Creativity and Psychology
Yesterday I was reading this post from @cryptoctopus in which he shares his point of view about a certain lack of beauty (which might be the same as saying, a lack of creativity) in our world today.
Since that subject is quite complex, I decided to first approach it with this post, sharing my thoughts about an important aspect in our every day life, which is, our creativity, or our ability to create incredible things.
What is creativity all about?
Creativity is one of the most sophisticated processes of our brain, it allows us to create the most special, complex and transcendent human activities, to the delight of everyone else.
It is defined as follows:
Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity is characterised by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. | Source
Creativity is one of the character strengths, along with curiosity, judgment, love of learning and perspective, which define the virtue of wisdom and knowledge. All of these are cognitive strengths which entail acquiring and applying knowledge. | Source
Creativity is an indispensable quality from which it is possible to obtain all that wealth of resources that are "asleep" in our psyche, in order to carry out our actions and projects in the best way possible
The act of creating is an essential characteristic of the human being. It is thanks to the concept of creation, in which something that didn’t existed, now exists. And it is us humans being who have the power to create and modify the nature of the things that will serve us in anyway we choose.
When we look at the history of creativity, we found the enormous progress in the last century, with discoveries and developments that completely changed the way we understand our world, such as the theory of relativity, or quantum mechanics, among many other discoveries.
Creativity doesn’t have a constant development. There are certain irregularities in the emergence of it. There are historical times in which creativity is greater (like the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment) and others in which the creativity and discoveries are pretty much zero (like the Dark Ages). In this sense, it could be said that creativity, both in us humans and in our historical creations, advances by leaps. These can be observed both in the artistic creation itself, and in its technique.
Creativity today
Today, thanks to the Internet, and in particular social networks like steemit, we live in a world that is not only constantly connected, but it also requires us to be permanently connected, and that is a great distraction not only in labor issues, but also in our creative process, since in my opinion this constant attention leaves us with very little time of concentration for tasks that by their nature some require time for creativity to manifest itself.
Note that perhaps this is compensated for by the fact that on the other hand technologies allow us to discover new things at a previously unimaginable rate (such as new works of art, or new business models, or new creative videos), which gives us more ideas to be creative, but at the end of the day, I'm not so sure that the balance tilts in favor of technology in this case.
Another factor we should take into consideration, is that parenting has also change with the years. As @getonthetrain explained on a post several days ago, today there are a lot of parents that overprotect their children, and a possible side effect could be a lack of development in the creative part of our brain, caused by a lack of “discovery time”, which is nothing more than when the kids go out to play on the street and hang around visiting new places on their own.
Now, depending on what we consider creativity, it could also be argued that we are more creative than never before, simply because the fact we have never enjoy so much constant discoveries and innovation in every aspect of our lives.
If something like the LHC and its discoveries makes us feel very excited, could we call that some sort of art? Can science ever be artistic?
Creativity and our mind state
Creativity is divided into 2 types, called “bic-C” and “little-C”
Little-c creativity, which is often used as an indicator of mental health, includes everyday problem-solving and the ability to adapt to change. Big-C creativity, on the other hand, is far more rare. It occurs when a person solves a problem or creates an object that has a major impact on how other people think, feel and live their lives. | Source
The creative person is able to accept and overcome all kinds of circumstances even if they seem uncomfortable thanks to the cleverness that goes hand in hand with creativity, giving the opportunity to new experiences and making the most of previously acquired knowledge and ideas that facilitate the opportunity to modify and innovate his/her particular reality.
What is innovation?
Innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly improved product, service or process that creates value for business, government or society. | Source
Because of that, a creative person will have no problem in identifying good innovative ideas from bad ideas, and also would know how to apply them in real life and start taking action based on that. Creativity can be considered as the ability to put together some aspects of different objects in different ways, in order to obtain new products, new ideas, or simply a new creation of some sort.
We all have creativity, it is the same one that keeps changing our perspectives of the world, it only depends on the ideas that prowl our minds when difficulties arise in life and they produce changes to satisfy those needs. Creativity is not something exclusive of some individuals, because to some extent, we all have it, but we certainly develop it in different ways and at different rates.
How can we increase our creativity?
Your ability to generate innovative ideas is not merely a function of the mind, but also a function of five key behaviours that optimize your brain for discovery Source :
- "Associating" Source : by starting to associate information that wasn't previously related in our brain, we will be able to not only take our knowledge and our understanding a little bit further, but we would also end up having faster thoughts as well. In my case what I like to do from time to time is to connect some ideas and compare them with soccer psychology, simply because the fact I enjoy soccer a lot. But every person could associate thoughts however they want.
'Questioning" Source : this pretty is self explanatory, it simply consists in looking for the explanation behind things. Searching for its causes, and understanding the correspondent consequence.
"Observing" Source : this is key if we want to be life long learners. Observing is the easiest way to learn something, especially if we take the time to observe people who are really great at what they do, so we can learn from them.
