The Leviathan Grook.
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The Leviathan Grook.
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| C r e a t i v i t y | |||
What is creativity ? What makes a creative person ? The following quotes and descriptions are some grooks about creativity.  1. Dictionary Merriam-Webster Main Entry: cre�ate Pronunciation: krE-'At, 'krE-" Function: verb Inflected Form(s): cre�at�ed; cre�at�ing Etymology: Middle English, from Latin creatus, past participle of creare; akin to Latin crescere to grow -- more at CRESCENT Date: 14th century transitive senses 1 : to bring into existence 2 a : to invest with a new form, office, or rank 3 : CAUSE, OCCASION 4 a : to produce through imaginative skill intransitive senses : to make or bring into existence something new Main Entry: cre�a�tion Pronunciation: krE-'A-sh&n Function: noun Date: 14th century 1 : the act of creating; especially : the act of bringing the world into ordered existence 2 : the act of making, inventing, or producing: as a : the act of investing with a new rank or office b : the first representation of a dramatic role 3 : something that is created: as a : WORLD b : creatures singly or in aggregate c : an original work of art d : a new usually striking article of clothing Main Entry: cre�a�tive Pronunciation: krE-'A-tiv, 'krE-" Function: adjective Date: 1678 1 : marked by the ability or power to create : given to creating 2 : having the quality of something created rather than imitated : IMAGINATIVE Main Entry: imag�i�na�tion Pronunciation: i-"ma-j&-'nA-sh&n Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin imagination-, imaginatio, from imaginari Date: 14th century 1 : the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality 2 a : creative ability b : ability to confront and deal with a problem : RESOURCEFULNESS c : the thinking or active mind : INTEREST 3 a : a creation of the mind; especially : an idealized or poetic creation b : fanciful or empty assumption 2. The Cognitive/Connection Model "Thus doth she, when from individual states She doth abstract the universal kinds, Which then reclothed in divers names and fates, Steal access thro' our senses to our minds. yeah that doesn't really sound like a definition of creativity. More a poem about philosophy and universal truths. but coleridge sure said what he says in a beautiful, original way don't he ? 3. Some Observed Traits & Behaviour. Creative people: 1)see themselves as creative 2)independent and individualistic 3)industrious and hardworking 4)remember their dreams, and have more daydreams 5)have less focused attention 6)prefer complex, asymmetric designs 7)have unconventional backgrounds that encourage their growth Classroom problems Creative Trait : Theoretical and abstract Classroom Problem: Ignores stressed data in assignments. Hands in "unneat" work. Creative Trait : Independent, Inventive (non-conforming) Classroom Problem: Resists teacher chosen assignments far beyond requirements to the exclusion of others. Creative Trait : Sensitive Classroom Problem: Withdraws because of strong goal orientation, peer group criticism and rejection. Creative Trait : Alert, Eager Classroom Problem: Resents periods of classroom inactivity. Creative Trait : Intuitive Classroom Problem: Seeing conclusions without displaying knowledge of sequential concepts. Creative Trait : Daydreaming (as concentrated periods of thinking) Classroom Problem: Inattentive to teacher's or classmates' comments and class discussions. Creative Trait : Aesthetically oriented Classroom Problem: Resists participation of active team sports. There are of course tests which can tell creativity to some degree. The recommended one is the Torrance tests, which is mentioned often in the National Foundation for Gifted and Creative Children website. The Torrance Tests reveals preferred styles of learning. Creative people prefer to learn by exploration, to be allowed independance and flexibility, and be allowed to pursue their own projects and interests instead of following an agenda. Unfortunately I have been unsuccessful in turning up any online sites devoted to the Torrance Tests. Creative people value their creativity, and seek to devote their lives to work of meaning. Creative people value their independance, are non-conforming and question authority, seldom taking things at face value. Negative capability is a trait highly present in creativity. It refers to the ability to tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty, to cope with poorly defined objectives and to continue working in spite of a lack of obvious direction. It is also the ability to be open to conflicting opinions on an issue and not have to push for closure ( eg. "Its impossible..." "It can't be true..." "I disagree..." "I agree..." ). Creative people seldom care about what others think, since they think of them as 'pack rats'. When told of opposing opinions, creative people may well say " ah, go ahead, join the hordes ". Successfully creative people defy negative expectations, not letting other people's assessments stop them from fulfilling their own goals. " The creative individual not only respects the irrational in himself, but courts the most promising source of novelty in his own thoughts.... The creative person is both more primitive and more cultured, more destructive and more constructive, crazier and saner, than the average bear. " - Frank Baron, creativity researcher. The Link between Depression and Creativity Manic Depression has been linked to creativity a lot in these days of enlightenment ( The Madness Chasers : Research into the Connection " The young poet," says Goethe, " must do some sort of violence to himself to get out of the mere general idea. No doubt this is difficult, but it is the very art of living. " The high-swing moods that manic depressives have are very so often the most productive phases of their life. This mania enables them to work non-stop to put down materially what their mind has crystalized in a moment of pure inspiration. This moment of inspiration is often what is needed to push them out of their down-swing depression into a highly