Note form Leslie: Since this page was first posted in
1997, there have emerged many sites that discuss creativity. There are some
excellent materials available on the Web.
If you had to provide a working definition of
creativity, how would you define it?
Below are some quotes that offer common
definitions of creativity. How do your perceptions compare to those of the
experts?
You cannot use up creativity.
The more you use the more you have.
Maya Angelou
Creativity is . . .
Common definition from Webster's - Creativity
is marked by the ability or power to create�to bring into existence, to
invest with a new form, to produce through imaginative skill, to make or
bring into existence something new.
Carl Rodgers (psychologist an writer) --
The
emergence of a novel, relational product, growing out of the uniqueness
of the individual.
Henry Miller ( writer) -- The occurrence of a
composition which is both new and valuable.
John Haefele (CEO and entrepreneur) -- The
ability to make new combinations of social worth.
Newell, Simon, & Shaw (team of logic
theorists) -- A special class of problem solving characterized by
novelty.
H. H. Fox (scientist) -- Any thinking
process in which original patterns are formed and expressed.
E. Paul Torrance (educator, academic,
creativity investigator) --Fluency , flexibility, originality, and
sometimes elaboration.
Rollo May (writer, philosopher) - Creativity
is the process of bringing something new into being...
Roger von Oech - Creative
thinking involves imagining familiar things in a new light, digging
below the surface to find previously undetected patterns, and finding
connections among unrelated phenomena.
Carnevale,
Gainer, Meltzer - ... the ability to use different modes of
thought to generate new and dynamic ideas and solutions
Use a Metaphor:
If you could define creative in a
metaphoric way, what might you say and why?
Example:
Creativity is like a cat
chasing its tail.
In the act of creating or in solving problems in
creative ways we often go round and round in endless circles wanting to
pounce on an idea. Sometimes the answer or solution is right before our eyes
but we can't see it. In order to find the solution, find the missing piece,
solve the problem, we need to just look at something familiar in a new and
different way.
Your turn.
Creativity is (or is like) . . .
Other
perspectives:
Convergence and
divergence:
Obviously, creativity
means numerous things to different people and can be defined in any number
of ways. Creativity can also be defined at many distinct levels --
cognitively, intellectually, socially, economically, spiritually, and from
the finite perspective of different disciplines -- business, science, music,
art, dance, theater, etc..
Partly because it is tied
to business, a great deal of effort has been put forth defining creative
problem-solving. In this genre one of the more common definitions of
creativity has to do with dissecting creative thought into a process of dual
exchanges through the melding of two types of thinking -- convergence
and divergence.
Definitions of divergent
thinking usually include the ability to elaborate, and think of diverse and
original ideas with fluency and speed. Ideating and
brainstorming
are premiere examples of this type of thinking.
Convergent thinking is
defined as the ability to use logical and evaluative thinking to
critique and narrow ideas to ones best suited for given situations, or set
criteria. We use this type of thinking when we make crucial and
well-formed decisions after appraising an array of ideas, information, or
alternatives.
In creative production
both thought processes are necessary as one first diverges ideas in numerous
quantity and then narrows and refines the array through convergence. Specifically
in creative problem solving, or in any complex problem solving activity for
that matter, one needs to be able to weave in and out of divergent and
convergent thought patterns in arriving at an appropriate conclusion
specific for a given situation.
Melding
Synthetic, Analytical, and Practical Thought:
Robert
Sternberg is one of my favorite authors. He has paired with Wendy
Williams to write a valuable little gem that can help teachers or parents
trying to understand children and creativity -- How to develop student
creativity (1996, ASCD). Indeed, the work is wonderfully succinct and
adaptable enough so that someone in business could imaginatively bridge
their ideas into the workplace. In How to develop . . .
Sternberg and Williams define creative work as the balance between three
abilities that can be learned and practiced. I have summarized their ideas
and added a few of my own.
According to Sternberg and Williams
(more on Sternberg) creative work consists of the application and melding of three types of
thinking, all of which they contend can be learned or enhanced. They feel
that creativity is a balance between these three forms of thinking:
-
Synthetic ability - This
obviously includes divergent thinking as it is the ability to think of
or generate new, novel, and interesting ideas. But it is also the
ability to spontaneously make connections between ideas, or
groups of things -- ones that often go unnoticed, or discovered by
others. Wm. J. J. Gordon's concept of Synectics is a
primary example of this type of thinking.
-
Analytical ability - Again,
this includes the ability to think convergently in that it requires
critical thinking and appraisal as one analyzes and evaluates thoughts,
ideas, and possible solutions. This type of thinking is key in the realm
of creative work because not all ideas are good ones, some need to be
culled. Creative people use this type of thinking to consider
implications and project possible responses, problems, and outcomes.
Commonly we think of this ability as "critical thinking" at
its best.
-
Practical ability - The world
is full of people who have good ideas, as well as ones who can pick
ideas apart. However, the basic key to creative work must include the
ability to use practical thinking. This is the ability translate
abstractions and theories into realistic applications. It is the
skill to sell or communicate one's ideas to others, to make others
believe that ideas, works, or products are valuable, different, useful,
innovative, unusual , or worthy of consideration. It is finding a
potential audience for one's creative work.
One more thing: I would add to this aspect of
practical thinking in creativity the necessary component of
persistence.
In my mind it is not enough to just have ideas, or to be able to appraise
them critically, or to sell, translate, or market them . What
separates truly creative greats from those who are less creative is the
aspect of persistence. It is through dogged determination that highly
creative persons take their energies and translate their dreams into
realities. Sometimes this means that they literally breath life into mere
wisps of visions and then work tirelessly until these wisps are completed as
something that can be viewed, felt, or understood by others. While full
appreciation and acceptance of a painting, a poem, a theory, or a cantata,
may sometimes take lifetimes, or even eons, for others to see the true value
of a work, truly creative giants lives' are marked by their perseverance and
continued beliefs in the power of their dreams.