"Networking" Source : knowing new people is always good. The most interesting people we know, the more contact we will have with good ideas and intriguing perspectives.
"Experimenting" Source : sometimes we just need to get out of our comfort and try new things. Especially if we are getting bored or feeling stuck, the solution is to do something that normally we would not do.
Conclusion
Human beings are constantly changing, our development begins before birth and does not stop until we reach old age, in this process the body of course, changes, the intellect develops, our emotions get more complex and we learn how to interact with each other.
It will always be good to find ways to develop our creativity, since it will allow us to create something new based on other interesting ideas, that is, the ability to analyze and evaluate new ideas, and the ability to solve problems that are present in the course of our lives and the challenges we might find, whether they are academic, professional or even personal challenges.
Truth is, creativity will always be appreciated by our society, and when there seem to be a lack of it we would end up noticing.
Do you think there is a lack of creativity in our society?
If so, why do you think is the cause?
References
apa.org - creativity
positivepsychology - creativity
creativityatwork – what is creativity
psychologytoday - creativity
allpsychologycareers - psychology of creativity
Image sources
All images are from pixabay
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It's hard to be creative, since our educational system is not designed to do so. The government wants us to be a consumer not a producer, they want us to work at repetitive jobs that will kill creativity.
Being A SteemStem Member
Great article. I found you through jbanfield's discord channel and I think this is the second time I'm finding an article of yours there that I want to recommend to him. Can't believe I didn't follow you before, but I am now.
I have to run, so I'll quickly say about the content of your post and final question that I think you're spot on when you say there is more that stimulates us now but that undermines our ability to focus the way creativity requires.
I see so many people who are full of ideas but short on results. I know that as a child I learned to be creative by first being bored a lot. We were poor and I didn't have many toys, plus had an anxiety disorder that made me not want to go out to play that much. So I I had to use my mind to keep myself entertained. And I've gone on to be a prolific creator starting in my teens with creating a summer camp for younger kids, including getting it funded.
I look forward to seeing more of your stuff, now in my feed.
Oh yeah I am on that discord!
It is true that being bored can spark creativity, when the only way to have fun is using our mind, it gets stronger and eventually it is easier to project those ideas into real life.
Thanks for your kinds words!
To answer your question. There is not a lack of creativity, but a lack of support versus popular culture. For example reality TV is not creative, yet it consumes peoples thoughts and mind. Same is true for social media. Popularity therefore makes celebrity, who then become role models for most, rather then those who are truly creative, or pioneers. As a species we idolise the wrong people in popular culture, we are distracted by manipulative content and systems. Effectively creating a cycle where popular equals good. This is why so many are taking shortcuts by doing more and more outlandish acts in an attempt to get attention. This is also reason why depression and mental health is high, many people determine their life by followers, likes, messages received and other false values. Additionally, those that don’t do this feel outside of culture, also leading to depression.
Simple solution, stop rewarding stupidity, start penalising those who use stupidity or outlandishness to get attention, ban social media counters, ban addiction loops from software, put scientists, inventors, creators on the cover of popular culture magazines and websites. Oh and definitely stop reality TV. IMO of course.
Good points. There is too much aggrandizement of that which is lacking in creativity. There needs to be more support for works that don't merely entertain, but inspire and elevate.
You might be right, we put too much attention towards things that are merely entertainment. And I agree with this:
I think we should really admire the people that drive our race forward, the ones that are building the future and researching technologies that will change our lives big time (big-C type of creativity, as mentioned in the post).
In my case I have always been excited by news about technology. It was later in my life that I realize technology is the only way in which we can thrive in the long term, that's why I consider myself a " Technology enthusiast".
About the pop culture, it can be fun for a while, I mean, who doesn't enjoy seeing some good actions movies from time to time, but there are certainly much more important things, that deserve more attention and more support from the general public.
Perhaps, although there are a lot of famous people, with tons of likes and followers who are depressed as well, so the reason for this must be something else.
This sounded a little bit too extreme. I believe in freedom, so I don't think banning something will fix anything. I think if we voluntarily start to focus on more important things, eventually everything starts to change little by little. In order to achieve big changes we need to start with something small, so first ourselves and then our family, what comes next is out of our control.
In my case, I do admire people like Mush or Neil Degrasse Tyson much more than a random actor or singer...
Sorry, I didn’t mean ban social media, just the follower counters, like counters et al. It is the measurement which I would ban not social media itself. As a tool it has uses.
All right, although if some sites wish to have followers numbers they should be free to do so don't you think?
For the betterment of peoples mental health, no I think it should be banned. Yet, we just have a difference of opinion on that. Take care.
switch off the mental block to the creativity and innovation as a result. really nice article!
Good way of putting it!
You didn't bring up muses.
How can we have a conversation about creativity, unless we have an understanding about muses?
hahahah all right maybe for a future post my friend :D
I definitely don't think we have reduced creativity just because of a change in society. I think if anything we are about to enter a creative renaissance.
