The Digital Generation
“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” – Albert Einstein
Artistic: Creativity vs Logical Creativity
This is one of those subjects I’ve debated several times in person and one that was struck up by some friends recently on twitter. I chose not to really get involved on twitter as I hate debating on such a limited social network but I am not great at leaving this topic of conversation alone.
From what I can gather the rough comment that sparked the debate was – Logical people can be creative, but it’s creativity within logic. Creatives can be creative outside this.
I mostly agree with this statement although the outside this is a little ambiguous and does imply a lesser creativity is harnessed by logic to the creativity harnessed by artistic means. That part I don’t agree with. Both are important and needed in life.
Let’s start with the fundamanetal of what a person does whether aristic or logical, making a song or writing code. Both types of people are taking a blank canvas of some kind and are filling it. They are taking nothing and turning it into something, therefore on the basic level something has definitely been created!
The biggest difference is why they are doing so. A logical person probably has some kind of job (or is studying for one) that involves taking a problem, like how to stop all the harmful gas in a mine being leaked into the air or how can we make a more efficient car that runs more cheaply for an average family. There is a problem and solving it provides some kind of gain to our way of life, preserving the planet, saving us money, saving lives etc.
An artistic person can create for a much wider set of reasons (not necessarily more or less important). They might feel hurt and wish to create something that comforts others in similar situations, they might feel it necessary to challenge a particular worldview or opinion to ensure humanity doesn’t go down a dark path. They might not even know why they are creating but feel the need to do so anyway and express what’s inside them in the hope to gain clarity.
Notice in the logical examples it is some kind of physical need, in the artisitc examples it is all centered around feelings, emotions and morals. This is what is drawn on to create our new thing, whatever it is. An artist often draws on the emotional side of things to create, often creating their best work when they have freely explored that emotion, often in a very unlogical way (the brain often just dredges up all the associated experiences they’ve ever had that relate in no logical order).
A logical person sometimes has a brief of what their project has to do and they set about thinking through how that is going to be solved. Often the process going on in their brain is as subconscious as the process going on in an artistically creative’s brain. They are trying to come up with the best solution to the problem but often their emotions are unengaged. My husband frequently tells me that he can’t code and think about coding while angry or even happy. He has to focus on something that is neither of those and similar to the process of solving a sudoku he goes through a bunch of logical steps (drawing on previous knowledge and understanding often subconsciously) to solve the task.
Then comes the editing side of things, A coder checks for bugs and might tweak code to make it more simplistic – the aim is an elegant coding that solves every part of the initial problem. Again another rather logical process. It’s not a fun stage of things. It requires being critical and deliberately looking for flaws.
A songwriter tweaks odd words, and checks for jarring notes – the aim is a graceful piece of music and lyrics that conveys the message it’s meant to. It can seem more logical. It is when all the technique and knowledge is applied but it’s still done from an emotional position. If a word can be changed because the new word conveys more of the emotion intended it is. Words have meaning which goes beyond face value. They drudge up memories, thoughts and associations that the artistically creative draw upon. The same with colours, textures and visual effects. This can often be a painful process for the artistic. They are looking at the creation that has often come from a very vulnerable emotional part of them and they are examining it critically for flaws.
The wonderful part is both logical creativity and aristic creativity brings satisfaction to the creator once it is complete. Both have strived for beauty and elegance in what they have created and both get the same sense of achievement when they manage it, they have simply done so by drawing on different states of mind. One the logical need to solve a problem, the other the emotional need to solve what is also considered a problem of some sort. The problems are just set by different things physical needs or emotional/moral needs.
It also comes intuitively. Neither task requires the problem solver to tell their brain which method of creativity to use. I’ve never had to sit down with a sudoku and tell my brain to turn off it’s emotions and just apply the logical things it’s learnt. It knows to do that. Likewise I never have to sit down to write a poem and tell my brain to focus on the relevant emotion. It knows to do that.
