Myths Surrounding Creativity - Essay Example

There Myths Surrounding Creativity Introduction There is no specific definition of the intangible nature of innovation or creativity. However creativity may be defined as ideas that are different but may also have certain overlapping elements. Creativity may also be defined as the tendency or ability of generating ideas, possibilities or alternatives, which are used for communicating with others, solving problems or entertaining others or even ourselves. Creativity may also depend on the traits of a person, his or her thinking power, artistic ability and nature. The managers are known for equating innovation with creativity; however creativity does come with innovation, as creativity is just considered to be an idea; whereas on the other hand innovation is required for taking that idea and turning it into a practical business or an offering for the market. There is no specific definition of creativity; however it can be defined as offering or introducing something new. It does not concern the audience unless the innovation is better than it was before. However innovation is considered to be a much narrower concept than innovation. If there isn’t any creativity there is not any innovation as well. It is the human nature that sometimes makes us feel that we are not creative enough, which is why there are certain misunderstandings and myths that fail to provide any specific definition for creativity. However it is a proven fact that creative people can be complex, as creativity itself is complex; therefore people who are considered to be complex have this habit of portraying their actions and thought that others may set apart. It is a common thought that the smarter the people, the more creative they are. People also think that if you fail to express creativity at a certain age it’s too late and now you will need drugs and alcohol to fuel creativity. Most people view creativity as something unpredictable, divinely inspired and bestowed only on some lucky ones. There are certain myths that exist about creativity; however none of them have any scientific evidence. There is a latest study conducted by David Burkus based on “Myths or creativity”, which helps us to demystify what is behind the processes and forces that drive innovation. The research support the fact that with proper training and common mindset anyone can deliver innovative and creative ideas, processes, projects and programs. Delivering innovative ideas may not only be limited to ones creativity as there are many more factors that contribute towards it. However it is important to understand this fact that creativity is no magic, it may be sometimes seems to be, due to a number of myths about it(Andrew, 2014). Myths of creativity 1. Creative thoughts and analytical thoughts are considered to be fundamentally different from one another Neuroscience has been providing us with deeper insight regarding the mysterious working of the human brain. It is considered to be revealing that most of the new ideas may emerge from juxtaposing the already existing information present in some parts of the brain, which we associate with more analytical thinking and rational processing. By developing an understanding about this phenomenon one may elevate the pursuit of innovation and creativity to a discipline which reflects this neural process, analyzing, systematically assembling and challenging data for developing new possibilities about tomorrow. For example, Campbell which is an American food giant has been doing the same; bringing its rigor and processes under the creative development of new and creative product ideas, not just to their successive evaluation-as often it is happening elsewhere(Breen, 2013). 2. Analytical people are not considered creative This myth can be linked with the first one. If the approaches of thoughts are different than it is certain that the people who are having those thoughts will be different too. If the firm requires creativity then it is certain that this problem must be solved by taking the help of external consultants or conducting recruitment. Either way, this may maintain the division between the disciplines of business and creativity. As we develop deeper understanding of organizational psychology the cultural separation points towards the fact that creativity when it occurs will remain low impact and largely peripheral. For example many smart companies like GSK and Procter & Gamble seem to be strong at integrating the scientists that are viewed as strong coherent rational thinkers in earlier stages of creativity where the imaginative thinking and consumer empathy are considered to be equally important. 3. Creativity is directly related to talent According to this myth you are either born creative or you are not, which means it is up to a person’s fate. This is same like having born with blue eyes. Talents may be present or absent in an individual in measurable quantity same like IQ. This is considered to be the biggest lie. If talent or creative thinking was fixed at birth people would not really have bothered to gain further knowledge. A person who believes in power of creativity and talent tends not to fulfill his or her potential just because he or she is concerned with making mistakes or looking smart. However the ones who believe that talent develops with times are the ones, who really stretch, push, confront and learn from their mistakes. For example while putting together the team for iPhone, Scott Forstall of Apple clearly choose people who were ready to make mistakes and struggle, as he thought that these were the people who would make great employees and an innovative team(Zwilling, 2013). 