On Creativity
Creativity is defined as the use of the imagination or original ideas to create or invent something. Now, unless you’re a robot, you’ve used your imagination to dream of worlds comparable to magic or had an “aha-moment” which changed everything.
This is our secret force — the one thing that sets humans apart — creativity.
Creativity as Survival
Since the dawn of time, we’ve used creativity to survive. The difference between us, animals and nature is our imagination.
Prehistoric innovations saw the rise of the Stone Age, our first real attempt at creating useful tools out of available materials, something there was plenty of — rock. Skip a couple of thousand years and the Bronze age dominates the old world, followed closely by the Iron Age, that marked the end of prehistoric times.
These three ages brought about a few key innovations, which propelled society forward: primitive tools and weapons, ways to light fire, music, the development of language, clothing, art as documentation, agriculture, domestication of wild animals, architecture, numerals, symbols, wheels, trade networks and, lastly, a cultural, religious and artistic shift brought on by the Iron Age.
Arguably, the invention of language was the most fundamental in paving the way for a new world, one which banded cultures together and made negotiation between others possible.
In fewer words, creativity means progress.
Protecting the New
At every step of the way, each of these prehistoric innovations faced a lot of barriers, either from limited resources or progress in technology or the opinions of others. That didn’t stop the new from coming to life, though, and it takes a believer in creativity to connect the dots, for themselves and society.
Skip another few thousands of years to where we find ourselves today: A world so convenient, with everything we could ever want, that production of this reality is constant; unrelenting.
This is how creativity gets killed, though. Now, the question is: how do we protect the new in its development, while sustaining and growing production?
A great way to look at it is referenced in Ed Catmull’s Creativity Inc., where the new is viewed as a baby and production’s viewed as a beast. I’ve adapted this, however, where production’s a growing child.
Any parent will tell you that raising two children, at different ages, is challenging and requires two different mindsets and approaches, to be navigated between, constantly, in order to bring out the best in both — there’s no one or the other.
While a baby needs round the clock attention, care and protection, a growing child’s independent and needs less scrutiny, but they require nurturing and guidance.
It’s simple, really: if you ignore a growing child, they’ll become problematic. If you ignore a baby, it’ll die.
The same can be said for protecting the new, which withers quickly after germination if production’s the focus. The key is a balance of both and tapping into each of their mindsets, when their needs arise.
Change, Randomness & the Hidden
Now, I’m gonna let you in on a secret: creativity is not an affordance of genius.
Firstly, it’s a tool. Secondly, creativity operates in three modes; change, randomness and the hidden. Thirdly, and lastly, creativity is also a mindset that’s applied to these modes.
Let me explain.
These three modes are referenced in Creativity Inc., as well. Why? Because it’s a universal truth.
We all know the drill: change is constant; inevitable, and while it’s in our nature to prepare we must be aware of this fact. The only way to adapt is not to cling to old ways, but through creativity — the conditions and what led to it are different — what use is an old idea?
Creativity’s been described as “unexpected connections between unrelated ideas”, which brings me to the next mode: randomness.
“While we are quick to assign patterns and causes to an event after it occurs, beforehand we don’t even see it coming.” — Ed Catmull
Randomness is an essential mode of creativity, closely related to change, and while our brains are wired to create patterns, it’s critical to acknowledge the random factors at play, shaping or not shaping an outcome.
It boils down to assumptions and, as we know, when we assume, we miss things.
The last mode creativity operates in is the hidden; that which is unseen. The first area the hidden addresses is our own blind spots due to our context, bias or assumption — acknowledge what you don’t know. Creativity, in this way, acts like a torch in uncharted areas, shedding light on the unknowable.
Another aspect of the hidden to consider is described by Michelangelo’s famous words and echoed by numerous creatives: “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”
There’s no such thing as a blank page, its meaning is hidden and emerges through discovery.
Creativity as a Mindset
What sets an inventor apart from his peers? Their mindset. Innovation is a mindset of using creativity for solutions for the future, shaping a world that either builds on the old or discards it in favour of something better.
While innovation’s steering the ship, and requires a developed creative mindset, anyone can be creative.
Developing a Creative Mindset of Your Own
So let’s get to it: what IS creativity, anyway? How do I develop my own creative mindset? As you can see, through your reading, creativity has little to do with the arts and everything with innovation.
We’ve discussed creativity’s modes of operation, but here’s what it is and what it requires:
State of Play
A child’s the best example of boundless creativity. This is partly due to their relative newness to the world, discovering it as it emerges, with limited context, bias and assumptions. The other part’s due to their state of play — a state they’re in all the time.
The best ideas are, often, born from joking around. Why? Because we allow ourselves to be immersed in this state — nothing’s too ridiculous to bring up. Suspending our developed sense of seriousness is, thus, essential for creativity to thrive.
Experimentation
Experimentation, something that’s linked to science but can also be linked to a state of play, is another requirement of creativity. Armed with an idea, there are many tools, materials and ways of execution that are able to bring them to life, but you’ll never know unless you try every combination possible.
A scientific experiment logs data, though, and measuring what works and what doesn’t is also part of the creative process.
Take mud cakes as an example — we’ve all had the bright idea, as children, to make a cake made from mud. The experiment’s in the idea, the creation and in taste — a mud cake doesn’t taste yum, but it sure looks like the real deal! As a result, our friends got to enjoy chocolate cakes as props for play, pretending to savour each bite.
We’d never have known this, had we not experimented.
Process
Speaking of process, creativity’s all about it. It’s not an outcome — that’s what creativity isn’t.
In art school, you’re often taught to “trust the process”, which is true. In as much as innovation reveals itself through applied creativity, a process that combines a state of play and experimentation will be ambiguous at best. The key’s to get comfortable, keep playing and testing.
Progress
Lastly, history’s shown that creativity’s innovation, sure, but more than that it’s progress. Each new innovation, over time, caused a massive shift in how we perceive, experience and operate within the world.
Yes, inventors and scientists led the way, but what was it that sparked their sense of brilliance? Creativity.
And guess what? You’ve got it too.
