Archives for May, 2012
Using Research to Enhance Creative Thinking
There may not yet be a "unified field theory" in the science of creativity that definitively explains what it is and how the creative mind operates (see my previous post Do We Have...
Do We Have a Science of Creativity?
In a recent article on The Creativity Post site, Milena Z. Fisher gives some thoughtful and stimulating responses to the acclaimed Jonah Lehrer book "Imagine," and comments about the state of creativity research.
[Fisher is a philosopher (Nietzsche scholar), entrepreneur, and co-founder of The Creativity Post.]
She notes there is no absolute definition, that nobody knows exactly what “creativity” really is, and that while Lehrer "elegantly and effortlessly skims through different aspects of creativity" and...
[Fisher is a philosopher (Nietzsche scholar), entrepreneur, and co-founder of The Creativity Post.]
She notes there is no absolute definition, that nobody knows exactly what “creativity” really is, and that while Lehrer "elegantly and effortlessly skims through different aspects of creativity" and...
Sudden Genius – The Acquired Savant Experience
Darold Treffert, , one of the foremost experts on savantism, cites examples of “acquired savants” – defined as “previously non-disabled persons who after some injury or disease begin to demonstrate some, until then, dormant savant characteristics and capacities.”
A new Atlantic magazine article gives examples such as British photographer Eadweard Muybridge who created images like this one, "The Human Figure in Motion."
A famous 1880s series of his photographs of...
A new Atlantic magazine article gives examples such as British photographer Eadweard Muybridge who created images like this one, "The Human Figure in Motion."
A famous 1880s series of his photographs of...
Killing or Enhancing Creativity and Innovation in Business
Business environments and cultures can encourage or stifle creative thinking - just like our own creative minds.
Tom Kelley, general manager of award-winning industrial design firm, IDEO, writes about a common form of response to creative ideas in a "pivotal meeting where you push forward a new idea or proposal you’re passionate about.
"A fast-paced discussion leads to an upwelling of support that seems about to reach critical mass. And then, in one...
Tom Kelley, general manager of award-winning industrial design firm, IDEO, writes about a common form of response to creative ideas in a "pivotal meeting where you push forward a new idea or proposal you’re passionate about.
"A fast-paced discussion leads to an upwelling of support that seems about to reach critical mass. And then, in one...
Too Noisy To Hear Myself Think
Do you use music for creative work? Do you get distracted by noise?
In one of my interviews with psychologist and author Susan Perry, PhD, she commented that a writer she knew chose a fresh CD for each novel she wrote.
"A few people told me things like that," Perry remarked.
"They'll choose particular music for a particular project, and by putting that music on, they put themselves into -- it's not hypnotic exactly, but into...
In one of my interviews with psychologist and author Susan Perry, PhD, she commented that a writer she knew chose a fresh CD for each novel she wrote.
"A few people told me things like that," Perry remarked.
"They'll choose particular music for a particular project, and by putting that music on, they put themselves into -- it's not hypnotic exactly, but into...
Doubting and Creating
“I really have that worry that I’ll wake up in the morning and think, ‘Oh God. I’m such a fraud, and they’ll find me out.’ I doubt myself a lot."
Those are comments by one of my favorite actors, Emily Blunt, who interestingly continued, "And maybe that’s a good thing, because I think it would be limiting to have discovered my whole bag of tricks by now. Hopefully...
Those are comments by one of my favorite actors, Emily Blunt, who interestingly continued, "And maybe that’s a good thing, because I think it would be limiting to have discovered my whole bag of tricks by now. Hopefully...
“Think Outside the Box” and Other Metaphors of Creativity
An article in Fast Company magazine notes the advice by consultants to "think outside the box" is "about as cliched as it gets," according to Jesse Sheidlower, editor-at-large of the Oxford English Dictionary.
The origin of the ubiquitous phrase, the article says, "is generally attributed to consultants in the 1970s and 1980s who tried to make clients feel inadequate by drawing nine dots on a piece of paper and asking them to connect the...
The origin of the ubiquitous phrase, the article says, "is generally attributed to consultants in the 1970s and 1980s who tried to make clients feel inadequate by drawing nine dots on a piece of paper and asking them to connect the...
Helping A New Generation Nurture Creative Thinking and Innovation
"Only one set of skills can ensure this generation's economic future - the capacity for innovation."
That quote comes from the website of the new book "Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People That Will Change The World" by Tony Wagner, which declares that nurturing creative thinking is crucial and that "only one set of skills can ensure this generation's economic future: the capacity for innovation."
The book asks, "What do the best schools...
That quote comes from the website of the new book "Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People That Will Change The World" by Tony Wagner, which declares that nurturing creative thinking is crucial and that "only one set of skills can ensure this generation's economic future: the capacity for innovation."
The book asks, "What do the best schools...
