Creative Thinking: 12 Things to Remember

[3113]

12 Things to Remember About Creative Thinking. Nothing really new or surprising to most of us, but worth going through as I think we tend to forget and need to be reminded every once in a while.

Not all these make sense by the way as the writer argues using logical thinking in some (i.e. the failure point is pure logic) while insisting that creativity is non-logical elsewhere. But then, being able to hold two paradoxical possibilities as true at the same time is a part of human thinking, creative or not.

And I totally disagree with #1 We creatives are special and totally u-nique

 

[mynameisben]

12 Things to Remember About Creative Thinking. Nothing really new or surprising to most of us, but worth going through as I think we tend to forget and need to be reminded every once in a while.

Not all work by the way as the writer argues logical thinking in some (i.e. the failure point is pure logic) while raging non-logic elsewhere. But then, being able to hold two paradoxical possibilities as true at the same time is a part of human thinking, creative or not.

And I totally disagree with #1 We creatives are special and totally u-nique

Hurray for thinking! I think I'll engage in a little of that today, myself.

Don't worry. I'll wear my protective clothing.

 

[PoppingTom]

Sorry, but I must totally disagree with a few points of that.

1. You are creative if you believe to be ? I think the opposite is the problem: a lot of people who believe they are creative aren't that very much. How does non-creativity looks like? I think nobody believes to be non-creative, even if he's repeating the same thing that doesn't come from his own mind again and again.

Let's say it how it is: as a creative person, you are a god of your own.

2. Creative thinking is work? No, it is fun. If you find out that it is work for you, hard work - forget it. Making your creations perfect, bringing them to life, making them a valuable product - that's work !! But not the thinking.

3.You must go through the notions of being creative? NO. You CAN ! If you want it, do it. If you don't want it, leave it. If you have to force yourself to get experience, you destroy the best thing on creativity. You lose the soul, the feeling, that livelily thing.


I found it very strange that examples of creativity in this article were about technicians, physicians. But not about artists. I mean, those people invent things. Or discover them. But they don't CREATE them. An invention that doesn't work, doesn't work. But a creation lives, always. It's like a baby. Thus, you need another mind to create things than to invent them.

 

[TxRad]

I think, therefore, I am.

I create, therefore, you are.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Creativity is more than what the article asserts. Real creative people virtually drip creations without effort. Creativity is different from talent.

 

[TE999]

Creative people are born, not made. Ask anyone who's received a C- in Creative Writing 101.

 

[3113]

Sorry, but I must totally disagree with a few points of that.

1. You are creative if you believe to be ? I think the opposite is the problem: a lot of people who believe they are creative aren't that very much. How does non-creativity looks like? I think nobody believes to be non-creative, even if he's repeating the same thing that doesn't come from his own mind again and again.

Let's say it how it is: as a creative person, you are a god of your own.

2. Creative thinking is work? No, it is fun. If you find out that it is work for you, hard work - forget it. Making your creations perfect, bringing them to life, making them a valuable product - that's work !! But not the thinking.

3.You must go through the notions of being creative? NO. You CAN ! If you want it, do it. If you don't want it, leave it. If you have to force yourself to get experience, you destroy the best thing on creativity. You lose the soul, the feeling, that livelily thing.

I agree entirely. I did say not all of them made sense--and I should have added, we might not agree with all. I certainly don't. I wonder, for example, about the one regarding experts. It's correct that you sometimes have to ignore them, but sometimes what they tell you is a way to save you from going through all the mistakes they made. It's more apt to view that other point about "forgetting" what you know. You have to know the expert's rules to know why you should break them, rather than just rejecting them out of hand. Otherwise, you're more likely to say, "Oops, wish I'd saved myself time and listened to the experts."

Famous artists like Jackson Pollack and Van Gogh--whom we agree ought to have been used here in lieu of Einstein--went to art school and knew how to paint conservatively before they started doing something completely against the rules.

Still, there are some useful points, like learning from failure and all that. At least for those who are struggling with their creativity. I, obviously, didn't post this for us who aren't

 

[3113]

What would be the 12 Things for Artists and Writer?

I found it very strange that examples of creativity in this article were about technicians, physicians. But not about artists. I mean, those people invent things. Or discover them. But they don't CREATE them. An invention that doesn't work, doesn't work. But a creation lives, always.

I don't know if that's quite right--I mean, a scientist does "discover" rather than create, but an inventor does sometimes "create" depending on what he invents for what--for example, one can invent a desktop computer that works, but might not sell or catch on, and so that invention is a failure even if it does what it was intended to do. Still, you're right that an invention that doesn't work, doesn't work (like the lightbulb), as compared to a work of art which isn't about "working" so much as living and breathing--and works of art may or may not do that in the artist's lifetime (I'm not sure that I agree, however, that all creations live "always"). Thus, as you point out, these bits of advice neglect to show how they're valid for artists as the examples are all about inventors and scientists. The only real artist mentioned is Mozart.

But now you've got me wondering. What would the 12 points look like if they referred to great artists: painters, poets, writers--including those who weren't successful in their own lifetimes (talk about the failure rule in play)?

Hemmingway: Important points: (1) Live in Paris, (2) Have a great editor, (3) Don't ever forget the war, (4) Shoot yourself in the head....

Van Gogh: Important points (1) You need those mental problems--don't take your medication, (2) live on the cheap, (4) Yes, you're a failure, but keep painting anyway so your art can sell for millions 100+ years after you're dead, (3) don't be afraid to cut off a relatively useless body part or two when in need of a great self-portrait....

And what about Mozart? (1) Die young and impoverished....

I mean, thinking about it, who would read this list if it included artists, writers and poets as examples? Their lives aren't always the success story of an Einstein or Edison and often include points like: "Drug addiction and family tragedies are your friends...."

