Let Creativity Go Wild

There may be no better time to learn about creativity than now: the coronavirus pandemic threatens our economy; unemployment skyrockets; and the future is still to be written. Those who take the future into their own hands get to write the script that renders them victory.

Creativity plays a crucial role in our lives, from the desire to surprise one another to dealing with existential threats. The more pressing the issues we face, the more we need to engage in it. Creativity is more than simply a want. The design of our brain combined with human nature keeps creativity flowing:

The brain changes constantly, both its structure and function, as we engage with the world. Instead of being born with a complete and everlasting array of thought patterns, we are shaped by many facets of life experiences.

We are drawn to both stability and change. Evolutionarily speaking, a fixed environment was predictable and therefore safer. But creativity contributed to making the environment innocuous by designing tools that shielded us from threats. So, in the ocean of human contradictions lies the need for both familiarity and novelty, each of which contains validity.

“You can use your mind to change your brain to change your mind for the better.”
_{^{— Rick Hanson}}

Creativity is a process of taking in stimuli and using them to forge new grounds. Interneurons, by connecting our sense of perception with the desire to act, bring forth imagination (e.g. exploring what-if scenarios). This is the space where creativity occurs, where future is painted, where breakthroughs take place.

New creations are shaped by three basic strategies, which can exist in isolation or in combination, and in any sequence:

Bending. A modification to an original piece in some way: a change in size, shape, speed, and so forth. Consider calligraphy. The letters of an alphabet can be written in so many eye-catching ways.

Breaking. A separation of the whole into pieces, which are later put together to create something new. Think LEGO. The same building blocks can be used to assemble many different objects by rearrangement. But before you build that ship, you have to take the house apart, so you can choose the pieces you need.

Blending. An amalgamation of various units in new ways. Remember mythology? A centaur is half human and half horse; parts of two different species were combined to make a new creature. 

“When you have exhausted all the possibilities, remember this: you haven’t.”
_{^{— Thomas Edison}}

Consider the images below. Can you isolate strategies used in their creation?

How can you use these strategies to improve things around you?

There are no guarantees in whether a new object or idea will be announced as innovative. It is in the vast space between the predictable and the surprising that the risk of innovation lies. As implied by the word risk, the target condition is not clear: it is a result of numerous experiments whose outcomes are evaluated in accordance with the cultural scene. The most effective way of understanding the reception of a given idea is to have it evaluated directly by the society. 

“Creativity is an inherently social act, an experiment in the laboratory of the public.”
_{^{— David Eagleman & Anthony Brandt}}

Since we cannot be sure of the reaction of the public, generating a wide range of ideas is essential. So is a realization that innovation is not an errorless process. Setting up an environment, and initiating behaviors, that encourage creativity is essential:

• Engage in creative thinking often. Creativity is a skill and needs to be trained. Continuous practice will raise your inventiveness. 
• Seek new experiences. An output is limited to the sensory inputs we receive. Continually adding to our brain’s database increases a probability of generating novel ideas.
• Encourage multidisciplinary approach. Bringing various disciplines together can lead to blending of ideas and result in innovative approaches. Info-sponging, daily exploration of topics unrelated to your field, is one way of doing so. Write down the information that sparks your interest. While revisiting it, a pattern may emerge.
• Give it time. Do not expect to come up with original ideas immediately. Frame the problem and let it sit. Best ideas often emerge not during the intense mind workout but afterwards, when we least expect it.
• Spend more time in the present moment. Mindfulness practice not only helps elevate one’s confidence in ability to innovate but also increases the capacity to generate innovative ideas.
• Engage when inspiration strikes. When an idea shows up, do not try to remember it for a later time; work with it when it is fresh in your mind. 
• Don’t shy away from difficult conversations. Conversing with people who have different opinions helps us understand perspectives we may have not previously considered. It broadens our horizons. 
• Reward effort and embrace mistakes. Science proclaims that rewarding effort is far more effective than incentivizing outcomes. Trial-and-error produces invaluable learnings that can be incorporated in future attempts.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
_{^{— Thomas Edison}}   

I used this article as an opportunity to practice my creativity: 

Creativity has its glory
When mind’s filled with inventory
Sameness sits in solace
While newness refuses being flawless
Bending, Breaking, and Blending
Always keeps us mending
So let’s take a stand
And design a Wonder Land!