4. Children are considered to be more creative and innovative than the adults This myth clearly indicates that if you do not think you are creative you should blame your parents or you junior school teacher. This myth also says that a person was once creative but it was the repetitive, oppressive and the soulless system that squeezed all the innovation and creativity from him or her and left him or her analytical, clinically left brained and dry. It can be quite convenient and pleasant to blame others but here is a little challenge. Name any one unique piece of art that has been produced by any child. If you have named Mozart, then you should better be aware of the fact that most of the work he did in his youthful days were considered to be the clones of other Australian not so famous composers. It is not true at all that the school or the society squashes the creativity of children but they actually make it possible to think differently. It has been said by Sir Ken Robinson that schools must contribute more in teaching children creativity. It is significant to know first that how creativity actually takes place before proposing the curriculum reforms to the students. 5. Creativity is nothing but a spontaneous inspiration The phrases, ideas, images, concepts and tunes do pop into our minds in consciousness, for no specious reason. However the scientists have agreed to the point that creativity is mostly related to hard work and conscious. Good improvisers are able to pull scripts out of air but the ones who are able to do so need tons of practice. A great athlete turns to be an amazing player only on the basis of continuous practice. For example the spontaneous inspirations of Mozart were not an accident but his father was said to be an excellent teacher who wrote some significant treatise on the violin playing. There is no doubt about the fact that he worked really hard and was incredibly productive. He was the birth of an era where the musicians were considered no less than a craftsman and it is true that the craftsmen do not ever wait for spontaneous inspiration they only work hard. Some of the romantic poets like Coleridge have been bluffing us with the stories of spontaneous inspiration, which cannot be proven scientifically. 6. Creativity is considered to be same as originality This myth can be related to modernism. In every case people must relate creativity with innovation not with originality. Creativity seems to be occurring in a domain, whether it is competitive iceboat construction, any open social network software, any Hollywood thriller or hip hop. Each of these hasan intensely involved team of professional or group of deeply committed amateurs. Original ideas may create a lot of excitement everyday but there is no doubt about the fact that quality may trump originality any day. For example a person is going for dinner at some famous and highly rated restaurant in town where the dinner is prepared by highly professional chefs. The dish presented by the chef to the person is original but not good enough. The person who is paying for the dinner may not like it as originality is not enough, if it does not comes with quality(Anon., 2013). 7. Creativity is something huge A huge myth about creativity is that people consider that they should create something “Big Band”, in order to be creative and worthwhile. There are many people who may associate creativity with the laws of physics presented by Newton or the theory of relativity presented by Einstein. This concept is vague, as creativity can be as simple as reducing the waste in any process by 10 percent, reducing the machining time of any part or finding any faster way to do a work done. All of the discussed creative ideas are incremental but small and in a lot of ways they may not be any lesser than the important discoveries like the law of motion or the theory of relativity. In fact, there is no doubt about the fact that most of the monumental creative ideas may only be a series of small yet incremental improvements(Burkus, 2014). 8. Creativity is considered to be a kind of self-discovery There are a lot of bad idea regarding the working of human; however the ideas related to artistic production are considered to be beyond bad; as they are insidious. Scientists consider art as a fantasy world that is based on the illusions which are driven by the sexual desires of people that remain unfulfilled. Like all of the other creativity theories, this one may also be untestable. It is a fact that art and music can be used as some therapeutic methods such as any other aerobic exercise. For example, one of the greatest and most innovative achievements of 20th century is considered to be the Space program launched by America. It would be very absurd to imagine that about five hundred thousands of technicians, astronauts, scientists and engineers and releasing some of their sexual desires and are going through some kind of self-discovery. They may not just be lying around and relating their discovery to some kind of dream by they were actually working hard taking some small innovation and incremental step towards their goals(Thomas, 2013). Analysis of the myths related to creativity Creativity is no magic but it is usually considered to be the result of practice. It often seems to be