draw, write, or do anything like that.” People tend to think of personal creativity in terms of artistic skills or genetic abilities. But whether that creative spark is a barely-heard whisper or a loud buzz that you simply cannot ignore, it is definitely there in all of us.

You might not be a best-selling author or a musical genius, but we all use our creative skills in many different ways throughout the course of an ordinary day. You are making that signature chicken dish for a dinner party, and run out of a key ingredient like parsley. Personal creativity is the confidence to try something new, to bend the rules a bit, and welcome new ideas when they pop into your head. How have you surprised yourself with your personal creativity? Daydreaming may offer key to problem solving and enhancing creativity - Bangor new age. Drifting off in the middle of a lecture may be seen as disrespectful and worthy of criticism, but new research supports that daydreaming may be the key to solving complex tasks, says a Nov. 25 report from Unexplained Mysteries. In fact, it is believed that both Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton made their most significant discoveries while daydreaming.

A study conducted by a group of scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara, led by Benjamin Baird, concluded that taking a break from a complex task and completing an undemanding task while allowing the mind to daydream improves your ability to solve complex tasks. The study, as described by The Telegraph report, involved 145 subjects, who were instructed to list as many uses for an everyday object as possible in two minutes.

The subjects were then divided into four groups. The daydreamers improved their performance by 40 percent while the other groups showed no improvement in performance. 15 ideas on how to generate new ideas. Want a Team to be Creative? Make it Diverse - Beth Comstock. By Beth Comstock | 11:05 AM May 11, 2012 Diversity is the crucial element for group creativity. Innovation teams tasked with creating new products or technologies or iterating existing ones need tension to produce breakthroughs, and tension comes from diverse points of view. This is the opposite of groupthink, the creativity-killing phenomenon of too much agreement and too similar perspectives that often paralyzes otherwise great teams. We’ve all been on these teams. Everyone is just like us — say, marketers or engineers.

Consensus comes quickly, and only later, when we fail and wonder why, do we realize that the easy agreements and shared conclusions doomed us from the start. Assembling and managing diverse teams is hard work. How to get started? And sometimes the necessary diverse view is one that isn’t way outside the norm: it can be right there in front of you. Finally, integrating divergent views to boost creativity is a natural job for marketers. 14 Ideas on How To Generate New Ideas-Part 2 | Launchyourgenius. Are You Launching Your Genius Today? LAUNCHYOURGENIUS brings you the best of Creativity, Personal Development and Behavioral Psychology! Download your free pic-e-books: GENERATE NEW IDEAS (12.5 MB) AND MASTERY (10.7 MB)! In Defense of Polymaths - Kyle Wiens. By Kyle Wiens | 8:54 AM May 18, 2012 Polymath is one of those words more likely to show up on the SAT than in everyday conversation.

But the reason we don’t use the word much these days has less to do with vocabulary than it has to do with practicality: there aren’t a lot of polymaths around anymore. In case you don’t have your pocket dictionary handy, a polymath is a person with a wide range of knowledge or learning. Think people like Leonardo da Vinci (artist and helicopter designer), Benjamin Franklin (founding father, inventor, and all-around lady-killer), Paul Robeson (scholar, athlete, actor, and civil rights activist), and even Steve Jobs (engineer, businessman extraordinaire, and marketing mastermind). Still, while we admire the select “geniuses” that can do it all, we tend to disparage the regular folk who attempt to spread their knowledge around a little. But why? “It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Angelou said to the Smithsonian.

And that’s fine. 10 Bizarre Facts about Famous Creative Geniuses. Chrishoeller : Perception VS Reality #creativity... Polymath: Jack of All Trades, Master of Insight. I found a great article talking about the upsides of being a polymath (The article explains what a polymath is) that I wanted to post it as a blog post. The original article can be found called In Defense of the Polymath Polymath is one of those words more likely to show up on the SAT than in everyday conversation.

But the reason we don’t use the word much these days has less to do with vocabulary than it has to do with practicality: there aren’t a lot of polymaths around anymore. In case you don’t have your pocket dictionary handy, a polymath is a person with a range of knowledge or learning. Think people like Leonardo da Vinci (artist and helicopter designer), Benjamin Franklin (founding father, inventor, and all-around lady-killer), Paul Robeson (scholar, athlete, actor, and civil rights activist), and even Steve Jobs (engineer, businessman extraordinaire, and marketing mastermind).

But why? “It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Angelou said to the Smithsonian. Like this: Related. 55 Quotes To Inspire Creativity, Innovation and Action. “The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanely sensitive. To them… a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create — so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, their very breath is cut off… They must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency they are not really alive unless they are creating.” – Pearl Buck “F@*# self-doubt. I despise it. “Creativity comes from trust. “Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution”—Clay Shirky “I am not afraid…I was born to do this.” – Joan of Arc “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends.” – J.