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Creative people are born, not made. Ask anyone who's received a C- in Creative Writing 101.

I'll go one step further: I'm convinced that 99% of the artsy-fartsy crowd cant recognize anything thats worth a shit. All of them play follow the leader, just like junior high schoolers. And the Greats had the same problem in their time with the Official Mediocrities. The No-Talents always flee to the universities.

 

[mynameisben]

"The unexamined thought is occasionally worth thinking" – Mediocrates

 

[PoppingTom]

But now you've got me wondering. What would the 12 points look like if they referred to great artists: painters, poets, writers--including those who weren't successful in their own lifetimes (talk about the failure rule in play)?

Hemmingway: Important points: (1) Live in Paris, (2) Have a great editor, (3) Don't ever forget the war, (4) Shoot yourself in the head....

Van Gogh: Important points (1) You need those mental problems--don't take your medication, (2) live on the cheap, (4) Yes, you're a failure, but keep painting anyway so your art can sell for millions 100+ years after you're dead, (3) don't be afraid to cut off a relatively useless body part or two when in need of a great self-portrait....

And what about Mozart? (1) Die young and impoverished....

I mean, thinking about it, who would read this list if it included artists, writers and poets as examples? Their lives aren't always the success story of an Einstein or Edison and often include points like: "Drug addiction and family tragedies are your friends...."

I understand that point, but the truth is: being creative is something like having a special getaway, a vent even for the destructive things in your soul.

It isn't necessary as an artist to be manic-depressive or live a life on the edge, but it can lead to some wonderful art. And I found that positive, though.

 

[PoppingTom]

I'll go one step further: I'm convinced that 99% of the artsy-fartsy crowd cant recognize anything thats worth a shit. All of them play follow the leader, just like junior high schoolers. And the Greats had the same problem in their time with the Official Mediocrities. The No-Talents always flee to the universities.

Let's say: 50% cant recognize anything thats worth a shit and think the value of art depends on the budget. 40% hate those 50% for having no taste and take the cheap stuff as good enough to be "the bomb". 9% knows what art is, and 1% find art in the most indigestible form of any creation.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Let's say: 50% cant recognize anything thats worth a shit and think the value of art depends on the budget. 40% hate those 50% for having no taste and take the cheap stuff as good enough to be "the bomb". 9% knows what art is, and 1% find art in the most indigestible form of any creation.

Youre likely right.

Few have a clue what STATE OF THE ART means. In science no one is celebrated for re-inventing the wheel or fire or sliced bread.

 

[lance gt]

I can think and think and think, till I thunk and come up with nothing. Creating a story from scratch takes an open mind that can form thoughts to words that bring a life to it.

 

[3113]

Depends on what the creativity is aiming to create

I understand that point, but the truth is: being creative is something like having a special getaway, a vent even for the destructive things in your soul....It isn't necessary as an artist to be manic-depressive or live a life on the edge, but it can lead to some wonderful art. And I found that positive, though.

I didn't say it was necessary. Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Dickens...a lot of famous writers were, as much as we can tell, mentally, emotionally and socially stable as well as totally successful. And yes, being creative can be a get-away--but so can science to a scientist or inventing to an inventor. So I'm not sure I understand your point there. That creativity is a "get-away" only makes it more equal to those other things, not less.

And while creative expression, in and of itself, may require no work at all, it does if we intend to put that work of art out into the world, as examples of great artists would suggest. Jackson Pollack didn't splash around paint to hang on his own walls, but in hopes of getting them up in galleries for sale. Once you're aiming your creativity in that direction, then you DO need to do work, not just have fun.

Putting it another way, I can masturbate as a getaway and to have fun all I like and no one's going to care how I do it or why or what I get out of it. I certainly don't have to follow any "points" to get more out of it. But the minute I decide that I want to make love to others, it's no longer just a get-away. I'm going to have to put some work into making the other person happy, into getting this right for the both of us, not just me. Yes? So if someone tells me, "good sex takes work" they may well be right even if good sex is also a "get-away" and fun.

 

[mynameisben]

Creative thinkers produce art. So what? Everybody has some sort of gift or another. Each day of our lives is an opportunity to express our unique gifts. Paint a masterpiece on canvass, and you're an artist in the conventional sense. Spin sentences into a story, and you're a literary artist. Fart the Star Spangled Banner and you're a performance artist. Acceptable categories of art are as artificial as a definition for art is, itself. Defining art is a self-serving exercise. It is an attempt to categorically celebrate the things we think are important, beautiful, and uplifting. Like Truth, Beauty or Love, to define such things is only to limit them.

My grandmother couldn't draw, sculpt, write, invent, or do anything else the world at large considers creative. She never competed in an Einstein think-alike contest. Essentially, she was illiterate. Yet she had an infectiously friendly nature about her that would instantly put anyone at ease. If you were unhappy about anything, she sensed it immediately. No matter the circumstance, she always knew exactly the right thing to say. She could turn any argument or conversation into sheer, laughing joy. Her personality was her gift, and she wielded it as masterfully and as effortlessly as the most accomplished pen-wielding writer ever has. But was the everyday expression of her gift an art? According to Greeks who lived and died three thousand years ago, no. A visit to my grandmother always left me uplifted, entertained, and inspired by beauty that could and did play to an audience of one. Her life and her love was art. Dead Greeks can suck it.

We all have a grandmother, or a husband, or a child. Every day we live the drama that is our lives. We create the thoughts and actions that sculpt lives and write the future. We are creative every damn day of our lives, and to do it well takes the most important and passionate thinking we will ever do. If we happen to write a novel or mold marble into a bust along the way, that's nice, too.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Art is easy to define: Art is the process and stuff and toil you expend to accomplish a specific goal.