Most of the time we find ourselves better at one of these processes than the other, either drawing on our emotions or the logical knowledge we’ve picked up during our life. They both come with their stereotypes. The mad scientist who forgets everything but the speed of light and spends hours studying light’s properties but ten seconds putting their clothes on and the artistic person who doesn’t care if they’ve eaten as long as they’ve made the world think about the importance of love.
Different but both important and, in their own ways, both beautiful.
Results from an online thinking test:
Here is how much you scored for every type:
Doer: 88%
Analyst: 50%
Orator: 88%
Inventor: 88%
Original Thinker: 63%
The Doer: Concrete Thinking
You tend to thinks in practical, actionable terms. Craftsmen, sportsmen and anyone who produces anything tangible need this type of thinking. Doers contribute to the world by bringing thoughts and ideas together and making them a reality.
The Analyst: Analytical and Abstract Thinking
You tend to think in abstract terms. This type of thinking is important for mathematicians, economists, programmers, scientists and, obviously, analysts. These people are able to process information in the form of codes and complex symbols – something you can’t see or touch. Many scientific discoveries were possible because of this ability.
The Orator: Logical Thinking
You tend to think in terms of words and logic. Good writers, journalists, translators and teachers typically belong to this type. Orators are able to form ideas and then deliver these ideas to others in a clear and logical format. This ability is especially important for leaders, politicians and activists.
The Inventor: Imaginative Thinking
You tend to think in terms of pictures. People who belong to this type have a rich imagination that allows them to imagine things they haven’t seen – either because it’s something from the past or because it’s something that never existed – and express it in their work. Successful architects, designers, artists and screenwriters usually belong to this type.
The Original Thinker: Creative Thinking
You have a rare and valuable ability to think creatively. Creative thinking is an ability to look at problems and situations from an uncommon perspective and find unusual and often surprising solutions. Creative thinking is a rare skill and is needed in all types of work.
Creativity vs Logic. Art vs Science. Left Brain vs Right Brain
We, however, believe that these groups have much more in common than they realise. In fact, while the tools may be different, we think the pure skill of the data scientist is virtually the same as that of the creative. For instance: The data scientist typically receives a flexible brief, then has the freedom to use any number of tools to achieve a result. The tools are mathematical and programmatical in nature, but there is no limit to the way in which they can be combined and employed. In fact, the difference between a passable and a great data scientist is down to how they manipulate their toolset, more than how familiar they are with the tools themselves. One of the main advantages of deep familiarity with a tool is simply that it frees up headspace for creativity.
Recently Steve (Steve King, CEO) asked me to ‘come up with an equation’ to describe consumer behaviour. The task was a purely creative exercise. Sure, there were rules to follow, I had to obey the rules of algebra, things like 1+1 = 2. I also had a goal. The rest was up to me. Now imagine a creative was asked to ‘come up with a illustration’ to describe shopping behaviour. No one would disagree that this was a creative exercise. They would, however, have rules to follow. To draw a 3D box certain rules for angles and lines need to be obeyed. There would also be rules of perspective and colour. Even subtleties like the drawing of a beautiful face are subject to underlying rules such as symmetry and ‘the golden ratio’. Notice that most of these are mathematical and geometrical. One could say that artists have an instinctive knowledge of maths!
I’ve always felt slightly awkward (only very slightly) calling myself a ‘creative’, or in fact describing my team as the ‘creative’ team. It feels arrogant wearing that label, surely creativity is something that anyone can lay equal claim to, whether it be icing a cake or decorating their house? Not many of us though, would describe ourselves as a ‘scientist’ (regardless of how good we’re were at molecular gastronomy!) unless it really was in our job title.
As proof of this, most of the creative teams and agencies I have worked with have magnanimously at conceded ‘anyone’ can have a great idea (even if they would fight ferociously to ensure that ‘good idea’ came from them and not the client service team!). The reverse, though, is often not so true. ‘Creatives’ are nearly always presumed to be the enemies of good reason and logic (in some agencies special people are hired to try steer them in the ‘right’ direction). Well, this also isn’t true. I’d argue that ‘being creative’, is quite a cerebral process, one that taxes all parts of the brain equally.