“Do not be critics, you people, I beg you. 10 Creative Rituals You Should Steal. Benjamin Franklin made sure to end every day by asking “What good have I done today?” Maya Angelou only wrote in tiny hotel rooms. Jack Kerouac made sure to touch the ground nine times before writing. Sustained creativity doesn’t come from a flash of brilliance or a single afternoon of inspiration. It comes from a consistent routine that serves as the bedrock for getting things done. At 99U we’ve spoken with dozens of entrepreneurs, researchers, and creatives about their unique routines.

Below are some of our favorites. Venture capitalist Brad Feld takes a week off every three months: The most impactful thing I’ve done is to take a week off the grid every quarter. Read the entire interview here. Former Obama campaign CTO Harper Reed the importance of the daily “retrospective”: [The presidential campaign] had a really good team dynamic that relied quite a bit on the “retrospective” meeting at the end of a project that allowed us to stop and say: “What was it like to launch?

How about you? Stupidity Rules for Creative Professionals. I'm having trouble being stupid. Productively stupid, that is. I have infinite reserves of unproductive stupidity—ignoring my car's oil light, losing my wallet, hiring the wrong person. That's the variety of a presidential candidate forgetting during a national debate which federal agencies he wants to eliminate ("Oops"). Productive stupidity is something else. But I'm getting ahead of myself with that know-it-all assertion.

A lot of popular advice being doled out about creative productivity has its catchy truisms: Get things done. Creative activists' advice stems in part from a deep-rooted backlash to previous creativity theorists. In part. "If you want to help people cultivate their creativity, don't give them more wonder. " So here's where I question and take exception. I don't know. Do you see how much trouble I have being productively stupid? From what? Microbiologist Martin A. "Productive stupidity means being ignorant by choice. So how did he pull it off? Creativity. Creativity. People you may want to follow.

Creativity Education. DreamWorks’ New Tablet Entertains--And Trains--The Next Generation Of Animators. At CES this week, when DreamWorks Animation and the tech startup Fuhu introduced a kids tablet computer that they're co-developing, the most inventive feature went largely overlooked. Yes, the DreamTab, due out this spring, will readily stream DreamWorks' content, as well as shows from the Cartoon Network, Disney, and Nickelodeon; it will wirelessly communicate with other DreamWorks toys, creating the ultimate "connected playroom"; and it will have what Fuhu and DreamWorks claim is the safest way yet for kids to IM, email, and share photos--by complying with COPPA, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. All good stuff. But what the DreamTab will have that no other kids tablet for kids (or adults, for that matter) has is a window into the creative process of world-class talent. In a feature called "Be An Artist," DreamWorks animators lead a video tutorial, teaching kids how to draw characters from its movies and shows.

[Images courtesy of DreamWorks] Creativity Examples. The Ideal Future Problem Solving Team. Creating the idea problem solving / future trends team is pretty simple. In fact, simplicity is an important aspect of success. Understanding these basic principles, can differentiate between a game-changer or complete bust. With a future focused, problem forecasting, and solution creation team, you can’t have too many open minds at the same time. The ideal size is a minimum of three and a maximum of five team members.The people involved will all have the same goal of future problem solving, but by having too many divergent ideas in the same room, an unorganized, directionless discussion will develop quite quickly. Let us pretend when have a three person team. 1. 2. 3. This is merely one example of a group with diversity, there are many ways you can try alternate teams, keeping a focus on making a team that’s diverse and have contrasting strengths and weaknesses.

Each member possessed different personality type, which made them stronger together than they could ever be by themselves. Chrishoeller : Creativity is the opposite... 23 Writing Websites to Improve Your Writing. We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. ~Ernest Hemingway How strong is your writing? No matter how good you think it is, there’s always room for improvement. In most cases, plenty of room. Luckily, there are some amazing websites that’ll help you improve your writing, and take it to the next level. (***By the way, have you seen this amazing online creative writing course, “Story Is a State of Mind,” created by Giller finalist Sarah Selecky?

Want to strengthen your story, empower your performance, and beef up on the publishing business? Here are 23 sites (in no particular order) I look to for daily inspiration and advice: PS If you find this list useful, please share it on Twitter, Facebook or StumbleUpon – I’d really appreciate it! 4) Query Shark A query critique site you don’t want to miss. 5) Men with Pens Fantastic articles on copywriting and freelancing. 6) Ask Allison Writing and publishing Q&A by novelist Allison Winn Scotch.

How Boredom Promulgates Creativity in Business.... This is part of a series of articles by MBA students at California College of the Arts dMBA program. Follow along here. By Jesse Meyer-Appel One might think that boredom doesn’t create creativity and success in the business world, but contrary to belief, it does. According to Baroness Greenfield, an eminent neuroscientist at Oxford University, “Boredom encourages creativity. The same sort of inspiration is created in the business world vis-à-vis boredom.

In de Bono’s book, Serious Creativity, he asserts that even when things are going along, well, swimmingly, “some of the best results come when people stop to think about things that no one else has stopped to think about.” However, the “creative pause” might soon become a thing of the past. Also, when I am referring to boredom, I mean bored as in doing absolutely nothing. Boredom exacerbates our creative outlets by forcing us to come up with new ways to entertain ourselves. Creativity is not a natural process in the brain.