Objective: To identify and to define the meaning of the word creative and creativity
Creativity: One of the definition being explored is; the generation of new ideas or new way of doing things
Definition
Creativity is the ability to think up and design new inventions, produce works of art, solve problems in new ways, or develop an idea based on an original, novel, or unconventional approach.
Defining Creativity; Myth of Creativity
1. Only special talented people are creative.
ð Task Motivation; Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Thinking Managers, creative thinking expert De Bono explains: “Some people have an apparently natural curiosity and motivation towards creativity. In order to be creative, however, you need to go far beyond this general motivation.”
2. Being Creative is Hard.
ð Creativity is an attitude, combine with effort; 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration- Thomas Edison
3. Problems are in our life to make it more difficult.
ð Necessity is the mother of invention. Complacency kills imagination
4. I am not creative.
ð Creativity can be nurtured and not just by nature. Anyone can be creative if they know how to control it by using the right method and technique. Thinking Managers’ Edward de Bono says the formal skills of lateral thinking can boost creativity. De Bono insists that creative people could do much more if they also learned some of the formal tools of creativity such as lateral thinking.
5. Innovation is the domain of geniuses.
ð Knowledge domain is only one part or component that make up creativity.
“Lateral thinking is a skill that can be learned, practiced and developed,” says De Bono. “It is formal creativity based on the logic of asymmetric systems.”
6. I have to have brand new ideas in order for me to be considered creative.
ð Creative idea is not a product of one person’s effort. It is a synthesis of many elements, ideas, context, knowledge, etc… Environment plays a big role to the creation of a unique or new idea.
“The creative act is not an act of creation in the sense of the Old Testament. It does not create something out of nothing: it uncovers, selects, re-shuffles, combines, synthesizes already existing facts, ideas,
faculties, skills. The more familiar the parts, the more striking the new whole.”
Arthur Koestler
7. Brainstorming is hard work.
ð Creative idea take place in the least expected environment. Famous inventor and innovator received their best idea when they are in a relax or when they are having fun. Eureka… achimadese got it when he was in a bath- tub.
8. Only artists need to be creative.
ð Creativity belongs to everyone and not just the domain of an artist
9. Writer’s block is a greatest obstacle in the creative process.
ð Creativity is about allowing our self to make mistake. Creative will come and manifest it self through a “safe approaches” De Bono explains: “It is possible to show a greatly increased output of ideas. But unless there is a willingness to try these ideas, you cannot measure their effect. The more powerful an idea, the less the willingness there is to try it out.
10. Using structured creative techniques will hinder my ability to be creative.
ð Never put judgment to ‘anything’ while generating an idea. Work with divergent and end it with a convergent thinking.
“Our natural thinking habits are based on analysis and judgment. You analyze the situation in order to identify any standard element, and then you apply the standard answer. This is excellent, but it is not enough.”
Three reasons why people are motivated to be creative:
- need for novel, varied, and complex stimulation
- need to communicate ideas and values
- need to solve problems
From Creativity - Beyond the Myth of Genius, by Robert W. Weisberg.
All who study creativity agree that for something to be creative, it is not enough for it to be novel: it must have value, or be appropriate to the cognitive demands of the situation.
From Creativity - Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
- Persons who express unusual thoughts, who are interesting and stimulating - in short, people who appear to unusually bright.
- People who experience the world in novel and original ways. These are (personally creative) individuals whose perceptions are fresh, whose judgments are insightful, who may make important discoveries that only they know about.
- Individuals who have changes our culture in some important way. Because their achievement are by definition public, it is easier to write about them. (e.g., Leonardo, Edison, Picasso, Einstein, etc.)
So what is ‘Creativity’?
An Ability
A simple definition is that creativity is the ability to imagine or invent something new.
An Attitude
Creativity is also an attitude: the ability to accept change and newness, a willingness to play with ideas and possibilities, a flexibility of outlook, the habit of enjoying the good, while looking for ways to improve it
A Process
Creative people work hard and continually to improve ideas and solutions, by making gradual alterations and refinements to their works