Creativity, in the commercial (rather than fine art) sense of the word, is about walking the line between obvious and unexpected. We are trying to develop technology, communications and services to meet a human need but in a way that engages, delights and surprises – a process that’s like trying to be both wise and wacky! I’d go even further, I’d suggest that in today’s connected, convergent (complicated) world – the modern creative, is more storyteller than seeker of ‘big ideas’. And, no one would argue, that authors are lacking in intellectual prowess or creativity.
Certainly, the ‘creatives’ who work at Black Swan, are no strangers to logic, reason, and intellectual thought. We might carry the ‘creative’ baton (and be good at drawing, designing and copywriting) but we also add to the intellectual capital of the business in the same way as someone with ‘scientist’ in their title would.
Creative and Logical Minds
In our everyday lives we encounter all types of people and categorize them in our heads without even realizing it. The categories I’m referring to today are of creative and logical minds.Using this concept in your everyday walk through of life will help you understand the thought process behind the words of the people you listen to or except advice from.
The basics are the two hemispheres of the brain left and right were your left hemisphere dominates in logic such as your times tables, knowing how to put together a puzzle or solving riddles. Then there’s the right hemisphere that is responsible for all your creative intentions such as musical interpretation, what colors would look best on the living room walls or creating the perfect flower arrangement.
Now we all have both hemispheres just some of us use one or the other more predominately. Which is the difference in your scientists and artists. Defining the two is what you have to look for and not everyone is so revealing. Traits such as knowledgeable,compassionate,strategic,open minded,orderly and pack rat all help in determining if the person favors logic or creativity.
The Creative Minds
Our creative minded people live for the moment they find uses for the useless they redefine what we think we know.These are the people that make decisions on feelings instead of facts they take the path in hopes of where it might take them instead of fear of getting lost. The right hemisphere users look at what could be instead of what is already there and tend to leave the powers of the universe to decide what will happen to them. Life is a mold and what you do with it for them. Things don’t have to make sense it just has to seem that it could.
You have your painters,musicians,writers and photographers which clearly display creativity but what about architects, pyrotechnics engineers, or vehicle designer. The ways to be creative are abundant all uniquely describable. The key is ask your self what are you making and if you have and answer then you are displaying creativity as long as you decided what you are making. If your making something how you were told too your just following directions but the creative minded will create from they’re subconscious the non thinking inspirational part of the mind that influences random thought dreams and ideas. That subconscious part of the mind is what the creative minded thrive and depend on.
Our creative minded people display characteristics of living in the moment, open mindedness, passionate for people or there goals and their art, understanding abstracts, having ideas , getting in a grove and going with the flow, having faith, having hope, displaying emotions and thinking outside the box. These are the people that give inspiration.
The Logical Minds
Our logical minded people live for what makes the most sense.They are the people who make decisions solve problems find the links between things and utilize what they know while making inferences.They define what is and how it is. They out way decisions with pros and cons they work well with lists. These are the individuals that answer our questions. They thrive on understanding and reason. They know that there is a reason for everything and spend life figuring it out.
You have your rocket scientists, philosophers, and chess players that clearly show logic being used but what about your construction site guys and your cleaning lady. Anything that has to do with an order has to do with logic. The left hemisphere user predominately is using the conscious mind which is the part of the brain that you use when you think , when you refer to fast moving vehicle has enough force to kill you so don’t walk into the road. Its the part of the mind that makes inferences on what you know to understand how you should interpret your environment. The conscious mind is what makes decisions.
Our Logical minded individuals display characteristics of the decision maker, understanding the obvious, mechanically inclined, doing what has to be done, problem solving, finding truth and putting the pieces together. This is where you get your orderly neat people where they have a place for everything because it makes sense. These are the people that put ideas into action.
Putting it together
Overall its not which one is somebody, logical or creative it is what are they predominately and when your analyzing an associate,coworker, or a friend you have to way that out for yourself. We are all both some of us more than others but picking out the deferences is all made from your inferences.
