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). 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. In this paper, I want to bring up three major issues, which are among the topics of our study. The third issue is to use what we have learned about creativity in later life as a model for how to deal with creative children.
Teaching critical thinking Benjamin Bloom (1956) created this taxonomy or classification system for categorizing "competencies" in educational settings, as defined by skills demonstrated by learner type or intelligence. This breakdown provides a useful, incremental framework of complexity in demonstrating mastery of a subject or topic. The verbs include the skills that demonstrate each: Knowledge:To know something means to be able to remember or recall facts or bits of information, though one can "know" something without understanding it or being able to put it into a higher context. This process is illustrated by recall of sequences and lists, of events and dates; landmarks on a route; pictures and their graphic details; songs and lyrics; titles and names; even memorized definitions and explanations. Verbs include: choose, define, describe, enumerate, identify, label, list, locate, match, memorize, name, quote, recall, recite, recognize, reproduce, select, show, state Curricular guides and resources:
Intellectual Giftedness Intellectual giftedness, often referred to as high IQ, is usually given short shrift when it comes to considerations of the special needs of exceptional people. Because giftedness appears on the surface to be nothing but an advantage, the challenges it presents are often ignored and unknown. Giftedness is not about being better, it's about being *different*. A gifted person's life experience is significantly different from the norm. Along with it's blessings, it brings it's own set of challenges. Feelings of extreme isolation are fairly common, while introversion and emotional intensity conspire to keep others at bay. I'm of the opinion that, despite our desire for simple quantification of intelligence, noting characteristics of giftedness is perhaps a more useful, or at least complementary, method of detecting the intelligent. Almost all those characteristics, while pretty general, are present in every really smart person I know.
Myths About Giftedness ~ by Mary Rocamora, M.A. ~ There are many myths about the gifted that are held in the mainstream culture. The gifted can make it by themselves — they don’t need any extra attention, either as children or as adults. Actually, gifted children and adults need more mirroring and mentoring than most people because there is more inside that is yearning to be lived. Even if you have extraordinary talents, keep your light under a bushel. One should never feel too good about one’s abilities or show them off except when invited or alone. You can be gifted on your own time. After you have done everything you “should” do, you will finally be free to do something meaningful or creative. In the awareness work we offer, the gifted are moved irrevocably away from the obligatory demands of family, friends, being a “good person,” and even our ideas about survival. You can’t earn a living being who you are. If you get too big, you’ll die. The path to realization for the gifted is littered with land mines.
Radical thinking Are you looking for new ideas? Has your path reached a dead-end?Are your options limited, or just invisible? Often the way we experience the world is built on and bordered by our experiences! When we find ourselves in a situation, we form solutions with “shortcuts” based upon patterns we have “learned” in our lives. Most of the time, these shortcuts serve us well by providing answers based upon how we have solved problems in our past. However, these rules also can lock us into stereotypes, pre-conceived ideas, and uncritical analysis. Perhaps radical thinking may help you generate new ideas? First, briefly summarize your situation or challenge. Situation example 1: My elderly grandmother can’t get to the phone in emergencies. Situation example 2: I talk too much Opposite mode: I will be silent. Situation example 3: I am disorganized. Thinking and recall series
IQ Basics Graph drawn in Excel using the NORMDIST function. What is intelligence? The definition I like is that intelligence is "the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations ... also : the skilled use of reason" (7). I.Q. = Intelligence Quotient Originally, "IQ" tests were created to be able to identify children who might need special education (1). To relate the mental development of a child to the child's chronological age the IQ was invented. Thus the deviation IQ replaced the ratio IQ. What is a standard deviation (SD)? With the standard deviation and a mean, you can calculate percentiles. High IQ societies ask for certain percentile scores on IQ tests for you to be eligible to join them. There have been various classification systems for IQ. Terman's classification was (6): (Terman wrote the Stanford-Binet test (1), which has a SD of 16.) These are now obsolete. References (1) Berk, L.E. (1997). (2) Eysenck, H. (1994). (3) Iman, R.L. (1994). (5) Reber, A.S. (1995).
