News

Creativity

We would probably all agree that writers, artists, actors and musicians are creative people. In reality, each of us has been provided with all we need to be creative. We are creative people daily. We create our home environments with selections of furnishings and decorations. We choose clothes and colors that fit our own personalities. We write letters that communicate personal and business information. We alter our routes and routines, creating new ways of doing things. We formulate new ideas and change our minds.

Creative thinking is much more than using our imaginations to invent lots of new ideas. Creative thinking is:

• a lifestyle
• a personality trait
• a way of looking at the world
• a way of interacting with others
• a way of living and growing

Living creatively means:

• developing our talents
• tapping our unused potentials
• becoming all that we are capable of becoming through self-discovery and self-discipline

Anytime we are faced with a problem or dilemma with no learned or practiced solution, some creativity is required (Torrance, 1962; 1988; 1995)

Creativity is a vital ingredient in meeting the challenges of a continuous life cycle, a cycle in which growth and change are the norm from conception throughout life. A life filled with growth and change requires a conscious effort to think creatively. To develop creativeness, the mind needs to be exercised as well as filled with materials out of which ideas can be formed. The richest fuel for ideation is firsthand experience (Osborn, 1963).

Creativity is the ability to see a situation in many ways and to continue to question until satisfaction is reached (Goff, 1998).

Creative Abilities

Torrance (1979) identified a variety of abilities that seem to be important in producing creative responses. The four normative abilities are:

• Fluency – number of responses
• Flexibility – number of ways stimuli are used
• Originality – unusualness or rarity of the response
• Elaboration – number of details that contribute to the response

Fluency is the generation of multiple ideas, alternatives or solutions. There is considerable evidence that the more ideas we have, the more likely we are to find a useful solution or answer. Brainstorming (Osborn, 1063) is a very effective technique for generating ideas and alternatives. The rules of brainstorming are as follows:

Rule 1: “Don’t rain on my parade.” Every idea is valuable. Record every one.
Rule 2: “Take a walk on the wild side.” Create breakthrough ideas from stretching to crazy, off-the-wall possibilities.
Rule 3: “The more, the merrier.” Product as many ideas a possible.
Rule 4: “Lean on me.” Combine new ideas to lead to more new ideas.
Rule 5: “Focus, focus, focus.” Do not allow discussion or questions during brainstorming. Ideation is the key.

Flexibility is the ability to process information or objects in different ways given the same stimulus. Flexibility is the ability to abandon old ways of thinking and initiate different directions. It is adaptive when aimed at a solution to a specific problem, challenge or dilemma and especially important when logical approaches fail to produce satisfactory results (Torrance, 1995). An optical illusion is a simple example of flexibility – looking at something from different perspectives.

Originality involves getting away from the obvious and commonplace or breaking away from habit bound thinking. Original ideas are statistically infrequent (Torrance, 1995.) An original thinker must be comfortable with being different or a minority of one and must be able to withstand the ridicule and skepticism directed toward her/his ideas or her/himself. Original ideas are often described as:

• surprising
• wild
• weird
• revolutionary
• novel
• unique
• remarkable

Elaboration is the ability to embellish ideas with details. Elaboration involves implementation and production of a new idea/invention/program. Elaboration involves making the plan, telling the story, filling in the gaps and details, tying up loose ends, orchestrating the activity, coordinating the project, selling the idea/invention, painting a picture with words, etc.

Creativity and Learning

Before we begin our traditional learning experiences as children, we are expert learners who use all of our senses and motor capabilities to create. We learn by experiencing such as sticking a crayon into our mouths, ears or noses. We learn by seeing what the crayon can do, such as drawing, mashing, eating or crumbling it. We learn by comparing the crayon to other things that mark or are colorful. All of us begin life as experiential creative learners.

Therefore, learning by doing should not be left to mere chance, but should be validated in people of all ages. Creative thinking and learning involve such abilities as evaluation, redefinition, analysis, different production and problem-solving abilities. Creative learning is a natural, health human process that occurs when people become curious or excited about understanding or knowing more. As stated earlier, anytime we are faced with a problem or situation with no learned solution, some creativity is required.

A key ingredient to success in creative learning is the time for incubation. Incubation involves flashes of insight while in the process of puzzling over a problem or dilemma, mulling it over, fitting the pieces together, trying to figure it out. Incubation is the part of the creative learning process that calls for little or no conscious effort (Osborn, 1963). It is the time between being engulfed in a problem or saturated with information pertaining to the problem we are solving, and the flash of insight with a solution. The flashes of insight might come while we are going to sleep, taking a shower, reading a newspaper, driving alone, sitting outside, relaxing or playing.

The incubation process is a critical element in creative learning. Unless time is allowed for one thing to lead to another, there is little possibility of finding a really creative solution. Supportive, nurturing environments allow time for people to thing, to mull over ideas and incubate. Since time is a relatively abundant resource of elders, it seems logical that engaging in creative thinking will raise levels of satisfaction and wellness (Goff, 1993).

Tips for Increasing Your Creativity

• Look for the second right answer. Often the really creative idea is just around the corner.
• The answers you get depend on the questions you ask. Play with the wording and get different answers.
• Challenge the rules you use to govern your day-to-day activities.
• Cultivate your imagination. Set aside time everyday to ask yourself “what if” questions.
• Strengthen your “risk muscle.” Being creative requires risk taking.
• Be flexible. Open yourself to experiences, do something you have always wanted to do.
• Failure only means you know what does not work and gives you the opportunity to try a new approach.