Labeling the people in your life as creative or logical will help you understand who to go to for help with your life’s problems and it will help you understand why people say or do what they do.In the end its all about different methods to live life and by interpreting those methods helps us understand how someone lives they’re life and with that you’ll better understand the people around you then all that’s left is understanding yourself so what are you Logical or Creative?
Creativity is Very Logical
All of my life, people have told me that I am creative – or crazy – and I have come to believe them. Certainly, I have an overactive imagination (If you want a demonstration of my imaginativeness, read a sample from my novel); have been an artist and author; and am considered a little eccentric by many people. So, when I tell people I am very logical, their usual reaction is to laugh as if I had said something utterly absurd.
There are two reasons for their laughter. The first is the left-brain/right-brain myth. Although proven wrong again and again, many people believe the highly creative people are right-brain thinkers; that is they are spontaneous, emotionally driven and passionate, while left brain thinkers are logical and analytical – but not creative, at least according to the myth.
Yet, ask these same people for examples of creative thinkers, they are likely to include people like Leonardo Da Vinci, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, all of whom were logical and analytical thinkers.
How about musicians such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, David Bowie, John Lennon and Paul McCartney? Well, their lyrics are often very emotionally driven. But music itself is very mathematical and requires a logical structure. This is why a child playing random keys on a piano makes a terrible sound.
Shakespeare then? Surely he captured the human emotions. Yes, but he also write very well structured plots in his plays. His sonnets and parts of his plays were written in iambic pentameter (a very structured approach to writing in verse in which you use lines of a specific number of syllables and stresses). That requires logical, analytical thinking.
In truth, most creative people use both logic and emotion in their ideas.
Status Quo ≠ Logic
The second reason people laugh when I say I am very logical is because they confuse following the status quo with logical thinking, which is ridiculous and not at all logical! Following a logical train of thought, even if it goes against the status quo, is far more logical. It can also be very creative. After all, most truly creative ideas go against the status quo. Indeed, the creative thinkers, whom I’ve listed above, all rejected the status quo in favour of their own thinking which, to them, was very logical. Moreover, as a consequence of their creativity, they each changed the status quo.
Creative Thinkers Are Logical Thinkers
In my experience, creative people are almost always very logical thinkers. However, their logic is not based on the status quo always being right; it is not based on doing things exactly as they have always been done;, it is not about conforming to the way everyone else thinks. It is about establishing a logic that makes sense to the creative thinker and her audience (be they fans of her music, followers of her science papers or readers of her novels).
There are two things you can take away from this article. Firstly, if you have a great idea that makes sense to you, but veers from popular thinking, do not be swayed by the status quo. Logic is more often right than popular opinion. But be aware that such creative ideas are seldom popular at first!
Secondly, if you are in charge of innovation in an organisation, or if you are in charge of an organisation, evaluate ideas based on logic rather than conformity to corporate thinking. Organisations have their own status quos into which most thinking tends to fall. A clever idea that makes sense logically and which is aligned with corporate vision, but fails to conform to corporate thinking, should be developed further in spite of resistance.
Because, in spite of what many people think, creativity is often very logical!
Left brain right brain myth
I’m a neuroscientist by training. Popular culture would label me ‘logical, detail-oriented and analytical’. But when I was in high school, I considered applying to art school and pursuing career as a painter. Had I followed that path in life, would I be considered ‘creative, thoughtful and free-spirited’?
No doubt you’ve heard people say that the left side of the brain is the logical and analytical, whereas the right side of the brain is artistic and creative. Personality or cognitive processes (ways of thinking) are thought to be cultivated on one side of the brain or other giving rise to the rather nifty idea that you are “right-brained” or “left-brained”, creative or analytical … neuroscientist or artist.
Creative vs analytical, ‘right-brained’ vs ‘left-brained’ myth debunked.
