Although it was not the official week 1, actual Creative Studies classes started today. Our lecturer, Mr. Radzi Bedu, began the lecture with an introduction to the module. Basically, i found it very interesting - it was something i'd willingly listen to and not doze off - but the prospect of managing yet another individual weblog as the first assignment rather dismayed me. We are to create an online journal focusing on our views and thoughts of the topic in the lecture which should be updated weekly.
The topic of the day is Defining Creativity. To me, "creativity" is the ability to make/design something totally new and different, or to develop ideas and concepts that the world has never come across. After listening to some of Edward De Bono's speeches on "creativity" and "thinking outside the box", i realized something else. There is a thin line between creativity and being different. Sometimes, a new invention could be completely out of this world, never before seen and mind-blowing. But for it to be considered "creative", the idea/invention should be useful and has value and relevance. Otherwise, people are simply creating something different for the sake of being different.
We also learned about some common myths and misconceptions about creativity. Each myth is followed by my comment about it.
1. Only special people are creative.
Perhaps we should take a look at past examples of creative people - each and every inventor, designer or philosopher that were creative enough to be considered great had to go through much hardships. Becoming a creative being involves years of hard work and constant practice to polish their thinking skills and acquire vital knowledge. They had to go trough countless experiments, failed or succeeded, to gain experience and new insights. As the great inventor Thomas Edison once said, "Creativity is an attitude, combined with effort; 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration".
2. Being creative is hard.
That may be somewhat true. As i have mentioned, to become a creative person, you'll have put in a lot of effort and sacrifices. But with the correct methods of thinking, being creative might not be that difficult after all. Many people fail to come up with new ideas because they are often stuck midway, unable to move forward or find an alternative to solve a problem. Some of them give up easily simply because they were too blinded by limitations of the norms. There are so many ways to develop and improve creative thinking skills because the world is open to infinite possibilities.
3. Problems are in our life to make it more difficult.
I'd like to think of problems as stepping stones to a well-developed, advance society. It is when times are difficult that humans try to create and improvise to solve problems and make life better. Why, can you imagine life without problems from the very beginning of humans as babies? It is impossible that we could survive! As we progress, solving problems with creative thinking also allows us to develop and perfect our thinking skills, often discovering new methods and ideation
4. I am not creative.
This is all a matter of perspective. No one is not creative. Or rather, no one does not have the chance to be creative. We were all born the same, only outer factors create obstacles for us. To quote from above, "Becoming a creative being involves years of hard work and constant practice to polish their thinking skills and acquire vital knowledge."
5. Innovation is the domain of geniuses.
It doesn't take a world-class architect to build a house, and the same goes for this statement. Being innovative is similar to being creative in some ways because they both require long term dedication to hard work. It's not only the brains that matter.
6. I have to have brand new ideas in order for me to be considered creative.
Here's one shocking secret i've discovered in class: There are no new ideas! Over the millenniums, it is hard to determine what is truly original and creative. We are subconsciously influenced by the outside world because we cannot help being exposed to it. A new concept could be formed by combining two existing ideas or improving one idea, also known as innovation.
7. Brainstorming is hard work.
... if you're doing it the wrong way. There are many approaches to brainstorming, and a lot of them could be fun. Whichever technique floats your boat will ease the process of thinking.
8. Only artists need to be creative.
It saddens me how people misunderstand the term "creativity". It is often labelled as something you need to have if you're involved in arts. According to how i defined it from above, "creativity" is all around us. You can never escape from the need to be creative because even the basics in life involve it - building a new book shelf, creating new recipes for dinner, figuring a new way to solve a math problem etc.
9. Writer's block is the greatest obstacle in the creative process.
We are no strangers to writing and writer's block, but i'm sure you wouldn't consider it the greatest obstacle in the creative process. I think it's more about our attitude, really. Often, we are blinded by frustration that we can't figure out a way to cure our writer's block. It is when we have completely given up that we truly fail.
10. Using structured creative techniques will hinder my ability to be creative.
This is a very subjective statement. Everyone either develops their own creative techniques and skills, or they loosely follow methods created by creative thinkers. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, then the problem lies with you. YOU need to find a way that works, be it structured or not.
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