Why Everyone Has The Capability To Be Creative
Let’s Start With A Little Humour
Humor is by far the most significant behavior of the human brain. Humor indicates the nature of an information system that gives rise to perception and how you see the world better than any other mental behavior. Existing perceptions set up in one way can suddenly be reconfigured in another way. Humour is the essence of creativity.
Story from Winston Churchill
“If I were married to you, I should put poison in your coffee. “
“And if I were married to you, I should drink the coffee. “
We are born creative; we have to learn how to turn concepts and ideas into innovations. We can only recognize ideas that have a logical link back to the original point. Therefore, all valuable creative ideas must be logical in hindsight.
Why We Need Creativity
Creativity opens up the entire world to us. It helps your business grow with new strategies, products and processes, and new marketing strategies.
Creativity can make things better. Without creativity, we cannot make full use of the information and experience that already exists is readily and is locked up in old structures, patterns, concepts, and all perceptions.
Our Two Types Of Information Systems
We have both a passive system and an active system. In passive systems, information and the recording of that information is passive. Any activity comes from an external organizer that relates the data and moves it around. Language on the left side and creativity on the right side of our brain
In an active system, the information and the recording are dynamic, and the info organizes itself without the help of an external organizer. Our nerve networks in the brain allow incoming information to organize itself into a sequence of temporary stable states that succeed each other to give a series of related events.
Over time, the sequence of activity becomes a sort of preferred path or pattern. Once established, these patterns are most valuable because they allow us to recognize things. Then, once a pattern has been triggered, we see things in terms of our previous experience.
So whenever we look at the world, we see the world in terms of our existing patterns. These existing patterns are why analysis alone doesn’t produce new ideas. The brain only sees what it is prepared to see –our existing information and patterns. So when we analyze data, we can only pick out the ideas we already have.
Asymmetry
However, if we entered the pattern from a different point, we could follow that point back to the starting point. It is this asymmetry pattern that gives rise to both humor and creativity. In telling a joke, we are moving along the known pathway. Suddenly we are shifted to a new viewpoint, and immediately we see a different path we could take.
Here is an example from Phil Davis, a U.K. author. You could think of this process as the old telephone system.
- The telephone operator connects two different people. By combining two patterns of thinking, you can create new ideas.
- Established patterns are the enemy of creativity (there is only one way)
- Tools are there to break these patterns
We can only recognize ideas that have a logical link back to the original point. Therefore, all valuable creative ideas must be logical in hindsight.
In summary, the brain is a beautiful device for allowing incoming information to organize itself into patterns. Once these patterns are formed, we use those patterns in the process known as perception. The patterns are not symmetric. This lack of symmetry gives rise to both humor and creation.
An Illustration Of The Time Sequence Process
We collect information over time. The information does not all arrive at once but in dribs and drabs. At every moment, the system tries to make the best use of the information available. This system resembles individuals, institutions, corporations, and cultures.
As we receive information:
The first letter is A
A is followed by T to give the word AT
The following letter is R, which is added AT to give RAT.
Letters representing incoming information and the total available information make up a word.
The following letter is E to give the word RATE.
The next letter is G, which gets added to give a GRATE.
So far, the new information has been easily added to the existing structures.
The following letter is T. There is no easy way to add T to the pattern. You can only form a new word by going back and disrupting existing structures to reassemble the letters to give TARGET.
In this example, we can see how the time sequence of arrival of the information sets up structures that have to be disrupted to put things together differently. This process is a helpful definition of creativity. Without creativity, we cannot move forward in such a system.
After a while, these items of information are no longer separate letters in the game. For example, the cluster RAT has survived so long that it has become a solid piece and resists disruption. And why our basic perceptions resist disruption.
Some Characteristics Of Creative People
Tina Seeling, author and professor at Stanford, offers these characteristics of creative people:
- Knowledge of an area. You need to work with information. Pay attention to things.
- Imagination (reframe the programmed issue). Example 5+5=10. But many other ways to get to 10, 1+9, etc. Connect and combine things. Challenge assumptions.
- Attitude needs to be positive,
- Habitat (rules people you work with, physical space)
- Resources (money, time, etc.) When thinking, don’t limit yourself.
- Culture. You need to infuse creativity into the entire organization. You call failure “data.” Rapid prototype and experiment again.
Conclusion
Bottom line. The nature of creativity: If you don’t put your idea into action, the idea is of no value.
See also Part Two: “Turning Creativity Into Innovations.” Comments and questions are appreciated.