WEEK FOUR PART ONE

Historical examination of creativity

> What TRAITS made them creative?

• COURAGE 

Always willing to take the risk to try new things. Overtime, risk is usually worth the reward.

• INTUITION

Use intuition and logical thinking to produce new ideas.

Matt Drudge designed his Web site, he listened to his gut instead of the Internet gurus. He kept it simple, small, fast, and some would say ugly and primitive. But it works for him, making The Drudge Report one of the most recognizable and popular sites in the world.

• PLAY

When you enjoy yourself, your brain relaxes and is able to produce more and better ideas. One of those ideas may be just what you’re looking for.

• EXPRESSIVE

Willing to share what they feel and think, to be themselves. Blogging is the ideal arena for injecting your personality into your work. People are emotional creatures and respond better to people who appear real, honest, and open. Not only is it more interesting, it can also be more persuasive.

• FIND SOLUTIONS TO EVERY PROBLEM

Have the need to find solution to every problem. Highly creative people are those whose eyes light up at a question they can’t answer. That’s the opportunity to learn something new and produce remarkably creative content.

• MOTIVATED

You must like the challenge of writing, explaining, teaching, and persuading. Sure, you can make money along the way, but if you’re in it just for the money, you’re not going to be a fountain of new ideas.

Resources: http://www.copyblogger.com/highly-creative-people/

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> What ENVIRONMENTAL conditions existed?

The physical environment should be comfortable above all else. If we are too cold/hot or our back hurts because we have a crummy chair or there’s too much noise, we will be distracted and unhappy. Having interesting objects around also helps for a number of reasons. Personally, I love having toys around. It doesn’t have to be Peewee’s Playhouse, but having an area to work in that stimulates the senses seems to make the process more natural. It’s also very important to have writing surfaces. Even if you work alone, having whiteboards, chalkboards, paper easels etc. is essential. I personally have in my office a big whiteboard and a door painted with chalkboard paint. I actually wish I had more writing surfaces. I find I do my best thinking on my feet. I like to move around, pace, pick things up, and write things down as they come to my mind in big chunky sloppy letters. You may find the same is true, especially if you have issues with maintaining focus (ADD etc.). Being on your feet keeps the energy flowing and keeps you focused. It also helps having the ideas up on a board to stare at while doing your deep thinking.

The mental environment is equally as, if not more important than, the physical environment. The crucial factor here is judgement. Whether working alone, or in a group, it is vital that all judgement be deferred to the latter portion of the process. We need to allow ourselves to bring forth every possible idea, even if crazy, stupid, or impractical. We need to remain open to experimental methods, sideways approaches, and outlandish solutions. If working in a group, people should be encouraged to share their ideas and should not be criticized. They should feel comfortable and appreciated, and all hierarchy should be left at the door.

Resources: http://www.hensher.ca/the-creative-space

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> What was the PROCESS of creativity?

SEVEN STAGES OF CREATIVITY PROCESS

• Identity : Explore, discover and understand how the system produces the conditions. Even if you think you know how it's done, think again.

• Vision: build working simulations of how the new system will operate. Add new system components and delete others. Ask yourself to describe the difference between the existing system and the new system in terms of operational properties, components, cybernetics and self-organization. 

• Intent: Intent is the well of energy that you'll return to over and over while you're working to bring your vision to the present. The greater the distance on the fitness landscape between the old and new system, the greater the challenge and the more energy you'll need to succeed.

• Insight: At this stage, there's only one stumbling block: your vision is full of holes. You will have figured this out by now. Sometimes when working on simple problems, the vision really will contain a clear definition of the problem, and the answer, but usually there are lots of unknowns and gaps in understanding.

• Engineering: Engineering challenges involve cycles of rapid design, testing, and failure in order to ferret out the more resilient designs.

• Building: We can play a part in this assembly as designers and builders, but a major portion of the process is beyond the individual or collective control of anyone.

• Using: In the process of using, they all develop attachments and dependencies on the system as it is. The cycle begins over again with Identity.

Resources: http://www.mgtaylor.com/mgtaylor/glasbead/7stagcrp.htm