A Little Weird? Prone to Depression? Blame Your Creative Brain. Whenever you want to do something extraordinary, risky, or scary in your life (something that you know in your heart that you need to do, but it would really be more convenient to ignore it and just not do it), it’s essential to surround yourself with inspiring, encouraging, like-minded people. If they’re leaders in their own right who to a certain degree have done what you long to do, even better. I first met Gwyneth Leech last summer at my nephew’s first birthday party in Brooklyn (she’s my sister’s husband’s cousin).
We were chatting idly until the moment she mentioned that she, a lifelong artist, had “accidentally” started creating art on used coffee cups, drawing to pass time in PTA meetings. I get as excited about a great story as some women get about shoes, and my story sensors started shrieking immediately. Gwyneth has become a close friend and a beacon of inspiration and encouragement in my life as I contemplate great leaps of faith and creation. Can you relate to this? Dr. How Creativity Connects with Immorality.
In the mid 1990’s, Apple Computers was a dying company. Microsoft’s Windows operating system was overwhelmingly favored by consumers, and Apple’s attempts to win back market share by improving the Macintosh operating system were unsuccessful. After several years of debilitating financial losses, the company chose to purchase a fledgling software company called NeXT. Along with purchasing the rights to NeXT’s software, this move allowed Apple to regain the services of one of the company’s founders, the late Steve Jobs. Under the guidance of Jobs, Apple returned to profitability and is now the largest technology company in the world, with the creativity of Steve Jobs receiving much of the credit.
However, despite the widespread positive image of Jobs as a creative genius, he also has a dark reputation for encouraging censorship,“ losing sight of honesty and integrity”, belittling employees, and engaging in other morally questionable actions. How to be creative. Abstraction. Abstraction is a process by which concepts are derived from the usage and classification of literal ("real" or "concrete") concepts, first principles, or other methods. "An abstraction" is the product of this process—a concept that acts as a super-categorical noun for all subordinate concepts, and connects any related concepts as a group, field, or category.[1] Abstractions may be formed by reducing the information content of a concept or an observable phenomenon, typically to retain only information which is relevant for a particular purpose.
For example, abstracting a leather soccer ball to the more general idea of a ball retains only the information on general ball attributes and behavior, eliminating the other characteristics of that particular ball.[1] Origins[edit] Thinking in abstractions is considered[by whom?] To be one of the key traits in modern human behaviour, which is believed to have developed between 50,000 and 100,000 years ago. Thought process[edit] Cat on Mat (picture 1) Creativity. Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed, such as an idea, a scientific theory, an invention, a literary work, a painting, a musical composition, a joke, etc.
Scholarly interest in creativity involves many definitions and concepts pertaining to a number of disciplines: psychology, cognitive science, education, philosophy (particularly philosophy of science), technology, theology, sociology, linguistics, business studies, songwriting, and economics, covering the relations between creativity and general intelligence, mental and neurological processes, personality type and creative ability, creativity and mental health; the potential for fostering creativity through education and training, especially as augmented by technology; and the application of creative resources to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning.
Definition[edit] Aspects[edit] Etymology[edit] History of the concept[edit] Ancient views[edit] The Enlightenment and after[edit] J. J. Creative problem solving. Creative problem-solving, a type of problem solving, is the mental process of searching for a new and novel creative solution to a problem, a solution which is novel, original and not obvious. Creative solution types[edit] The creative solution[edit] To qualify as creative problem-solving, the solution must solve the stated problem in a novel way, and the solution must be reached independently.[1] Creative problem-solving usually begins with defining the problem. This may lead to a simple non-creative solution, or to finding a "textbook solution". The creative problem-solving process may also lead to the discovery of prior art and of creative solutions by others. The process, in these cases, may then be abandoned, if the discovered solution is "good enough".[2][3] Typically a creative solution will have 'elegant' characteristics such as using existing components without introducing any new components into the solution (i.e.
Innovations[edit] Inventions[edit] Techniques and tools[edit] Lists. Convergent and divergent production. Convergent and divergent production are the two types of human response to a set problem that were identified by J.P. Guilford (1967). Guilford observed that most individuals display a preference for either convergent or divergent thinking. Others observe that most people prefer a convergent closure. [citation needed] As opposed to TRIZ or lateral thinking divergent thinking is not about tools for creativity or thinking, but a way of categorizing what can be observed.
Divergent thinking[edit] According to J.P. Guilford, divergent or "synthetic thinking" is the ability to draw on ideas from across disciplines and fields of inquiry to reach a deeper understanding of the world and one's place in it. There is a movement in education that maintains divergent thinking might create more resourceful students. Divergent production is the creative generation of multiple answers to a set problem.
Critic of the analytic/dialectic approach[edit] References[edit] Guilford, J. (1967). See also[edit] Divergent thinking. Divergent thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. It is often used in conjunction with its cognitive opposite, convergent thinking, which follows a particular set of logical steps to arrive at one solution, which in some cases is a ‘correct’ solution. By contrast, divergent thinking typically occurs in a spontaneous, free-flowing manner, such that many ideas are generated in an emergent cognitive fashion. Many possible solutions are explored in a short amount of time, and unexpected connections are drawn. After the process of divergent thinking has been completed, ideas and information are organized and structured using convergent thinking.
Traits associated with divergent thinking[edit] Psychologists have found that a high IQ (like Albert Einstein) alone does not guarantee creativity. Promoting divergent thinking[edit] Playfulness and divergent thinking[edit] Effects of sleep deprivation on divergent thinking[edit] 1. Don't Shut Down Other Lines of Thought. Creativity Rocks! There are few things that are more satisfying than coming up with a creative solution to a vexing problem.