Halo Effect The idea that global evaluations about a person bleed over into judgements about their specific traits. The ‘halo effect’ is a classic finding in social psychology. It is the idea that global evaluations about a person (e.g. she is likeable) bleed over into judgements about their specific traits (e.g. she is intelligent). Hollywood stars demonstrate the halo effect perfectly. Because they are often attractive and likeable we naturally assume they are also intelligent, friendly, display good judgement and so on. That is, until we come across (sometimes plentiful) evidence to the contrary. In the same way politicians use the ‘halo effect’ to their advantage by trying to appear warm and friendly, while saying little of any substance. But you would think we could pick up these sorts of mistaken judgements by simply introspecting and, in a manner of speaking, retrace our thought processes back to the original mistake. Likeability of lecturers Unconscious judgements Image credit: ericcastro
Ask the Expert - IQ and Creativity testing for children Q: My daughter is 3 years and 9 months old. Since about a year ago she has displayed a great deal of artistic talent (at 2 yrs 9 months old she was drawing people with arms and legs and naming them). She draws pictures and labels them specifically, often asking how to spell the word so she can write it on the paper. What type of assessment would you recommend for a child demonstrating artistic ability at her age? A: Every child is considered to have creative potential and capable of creative expression, however not to an equal extent. Smell sensitivity varies with circadian rhythm -- ScienceDaily It has always been apparent that some individuals have a better sense of smell than others, but a new study of 37 teens provides the first direct evidence that within each person, smell sensitivity varies over the course of each day. The pattern, according to the data, tracks with the body's internal day-night cycle, or circadian rhythm. "This finding is very important for olfactory perception science," said Rachel Herz, lead author of the study in Chemical Senses and an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. As one of the five senses, smell is an important ability, Herz noted, not only for experiencing and enjoying the world, but also for receiving information about danger, such as nearby fire or spoiled food, and for basic functions like eating. 28-hour 'days' All along, they lived indoors in dim light, socializing and participating in fun activities with each other and staff members. The rhythm of smell
Science Fiction Timeline Site . . . Marc Carlson's KNOWN SPACE Chronology . . . Science Fiction Timeline Site • Larry Niven's Known SpaceFramed Site Timeline • Links TIME LINE of Larry Niven's Known Space Universe Revision 111407 Compiled by I. Some additional material by Richard S. Since all of this information has come from other sources, I don't feel as though I can copyright it. Notes on sources: The sources used for this were Larry Niven's stories and novels. The codes in parentheses indicate the source. TKS = Timeline for Known Space, published in Tales of Known Space (1975). The above materials will be superseded should different information be published. Finally, all items marked with an * are conjecture, based on the information on hand, and may be further explained by a description in brackets. I would like to point out that noting the inconsistencies between dates should not be construed as criticism. It should be noted that the dates of the Gil Hamilton stories are absolutely internally inconsistent. But I digress... about 15 Billion Years Ago Galaxies form.
Dabrowski's by Stephanie S. Tolan Written for Hoagies' Gifted Education Page, February, 1999 Dabrowski talked about OE's - over-excitabilities ("superstimulatabilities"), and how the gifted were extremely sensitive in a variety of areas. It's a stimulus-response difference from the norms. It means that in these 5 areas a person reacts more strongly than normal for a longer period than normal to a stimulus that may be very small. The five areas are: Psychomotor This is often thought to mean that the person needs lots of movement and athletic activity, but can also refer to the issue of having trouble smoothing out the mind's activities for sleeping. Sensual Here's the "cut the label out of the shirt" demand, the child who limps as if with a broken leg when a sock seam is twisted. Imaginational These are the dreamers, poets, "space cadets" who are strong visual thinkers, use lots of metaphorical speech. Intellectual Here's the usual definition of "giftedness." Emotional
It's alright Ma, I'm only Punding: Stimulants and Compulsions | RxISK This post by Johanna Ryan touches on the problems of compulsive gambling and other compulsive behaviors that are linked to Abilify, SSRIs and Dopamine Agonists and also to Dopamine Agonist Withdrawal Syndrome (DAWS). It was Lester Grinspoon’s 1975 book The Speed Culture that introduced me to the concept of “punding”: a drug-induced compulsion for repetitive, sometimes elaborate but essentially useless busywork. I read it, and something clicked: “Punding” explained an awful lot about my own behavior and that of other Adderall users in 2015. The word was coined by a Swedish forensic psychologist, G. Watches, doorknobs, television sets, radios and phonographs, typewriters and children’s toys were among the common items of curiosity and analysis. The Speed Culture, pp. 103-04. Twenty-first century punding All this sounded a bit too familiar. But by far the Top Two compulsions discussed on QA were excessive Internet use, and compulsive shopping. From ADHD to … Parkinson’s?