creative, productive mania. Creative people listen deeply to their subconscious, never knowing when their experiences might supply them with new ideas. They live on the edge of their intuition, waiting for their precious moments of inspiration...Theodore Roethke wrote about inspiration - " the important thing in life is to have the right kind of frustration. " Living life on the edge of perception and intuition gives creative people incredible insight into the reality of life. This contributes very much to depression. The Connection Between ADD & Creativity Here is a great summary of a great paper exploring the link between ADD and Creativity And this just in...Manic Depression (Bipolar) and Creativity from FyrenIyce - Creativity Links... Am I creative ? Not according to popular conventions about creativity. Most people have the notion that ideas, books, songs, ie. genuinely original creations tumble out of one's head uninvited, as if like rain out of the sky. That all one needs is talent. Therefore, I'm not creative, no, not by a long shot. People who think that way have got it all wrong. Now I'm not saying that talent is not a big factor in determining creative success. But then everybody has some innate ability to be creative. To bring out the best of it and refine it requires training though. Training uses time, structure, discipline, attitude and hard work to wring out the best of whatever gifts we are endowed with. For example, body builders aren't born looking like how they do. Those of us with only meagre creative talent have to settle for working very hard on our training, to provide every opportunity for any hidden talent to emerge. |
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The Razor's Edge A Possible ADDer Speaks ~!
Creativity Websites From Main Body From Side Bar Components of Training : Time Time has to be given for associations to be made, experience to be gained. The best, most talented concert pianists require at least ten years to fifteen of practice before they become really great. Structure Amadeus Mozart wrote his music during a time period where the rules and conventions of music were the strictest ever. Yet he was enormously productive, writing his first composition before he was ten. Imposing structure and order generally where life is concerned, (eg following timetables) prevents total chaos, allowing some form of control to be established over vast resources ( talent ). Structure also determines final product to a huge extent. Imagine Mozart in the contemporary nineties. He might have written some very fine pop music ~! Discipline Young prodigies are often nurtured by their teachers or parents in a military fashion. Such discipline achieves distinction and results not through force or threat, but through the encouragement of the interest of the prodigy in their fields, and harnesses their desire to reach their goals. Therefore young talents are subject to rigorous training by their mentors to attain certain levels of competency, and when they get older, talents self-discipline themselves in order to reach higher levels of excellence. Attitude Attitude is everything, said somebody or other. I take this to mean determination and ambition, the willingness of an individual to continue even when one is doing badly. Most artists and musicians, actors and writers are very poor, but they go on doing their work just the same because they believe their work makes a difference. Eventually, a few of them will make it. Hard work. Enuf said. All the above, wouldn't you just know it, is hard work. Hard work is practising the skills you have. The committment to working hard should be there ever since you looked up and said " Yes, I can do it. And I'll do it. " Talent In lieu of the above, sometimes talent really is all that anyone needs. But only very rarely. Find one, and you've found a fluke, a flash in the pan ~! Grook. Let me grook a bit about creativity. Creativity isn't just creating works of art, music or fiction. There's also the garden-variety type we use to solve everyday problems, and "higher creativity" which is used by great thinkers to achieve breakthroughs in thought, and shifts in paradigms. ( blah blah blah, and the whole lot of pyscho-babble ) Especially in the sciences one is also creative, another example of creativity within a structure. Contrary to belief, imposing structure on a person doesn't necessarily kill creativity. Its when you believe the structure is the end, instead of a means to an end, that creativity is suppressed. The process of creativity can ultimately be reduced to this. Its a cybernetic approach : the mind is given a set of aims - the objective of the creative endeavor. You then supply it with as much data as it can handle. This is typically hard work. Somewhere along the way, further thinking or work may produce no headway or understanding. Now is the time to incubate your thoughts. Sleep on it. Do something else. Leave the matter alone, let your Knight work on the problem. Its on the backburners. Keep your goals and objectives in mind, but slightly out of focus. After enough time like this, ( how long doesn't really matter) you will be rewarded with a hatched Aha ~! idea. For more on how this process works, see The Razor versus the Blade. But don't be mistaken. The most important part of this isn't doing nothing. The intense focus that goes before the problem, and the open, patient attitude you bring is equally important. Hmm... grook on that. Hey, maybe grook is the word for this creative process ~! The gist of my page is that ADD is linked to creativity is linked to depression. This has not gone much ways towards sorting out my mess. Lots of creative people are not ADDed. And not depressed either. But then I am depressed pretty much, and creative even if i say so myself, and also possibly ADD. No advance in self-definition, but I've given myself lotsa new information to play with. Next stop, G i f t e d n e s s. |
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Member of the Explorer Webstar ~!  . Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate All rights reserved. Copyright � 1998 by Vinc Wong Chee Wai. |  |