This popular myth has once again been debunked by University of Utah neuroscientists who used brain imaging to show there is no evidence that people are ‘right-brained’ or ‘left-brained’.
Neuroscientists have always known its a myth – but this is some new evidence thats worth exploring here.
University of Utah neuroscientist Dr Jeff Anderson, lead author of the study, says,
It’s absolutely true that some brain functions occur in one or the other side of the brain. Language tends to be on the left, attention more on the right. But people don’t tend to have a stronger left- or right-sided brain network.
The Utah team scanned the brains of 1,011 people between the ages of seven and 29. They used a technique called resting state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fcMRI)… forget about that mouthful for now. They tested the idea that one half of a person’s brain is more active, more connected and more synchronised than the other.
The team divided each person’s brain into over 7,000 regions and examined each region to see if it showed stronger activity on the left or the right side of the brain. They also looked for connections between regions that were more localised (also called ‘lateralised’) to one hemisphere or the other.
The results of the study might finally change the way people think about the right-brain versus left-brain personalities says Jared Nielsen, a PhD student who worked on the study,
…we just don’t see patterns where the whole left-brain network is more connected or the whole right-brain network is more connected in some people. It may be that personality types have nothing to do with one hemisphere being more active, stronger, or more connected.
How did the left-brain vs right-brain myth come about?
We know the left side of the brain controls movement on the right side of the body and vice-versa. And some functions of the brain are more likely (but not always!) located on one side of the brain rather than the other. Speech and language, for example, are. found in the left hemisphere, but not ALL aspects of speech are left-sided, intonation, for example, is found on the right. Also, studies of patients with tumours or stroke show that our sense of our body and limbs in space or ‘spatial perception’ is located to the right hemisphere.
As an interesting aside … language and ‘handed-ness’ are related. Whereas 97% of right-handed people have their speech centre on the left, only 70% of left-handers do.
The two hemispheres of the brain are also slightly different anatomically and microscopically (which means they look a bit different when you look at them with your eyes and down the microscope). Some neuroscientists theorise that these differences and the brain asymmetries of language, spatial perception and handedness probably led to the prevailing myth that whole brain functions such as personality and styles of thinking are also located to one hemisphere or the other.
What if I am more creative than analytical?
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Everyone has talents, and everyone has skills they need to develop. Recognise and foster your talents. Set goals and develop new skills. Just don’t attribute ‘whole brain’, global functions or personality to one side of the brain or other.
The brain is way more complex (and interesting) than that!
One problem that has arisen from this mythology is the raft of books, tests, apps, workshops and online games that exploit the myth by promising to help you ‘tap into your creative right brain’. Fine if you want to spend your money on them and expand on skills and knowledge that you may not already have, BUT this simplistic right-brained vs left-brained view of how the brain works is not grounded in evidence!
Also, believing that you are ‘creative but not analytical’, or ‘logical and unintuitive’ and that is hard-wired into your brain, is a rather limiting belief and probably becomes self-fulfilling after a while
Christian Jarrett who writes for Psychology Today sums my thoughts up perfectly:
I suppose the logical left-brain, creative right-brain myth has a seductive simplicity about it. People can ask – which kind of brain have I got? They can buy an app to target their weaker half. They can categorise languages and people as right-brained or left. It’s tricky to combat that belief system by saying the truth is really more complicated. But it’s worth trying, because it would be a shame if the simplistic myth drowned out the more fascinating story of how our brains really work.
Nielsen et al. 2013. An Evaluation of the Left-Brain vs. Right-Brain Hypothesis with Resting State Functional Connectivity Magnetic Resonance Imaging. PLoS ONE. Costandi M. 2013. 50 ideas you really need to know about the human brain. Quercus Editions. London. Image credit:
My thoughts on research:
Creativity has always been a great strength for me. Using one of the sources that I’ve cited, I have a fair share of pure evidence of why I believe that creativity can be quite logical.
Which do you prefer: creativity or logical? Or both? And why?
Note: Use personal experiences, useful information from provided sources or any others of your own online or in any books to back up your statement.