In fact, the feeling you get from finding a clever way out of a mess, of seeing old things in a new ways, or of making something from nothing can be wonderfully addictive. Unfortunatley, most people aren't encouraged to be creative in their everyday lives. They are given very specific instructions about what to do, whether in school or at work, and are measured by how accurately they replicate what others have done. This is a huge missed opportunity all the way around. Below are some of my favorite video clips of thought leaders talking about the value of creative problem solving. Tom Kelley of IDEO talks about the habits you can adopt to make yourself more creative: Marrisa Mayer of Google talking about the importance of contraints in stimulating creativity: My favorite video clip of venture capitalist, Vinod Khosla, talking about how all problems are opportunities.
Is Your Idea Crazy Enough? 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. 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? It's that kind of stupidity I admire. Doesn't it require solitude and silence? Twelve Things You Were Not Taught in School About Creative Thinking. Myths of Right-Brained Creativity.
"I'm not creative. I'm very left-brained. " "My teachers killed my creativity . " "I'm just not into being all different and original and weird. " As a creativity consultant, I often hear such comments. What underlie each of them are myths about creativity, myths perpetuated often by other consultants and by incomplete conclusions derived from the science of creativity. Let me be audacious enough to try to dispel one of the biggest such myths: the right-brain creativity myth. {*style:<b>MYTH #1: CREATIVITY = RIGHT HEMISPHERE </b>*}A recent study showed that a function of visual thinking is not solely a function of the right hemisphere. The puzzle required that architecture students visualize certain existing geometric shapes and if when assembled formed either a square or a rectangle.
I think this assumption stems in part from an over-simplification of especially Roger Sperry's work in the 1960s on the split-brain hypothesis. {*style:<b>MYTH #2: LOGICAL PROBLEM-SOLVING = LEFT HEMISPHERE. Alcohol Benefits the Creative Process. Creative thought is something we often aspire to. Whether it’s in terms of artistic products, scientific discoveries, or business innovations, creative accomplishments drive advancement in much of what we do. But what sorts of things enhance creativity ? A popular belief is that altered cognitive processing, whether from sleep , insanity, or alcohol use, sparks creativity among artists, composers, writers, and problem-solvers.
Perhaps due to the fact that the rarity of great accomplishments make them hard to study, however, little research has actually shown how creative processes change when people, for example, have a few drinks. Why might being intoxicated lead to improved creativity? The answer has to do with alcohol’s effect on working memory : the brainpower that helps us keep what we want in mind and what we don’t want out. Think about the flip side of the coin. So, could being intoxicated really help people to think more creatively? WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM by Steven Johnson.
A Computer-Model for the Creative Process Beyond Simple Brainstorming « Visualizing the Invisible. To build computer systems which particularly support creativity, an abstract process model is necessary. Most creativity support systems used in practice, so far only address a simple gathering of ideas in the style of a less-strict version of the Brainstorming-technique. Our main goal was, to find a more generic model which allows for the instantiation of more complex creativity techniques. This model will be explained within this article. The creative process is most commonly described as a linear phase model. Figure 1 shows the model which we design especially for the use within a computer system. This entry was posted on September 20, 2010, 10:25 am and is filed under Tools&Methods.
Making Good Lessons Great: Incorporating Multiple Iintelligences and Creative Thinking into Everyday Lesson Plans « clearings. By Betty K. Wood and Andrew L. Hunt, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Sarah C. Wood-Jenkins, Ball State University I didn’t find anything very revolutionary here except this quote which I shall bear in mind (lay-out is mine): ‘One model for teaching the skill of creative thinking involves: fluency flexibility originalityelaboration‘ “The following linear representation of a problem-solving thought process, developed by Puccio, Murdock, and Mance (2005), provides an excellent example of how characteristics and behaviors of Critical Thinking and Creative Thinking operate.” Source: Like this: Like Loading... Deadlines : Creativity and Time. Five glorious presentations on visual thinking. Do you think in words or pictures, or both?
Visual thinking engages the part of the brain that handles visual processing, and is said to be both "emotional and creative" so you can "organise information in an intuitive and simultaneous way". A picture really might be worth a thousand words, while being easier to understand and recall. Therefore it is worth exploring how visual thinking can help you communicate ideas to colleagues and clients. I have collated a few presentations to help you do exactly that. Visual Thinking By Chris Finlay. An Introduction to Visual Thinking By Ryan Coleman. The Value of Visual Thinking in Social Business By David Armano. The ten and a half commandments of visual thinking Via whatidiscover.
Visual and Creative Thinking: What We Learned From Peter Pan and Willy Wonka By Kelsey Ruger. [Joyous visual thinking image by jonny goldstein via Flickr, various rights reserved] How Geniuses Think. If You Are Creative, Are You Also Intelligent? According to an article in Newsweek , here in the United States we apparently have a creativity crisis . According to Kyung Hee Kim at the College of William and Mary, scores on the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking have been decreasing since the 1990's. The same article mentions that China is making a push to move away from rote memorization and adopt a more problem centered learning approach, perhaps like that of America. Contrast this with the results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which examines 15-year-old students in 65 countries.
The U.S. scored about average in science, above average in reading, and below average in math. According to the New York Times , Mark Schneider , a former commissioner of the U.S. Which clearly raises the question: Why is China trying to emulate America's educational system if they are already doing so well? Let's consider another perspective, that of Bill Gates.
Stefani Germanotta before becoming Lady Gaga. Mad Genius, Eccentric Behavior & Creative Process. Creative thinking with creative geniuses like you! A Creative Buzz - Ideas Market. The Inspiration Paradox: Your Best Creative Time Is Not When You Think. Thinking skills. List of creative thought processes. Creative thought. The Creative Thought Process - Part One | Event Experts.