For many people, creativity is something reserved for scientists or artists. But this is to ignore the fact that we are faced with countless problems in our daily life, and it is precisely creative thinking that helps us come up with solutions to these problems.
Many people also seem to think that creativity is a matter of waiting for inspirations. But it would be a mistake to think that creativity is a passive state of mind. While it is true that there is no special algorithm for creativity, there are thinking skills that can be taught and things one can do to enhance one's creativity.
Many people also seem to think that creativity is a matter of waiting for inspirations. But it would be a mistake to think that creativity is a passive state of mind. While it is true that there is no special algorithm for creativity, there are thinking skills that can be taught and things one can do to enhance one's creativity.
Principle one : New ideas are composed of old elements
Creativity is mainly about alternative possibilities - how to come up with new and useful ideas. A new idea might be a new theory, a new product, a new solution to a problem, or a conception for a piece of art.
To come up with something new is to produce something that is distinctive and special. The practical implication here is that in order to be creative we must be ready to deviate from the ordinary and the traditional. Many people have the habit of following instructions and are afraid of challenging the status quo or exploring anything new. This implies a certain courageous exploratory attitude and curiosity in one's character.
How do we generate new ideas from old ones? Roughly speaking, ideas are usually composed of diffrent elements, and we look for new combination of ideas by joining different ideas together, deleting some elements, or replacing some elements by other ones.
Creativity is mainly about alternative possibilities - how to come up with new and useful ideas. A new idea might be a new theory, a new product, a new solution to a problem, or a conception for a piece of art.
To come up with something new is to produce something that is distinctive and special. The practical implication here is that in order to be creative we must be ready to deviate from the ordinary and the traditional. Many people have the habit of following instructions and are afraid of challenging the status quo or exploring anything new. This implies a certain courageous exploratory attitude and curiosity in one's character.
How do we generate new ideas from old ones? Roughly speaking, ideas are usually composed of diffrent elements, and we look for new combination of ideas by joining different ideas together, deleting some elements, or replacing some elements by other ones.
The first principle also has a practical implication - the ingredients for creativity depends on the store of ideas that are available for recombination. If you have a limited domain of knowledge, you will have fewer resources to draw from in forming new ideas. This is why intellectual curiosity and a wide knowledge base can significantly enhance one's creativity - one has in one's possession more concepts, theories and experience to choose from. This is also why it can be useful to try to solve a problem by consulting other people with different expertise.
Principle two : Not all new ideas are on a par
Creativity is not simply a matter of coming up with new ideas. The kind of creativity that is valued is the ability to come up with new and useful ideas, ideas that serve an important need or creates a new trend that makes an impact.
Creativity might be divided int: Artistic creativity consists in the creation of artwork and expressing one's ideas and emotions through various forms of art. Cognitive creativity is a matter of coming up with solutions to practical or theoretical problems. This includes for example creating a new scientific theory, or lauching a new commercial product. Cognitive creativity has two parts - the generation of new ideas, and the evaluation and modification of new ideas. When we need new ideas to solve a problem, critical thinking is necessary to help determine the relevance and effectiveness of the idea. To build a rocket that flies to the moon, one should not violate logic or the laws of physics. The evaluation of any proposal to solve a problem must involve good critical thinking.
It is sometimes suggested that creativity often requires going against the usual conventions, and that new and important ideas might be lost if one is too critical. But good critical thinking does not mean that one must always be critical. If experience tells us that it is useful to brainstorm, that sometimes it might be productive to suspend one's critical judgment and list out new ideas before evaluating them, then it is of course rational to do so. This is certainly not inconsistent with the principles of critical thinking. It is thus a serious misconception to regard critical thinking and cognitive creativity as opposed to each other.
Creativity is not simply a matter of coming up with new ideas. The kind of creativity that is valued is the ability to come up with new and useful ideas, ideas that serve an important need or creates a new trend that makes an impact.
Creativity might be divided int: Artistic creativity consists in the creation of artwork and expressing one's ideas and emotions through various forms of art. Cognitive creativity is a matter of coming up with solutions to practical or theoretical problems. This includes for example creating a new scientific theory, or lauching a new commercial product. Cognitive creativity has two parts - the generation of new ideas, and the evaluation and modification of new ideas. When we need new ideas to solve a problem, critical thinking is necessary to help determine the relevance and effectiveness of the idea. To build a rocket that flies to the moon, one should not violate logic or the laws of physics. The evaluation of any proposal to solve a problem must involve good critical thinking.
It is sometimes suggested that creativity often requires going against the usual conventions, and that new and important ideas might be lost if one is too critical. But good critical thinking does not mean that one must always be critical. If experience tells us that it is useful to brainstorm, that sometimes it might be productive to suspend one's critical judgment and list out new ideas before evaluating them, then it is of course rational to do so. This is certainly not inconsistent with the principles of critical thinking. It is thus a serious misconception to regard critical thinking and cognitive creativity as opposed to each other.
Principle three : Creativity is enhanced by the ability to detect connections between ideas
Our store of ideas provides the ingredients to generate new ones, but it is important to remember that useful ideas might come from unexpected sources. A successful marketing campaign might appeal to certain psychological studies and relate to particular trends in the society. This involves seeing a connection between the subject matter one is interested in (the marketing exercise) and other subjects (sociology and psychology) which might seem somewhat remote.
So if we want to be creative, we must be ready to explore connections between different areas. First, this means we should have a wide knowledge base. Creative people are usually people who read widely, who have a great sense of curiosity, and are often willing to explore topics which do not bring about immediate benefits. Second, we should ensure that our learning processes should aim at a deep understanding of the connections between key concepts. Studying is not simply remembering bits and pieces of unrelated information. We should make sure that we look at the information we have from different angles, reformulate them systematically in a way to achieve better understanding.
Our store of ideas provides the ingredients to generate new ones, but it is important to remember that useful ideas might come from unexpected sources. A successful marketing campaign might appeal to certain psychological studies and relate to particular trends in the society. This involves seeing a connection between the subject matter one is interested in (the marketing exercise) and other subjects (sociology and psychology) which might seem somewhat remote.
So if we want to be creative, we must be ready to explore connections between different areas. First, this means we should have a wide knowledge base. Creative people are usually people who read widely, who have a great sense of curiosity, and are often willing to explore topics which do not bring about immediate benefits. Second, we should ensure that our learning processes should aim at a deep understanding of the connections between key concepts. Studying is not simply remembering bits and pieces of unrelated information. We should make sure that we look at the information we have from different angles, reformulate them systematically in a way to achieve better understanding.
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