unscientific, unsubstantial and downy to those people who usually prefer structured, data-oriented and logical approaches to life. The approaches related to creativity may not be proven empirically; however they are well understood and deeply researched science. It may also be considered the source of some new value creation and of some serious business benefits. It may be defined as upcoming with new ideas. An individual may just be sitting down and brainstorming things when he gets those strange yet innovative ideas. In fact it is just considered to be the beginning of a difficult and long process that may further include, developing the ideas, then marketing those ideas and making them generally accepted by the world. People spend a large part of their lives avoiding being innovative as they think they do not have the ability to. At an early age of two they would have surely been creative but all the education and parenting that is designed in a way that it repressing all the creative tendencies of a child(Anon., 2014). The greatest misunderstanding regarding creativity has been introduced by the psychologists. It started in the beginning of 1950s and is still continuing todays. There were a number of psychologists who argued that creativity is nothing but an exclusive domain of young and that wisdom and knowledge is the enemy of creativity. They were nothing but wrong, as conceptual creativity is considered to be the domain youth, who possess the ability of making some radical new and creative discoveries without being under the influence of any sort of established habits. However experimental creativity may be considered opposite of it as it is considered to be the domain of the older artists and scholars, who had spent much of their time accumulating the knowledge and now they are developing methods to analyze it. The discoveries of such experienced scholars are considered to be the result of their wisdom and judicious thinking(Wiere, 2013). Economists, to a great extent have failed to understand and study creativity. The economists who have studied the economic growth agree to the fact that technological changes are one of the greatest causes of growth. Some of the most significant innovation in the history has been made by individuals or a small group. In the light of the growing significance of creativity to the economy, the economists must study that how some of the great artists, entrepreneurs and scholars make their discoveries, so that people would become more creative. However within all these years the economists have spent no time and have showed no interest in understanding technology of innovation, which is considered to be the major failure of this discipline. The study of innovation and creativity may not be considered that simple to be left only to the psychologists who have already done a really bad job at it. The topic is considered to be quite important and should be given more importance than an academic debate, as it may change the whole educational system and define that how we must allocate our research funds. The topic is of great significance for the individuals who are willing to improve their quality of work(Galenson, 2013). Conclusion There is no evidence behind the fact that creativity is dependent on age or any sort of tricks. However it is clear that it does depend on experiments and hard work. An individual in order to be creative must first let go all the myths regarding creativity and must develop the possible knowledge about the subject they are studying, developing the ability and summarizing and analyzing the knowledge. An individual must seek help from others for developing their skills, however self-learning is considered to be the key to creativity. All the myths regarding creativity cannot be proven on practical grounds. It is important to understand that creativity is not the result of the unconscious mind but of the creative and innovative ideas are developed by an individual when he possesses knowledge of a particular field. Bibliography Andrew, C., 2014. The 3 myths about creativity in business. [Online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2014/jan/17/3-myths-creativity-in-business [Accessed 24 November 2014]. Anon., 2013. Key Myths About Creativity. [Online] Available at: http://www.slyasafox.com/book/book_7.html [Accessed 24 November 2014]. Anon., 2014. Myths about creativity. [Online] Available at: http://creatingminds.co.uk/articles/myths.htm [Accessed 24 November 2014]. Breen, B., 2013. THE 6 MYTHS OF CREATIVITY. [Online] Available at: http://www.fastcompany.com/51559/6-myths-creativity [Accessed 24 November 2014]. Burkus, D., 2014. The Myths of Creativity. [Online] Available at: http://davidburkus.com/myths-of-creativity/ [Accessed 24 November 2014]. Galenson, D., 2013. Creativity: Myths and Misconceptions. [Online] Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-galenson/creativity-myths-and-misc_b_4836263.html [Accessed 24 November 2014]. Thomas, G., 2013. Ten Myths of Creativity. [Online] Available at: http://bgthomas.com/articles/ten-myths-of-creativity/ [Accessed 24 November 2014]. Wiere, M., 2013. Rethinking Creativity and Innovation. [Online] Available at: http://mariewiere.com/2013/09/21/rethinking-creativity-and-innovation/ [Accessed 24 November 2014]. Zwilling, M., 2013. 10 Myths About Creativity You Need to Stop Believing Now. [Online] Available at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229600 [Accessed 24 November 2014]. Read More