Will The Real Creative Please Stand Up?

White matter fiber tracts in the adult human brain. Photo credit: Zeynep Saygin

Source: McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT

"Creativity" is a word that's immediately associated with people in the arts. Totally understandable! However, that's not the only manifestation of creativity. I think we all have the capacity to be creative on some level and we should try to be. But, creativity isn't this magical or trippy process. It involves struggle. It involves chaos sometimes. It certainly involves responsible trial and error. It's a process that can't be ignored if we're trying to figure something out.

I read an article recently in The Atlantic by Nancy Andreasen, who did research on the brain and creativity. There are two quotes from the article that really stood out to me.

The first is this:

". . . Creative people are better at recognizing relationships, making associations and connections, and seeing things in an original way—seeing things that others cannot see."

And then, she wrote THIS:

"Part of what comes with seeing connections no one else sees is that not all of these connections actually exist. 'Everybody has crazy things they want to try,' [one] subject told me. 'Part of creativity is picking the little bubbles that come up to your conscious mind, and picking which one to let grow and which one to give access to more of your mind, and then have that translate into action.”

Truth.

You should read the full article here. It's extremely interesting! By the definition of "creative people" in the first quote, it's clear that creative people are not only in the arts. It's those who are able to make connections that can solve problems—whether they're visual, structural, or programmatic.

Where have you seen creativity happen outside of the arts community? How have you seen creativity been stiffled? Start a conversation in the comments below.

—kb