Active Thinking Topic 66 What Does It Take To Think Creatively?
14
September 2023
Any replies to the organizer
- thormay@yahoo.com
Venue: Zoom online
Talking
Points
1. So you want to be entertained ... It that enough for YOU to become creative?
2. The word 'creative' is often used loosely, especially in the corporate world, and in education. What do you mean by 'creative'?
3. How does creativity differ from originality, and what is the overlap? Examples?
4. It is often said that luck comes more often to those who are prepared for it: the prepared mind sees opportunities and risks. Is this true of creativity? Is this true of originality? What mental habits foster creativity, or even originality?
5. How do general political, economic and social conditions foster or inhibit a) creativity; b) originality?
6. Why do creative and/or original individuals have such an ambiguous place in societies where the highest status is bound tightly to money?
7. When England's most famous writer, William Shakespeare, lived (1564-1616) England had about 4 million people. It was easy to be famous. He deserved his fame. However nowadays about 1 million books are published yearly (or about 4 million self-published). How severely is a) creativity, b) originality, discouraged by the sheer flood of competition (not only in writing)?
8. Most jobs are very routine. Middle managers are notorious for suppressing or stealing worker's ideas for improving processes. However, some companies do successfully encourage and implement worker ideas for improvement (not just as rhetoric, which is common). Examples? As a manager or owner how would you encourage innovative ideas from employees?
9. Choose two areas in the world as you know it and nominate some problems that require creative or original solutions.
10. Have you tried to foster your own creativity or even originality (however humble)? How? If not, why not? What are the costs and rewards for this?
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Extra Reading & Viewing
Giovanni Corazza (12 Mar 2014) "Creative thinking - how to get out of the box and generate ideas" TEDxRoma @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEusrD8g-dM [14 minutes. 4,698,903 views ] [Quote: "Corazza is a full-time professor at the Alma Mater Studiorum at the University of Bologna, a member of the Executive Council, and the founder of the Marconi Institute of Creativity. He teaches science and the applications of creative thinking ... Why/Which/How/Where/What/When/Experiment. A quick jump out of the box is more insight ful than a lifetime of standard thinking". ]
The Art of Improvement (27 Jul 2020) "The 6 Habits of Exceptionally Creative People". Youtube @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmQPNJhw5kQ [10 minutes]
Rainn Wilson, David Eagleman & more (3 Jul 2020) "Creativity: The science behind the madness." Big Think @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNHDTvqbUm4 [14 minutes]
Queen Mary University of London (December 10, 2018) "Brainwaves suppress obvious ideas to help us think more creatively". Science Daily @ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181210150622.htm [Quote: "The human brain needs to suppress obvious ideas in order to reach the most creative ones, according to scientists. These obvious associations are present in both convergent thinking (finding an 'out-of-the-box' solution) and also in divergent thinking (when individuals have to come up with several creative ideas)"].
K. Ferlic (2006) "Understanding play and its relation to creativity". Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity website @ https://ryuc.info/common/play/understanding_play.htm
Jake Flanagin (October 16, 2015) " What makes one country more “creative” than another? - The world's most creative countries". Quartz Magazine @ https://qz.com/523124/these-are-the-worlds-most-creative-countries/ [Note: Australia ranks #1 on this index]
Sam Dresser (12 October 2020) "The rise and rise of creativity
Once seen as the work of genius, how did creativity become an engine of economic growth and a corporate imperative?". Aeon Magazine @ https://aeon.co/essays/how-did-creativity-become-an-engine-of-economic-growth?
Tom Jacobs (Jun 14, 2017) "The Most Creative People Are Men—So Are the Least : New research suggests there are gender differences in creativity, but not all of them favor men". Pacific Standard @ https://psmag.com/news/the-most-creative-people-are-men-so-are-the-least
Holly White (March 5, 2019 ) "The Creativity of ADHD - More insights on a positive side of a “disorder.”" Scientific American @ https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-creativity-of-adhd
Nancy C. Andreasen (June 26, 2014) "Secrets of the Creative Brain - A leading neuroscientist who has spent decades studying creativity shares her research on where genius comes from, whether it is dependent on high IQ—and why it is so often accompanied by mental illness". The Atlantic @ https://getpocket.com/explore/item/secrets-of-the-creative-brain
Hans Villarica (March 30, 2012) "Professional Help: 5 Strategies for Creative Problem Solving". The Atlantic @ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/professional-help-5-strategies-for-creative-problem-solving/254415/
Charles Chu (Dec 22, 2016 ) "Isaac Asimov: How to Never Run Out of Ideas Again". Medium @ https://medium.com/personal-growth/isaac-asimov-how-to-never-run-out-of-ideas-again-b7bf8e09cc91#.7e2qbvb06
Richard Feynman (27 August 2020) "There's no such thing as a MIRACLE - Richard Feynman advice to students". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAX27XRHMH8 [Feynman was a Nobel Prize winning mathematician and physicist who always rejected any suggestion that he had above average IQ or special gifts. The essential ingredients, he said, were deep interest in a topic, breaking it down, and learning by explaining the details back to others in a clear way. This became known as The Feynman Method and is followed by many famous individuals]
Peter H. Diamandis (25 Aug 2023) "Aging is Now Optional w/ David Sinclair" @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk_GcwkfJGs [46 minutes] [ref. "David Sinclair is a biologist and academic known for his expertise in aging and epigenetics. Sinclair is a genetics professor and the Co-Director of Harvard Medical School’s Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research. He’s been included in Time100 as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World"]
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1. So you want to be entertained ... It that enough for YOU to become creative?
