Developing Creativity

New German research finds a darkened room encourages freedom of thought and inspires innovation.

“It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance.”

Author Steven Pressfield goes on to describe in his book ‘The War of Art’ how this “Resistance” holds people back from being more creative. The book emphasizes that confronting creative blocks is an “Inner Creative Battle” against mental varieties of enemy, some of them very subtle, not so clear and definable as an outer foe.

"During your working lives, you will have to reinvent yourselves many times. Success and satisfaction will not come from mastering a fixed body of knowledge but from constant adaptation and creativity in a rapidly changing world."

Global firm IDEO incorporates human behavior into product design -- an innovative approach being taught at Stanford. Charlie Rose profiles the company's founder, David Kelley.

When do we lose the wonder and awe of childhood? How do we become so solemn and cynical? What happened to the simple sense of humour we used to have, when anything remotely silly could provoke giggles?

Habit, teachers, and even our best intentions often act as stealth saboteurs of ingenuity. Yet awareness of the forces that blunt creativity can nurture the innovator within.

Reframing known problems offers a creative fix. By Art Markman.

"My least favorite phrase is think outside the box. Yes, it's trite, but worse, it's meaningless. What in the world does it mean to think outside the box? Presumably, that you should come up with ideas that fall outside the norm. But that's not helpful advice. You can't know that you have come up with a new idea until after you've generated that idea in the first place."

Neil Gaiman's commencement speech to the University of the arts graduating class of 2012 Philadelphia

> See transcript at

http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2013/05/15/neil-gaiman-make-good-art/

At the beginning of her course at the University of Wisconsin, cartoonist Lynda Barry wants to get to know her students by their work, instead of their personalities. So, instead of learning their names, she assigns them all "brain names," like Thalamus and Hippocampus.

In all of her courses, professor Old Skull — as she is known by her students — aims to strip away the stiffness of adulthood and plug people into their innate creativity.

As part of Talk of the Nation's "Looking Ahead" series, Barry talks with NPR's Neal Conan about the future of cartoons and creativity.

The motivation for and specific nature of a brainstorming group is what matters in how well its members come up with creative ideas.

Psychologists have different perspectives on whether and how much brainstorming groups help develop creativity.

“I didn’t speak the language and didn’t have any friends, [so] my parents bought a piano for me,” she wrote, hoping it would provide their daughter with a productive way to spend her free time. And, to put things mildly, the  plan worked out: she earned the top prize at the International Steinway Piano Competition soon after her studies had commenced.

In terms of creativity and originality Deerhoof are true innovators in the music realm. The New York Times has even said “Deerhoof is one of the most original rock bands to have come along in the last decade.” I’ve been a fan for years and was stoked to be able to see them play at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art last year when I coincidentally was in town for a conference. I had a hunch Think Jar Collective and its readers could learn from Deerhoof‘s creativity and was grateful to be able to chat with one of Deerhoof’s founders Greg Saunier

Have you ever spent an hour staring at a blank piece of paper, willing some new ideas to spill onto the page, only to feel disappointed and exhausted when nothing materializes?

"You might be going about brainstorming the wrong way. To generate new ideas, give your brain a break. Try starting with a clear mind, and avoid being so direct in your thinking.

"When Albert Einstein said, “Why is it I get my best ideas while shaving?” I think he was on to something with this observation."

Living the artist’s life can be very stressful, but not if you shift from feeling your work is a demand, to an opportunity that feels enjoyable.

By Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D. - What is greatness and how do people get there? Is greatness born or made? Is greatness the result of talent or practice? Few other questions have caused such intense debate, controversy, and diversity of opinions. The heights of human accomplishment have always fascinated us, and for good reason.

"Artists need to be outsiders in order to really view what's going on. That little bit of detachment has been great for me... As artists, we have to be brave. If we aren’t brave, we aren’t artists.” Writer, Producer, Director Paul Haggis