In the original Renaissance, it was quite expensive to afford paints and canvases. Nowadays anyone can afford art supplies, but even more so, almost everyone has access to a computing device of some type. We can create art on our phones and tablets and computers.
Almost every single person has a tool in their pocket that they can use to access a vast array of knowledge from all of humanity, and use that to create their own forms of art.
No one in all of history has ever before had access to such a vast library of knowledge such that people nowadays carry around in their pockets. Likewise, even the previous generation has had more exposure to narratives in the form of books and TV more than any previous generation. Every single child today can draw on that wealth of creativity and knowledge, and use it to create their own unique stories and art. Nowadays people create art that is noteworthy as a hobby.
Sure, maybe it's not the way that things used to be, and we'll have to change things to ensure we get more exercise, but I don't think those are difficult things to surmount. As technology becomes more and more portable, we'll likely overcome the current issues we face, and in the end, we'll look at this time as the beginning of something amazing.
Yep, as I wrote on another comment, perhaps our creativity is simply expressing itself in different ways than before. More in the digital world and less in the "real world.
The face we have access to more information should not be something bad, it should be positive as it allow us to be better informed about everything.
I do think our world is changing and will continue to have big changes thanks to technology. The coming decades are going to be crazy!
Cheers mate!
Thanks for the post @dedicatedguy! Keep it coming.
Agree that the constant need to be Connected (with the fast paced expectations of the Internet) and with Social Media frenzy, we need to be in all places and no place at all. We begin to lack being Present (in the moment or just having no idea how to create Presence).
I've been following quite a few people on #LinkedInVideos and they seem to be creating loads of content but it seems like they lack a real sense of Purpose and Creativity.
It is no longer critical to create long and lengthy conversations or discussions in today's world... but just the short sweet 1min updates about our lives that seems Hip, Trendy (to Trending), and just in people's faces.
And that sadly, that has become what is accepted in the world today. No noise means = no presence means = no creativity. Hence the premise of the Great Distraction (which may be the cause of the Great Depression very soon), when people think they need to be heard and get the amounts of likes or upvotes for their "creative" content.
I prefer life impacting creativity... and not the flash in the pan sharing-your-thoughts-because-you-have-an-opinion sort of creativity.
Cheers mate!
Mel @coachmelleow
I see what you are talking about.
The twitter culture. The tendency to consume fast and short information (and usually meaningless) in order to satisfy our need to "gain" some current knowledge.
I don't know if this aspect could end up creating a new Great Depression , but it can certainly create a new generation of people, that while having the opportunity to learn important knowledge, end up deciding to consume stupid content, worthless content. A person living like this would have a hard time raising the new generation.
It's a new generation that we are facing and understanding where they are coming from... from their perspective would help.
Thanks for the comment mate! Steem-ON!!
Hello,
Interesting thoughts on creativity! I have some extra things that come to mind, one is the opportunity of risk taking. If people are enabled to take more risk, this will also enable them think more creatively. Think about a society where your ideas are constantly shot down. Nobody wants to risk putting out a bad idea, so this behavior perpetuates itself. As David Graeber puts it, everyone has had at least one creative solution to some everyday problem, the trick is connecting the right ideas. So I think networking is important, but it's also about creating the right incentives. In most industries you basically have to prove your idea is already worth somthing before anyone will invest money in it. This perpetuates ideas that are re-hashed to fullfill status-quo expectations.
I'm actually a neuropsychologist and quite interested in creative mental states. I'm trying to conduct a study on microdosing and its effects on detail perception. I will most likely write an extensive blog-post on this matter at some point, in case you are interested!
What you are saying is really interesting! I will be waiting for your future posts then, you seem like a promising author!
I also left you 2 comments in your first post. Feel free to check them and contact me on discord.
If you need any help just let me know.
Cheers!
Great piece on creativity and innovation.
You mentioned that with the internet, we are a lot more connected now, which is through. Google is at our fingertips, which also means our answers are, too.
Now, the problem with that is the lack of discernment, or thinking on our own before getting the answer. Google/the internet has provided us quick answers, so quick that sometimes because of the need for instant gratification, we don't even ponder anymore.
Sure, when it comes to easy things like trying to remember the phone number or when doing research, it's ok to say "just Google". However, when it comes to things that really matter, like "Why is the sky blue?", or "Why do men have nipples?", it would be good for us to exercise our ability to think and reason, before subjecting ourselves to what the internet/general masses have to offer.
I think that too has limited our creativity in more ways than we know. What about you?
Yeah, the fact we can have almost instant answers is clearly related to the fast paced lives we have today.
Perhaps we are getting used to not think, but to simply search and copy. That's why I think there is extremely important for us to really understand our world. Using the only means we have to achieve this, which is science.
Understanding our world is the only way to avoid being ignorant. And if people use modern technology to really increase their knowledge, that would be great.