2. The word 'creative' is often used loosely, especially in the corporate world, and in education. What do you mean by 'creative'?
3. How does creativity differ from originality, and what is the overlap? Examples?
4. It is often said that luck comes more often to those who are prepared for it: the prepared mind sees opportunities and risks. Is this true of creativity? Is this true of originality? What mental habits foster creativity, or even originality?
5. How do general political, economic and social conditions foster or inhibit a) creativity; b) originality?
6. Why do creative and/or original individuals have such an ambiguous place in societies where the highest status is bound tightly to money?
7. When England's most famous writer, William Shakespeare, lived (1564-1616) England had about 4 million people. It was easy to be famous. He deserved his fame. However nowadays about 1 million books are published yearly (or about 4 million self-published). How severely is a) creativity, b) originality, discouraged by the sheer flood of competition (not only in writing)?
8. Most jobs are very routine. Middle managers are notorious for suppressing or stealing worker's ideas for improving processes. However, some companies do successfully encourage and implement worker ideas for improvement (not just as rhetoric, which is common). Examples? As a manager or owner how would you encourage innovative ideas from employees?
9. Choose two areas in the world as you know it and nominate some problems that require creative or original solutions.
10. Have you tried to foster your own creativity or even originality (however humble)? How? If not, why not? What are the costs and rewards for this?
------------------------
Extra Reading & Viewing
Giovanni Corazza (12 Mar 2014) "Creative thinking - how to get out of the box and generate ideas" TEDxRoma @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEusrD8g-dM [14 minutes. 4,698,903 views ] [Quote: "Corazza is a full-time professor at the Alma Mater Studiorum at the University of Bologna, a member of the Executive Council, and the founder of the Marconi Institute of Creativity. He teaches science and the applications of creative thinking ... Why/Which/How/Where/What/When/Experiment. A quick jump out of the box is more insight ful than a lifetime of standard thinking". ]
The Art of Improvement (27 Jul 2020) "The 6 Habits of Exceptionally Creative People". Youtube @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmQPNJhw5kQ [10 minutes]
Rainn Wilson, David Eagleman & more (3 Jul 2020) "Creativity: The science behind the madness." Big Think @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNHDTvqbUm4 [14 minutes]
Queen Mary University of London (December 10, 2018) "Brainwaves suppress obvious ideas to help us think more creatively". Science Daily @ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181210150622.htm [Quote: "The human brain needs to suppress obvious ideas in order to reach the most creative ones, according to scientists. These obvious associations are present in both convergent thinking (finding an 'out-of-the-box' solution) and also in divergent thinking (when individuals have to come up with several creative ideas)"].
K. Ferlic (2006) "Understanding play and its relation to creativity". Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity website @ https://ryuc.info/common/play/understanding_play.htm
Jake Flanagin (October 16, 2015) " What makes one country more “creative” than another? - The world's most creative countries". Quartz Magazine @ https://qz.com/523124/these-are-the-worlds-most-creative-countries/ [Note: Australia ranks #1 on this index]
Sam Dresser (12 October 2020) "The rise and rise of creativity
Once seen as the work of genius, how did creativity become an engine of economic growth and a corporate imperative?". Aeon Magazine @ https://aeon.co/essays/how-did-creativity-become-an-engine-of-economic-growth?
Tom Jacobs (Jun 14, 2017) "The Most Creative People Are Men—So Are the Least : New research suggests there are gender differences in creativity, but not all of them favor men". Pacific Standard @ https://psmag.com/news/the-most-creative-people-are-men-so-are-the-least
Holly White (March 5, 2019 ) "The Creativity of ADHD - More insights on a positive side of a “disorder.”" Scientific American @ https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-creativity-of-adhd
Nancy C. Andreasen (June 26, 2014) "Secrets of the Creative Brain - A leading neuroscientist who has spent decades studying creativity shares her research on where genius comes from, whether it is dependent on high IQ—and why it is so often accompanied by mental illness". The Atlantic @ https://getpocket.com/explore/item/secrets-of-the-creative-brain
Hans Villarica (March 30, 2012) "Professional Help: 5 Strategies for Creative Problem Solving". The Atlantic @ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/professional-help-5-strategies-for-creative-problem-solving/254415/
Charles Chu (Dec 22, 2016 ) "Isaac Asimov: How to Never Run Out of Ideas Again". Medium @ https://medium.com/personal-growth/isaac-asimov-how-to-never-run-out-of-ideas-again-b7bf8e09cc91#.7e2qbvb06
Richard Feynman (27 August 2020) "There's no such thing as a MIRACLE - Richard Feynman advice to students". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAX27XRHMH8 [Feynman was a Nobel Prize winning mathematician and physicist who always rejected any suggestion that he had above average IQ or special gifts. The essential ingredients, he said, were deep interest in a topic, breaking it down, and learning by explaining the details back to others in a clear way. This became known as The Feynman Method and is followed by many famous individuals]
Peter H. Diamandis (25 Aug 2023) "Aging is Now Optional w/ David Sinclair" @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk_GcwkfJGs [46 minutes] [ref. "David Sinclair is a biologist and academic known for his expertise in aging and epigenetics. Sinclair is a genetics professor and the Co-Director of Harvard Medical School’s Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research. He’s been included in Time100 as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World"]
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What Does It Take To Think Creatively? (c) Thor May 2023