Does having a high IQ make you less creative?
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Re: Does having a high IQ make you less creative?
#2This was a better and more original blog post than I expected from the title. The finding from the Terman study is rather important, and should be more widely known. The definitive book about the Terman study, written by a Stanford University Press Office science journalist who was the first independent researcher to have access to study files, is Joel Shurkin's Terman's Kids (1992).
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/joel-n-shurkin/te...
Alas, that book is currently out of print, but well worth finding in a library. To say, as the blog post author does, "IQ is as important as height in basketball" gets the main point right.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Boykins
AFTER EDIT:
I see there is a reply here that appears to be from the blog post author.
Will try something better next time. Sorry for my bad english.
I admire people who participate here even though they didn't grow up speaking English at home. That's not easy. What is your native language? What has been your process for learning English?
Re: Does having a high IQ make you less creative?
#3Is it only me, or the first half feels like a copy of one of chapters of Outliers by Gladwell?
Re: Does having a high IQ make you less creative?
#4Is it only me, or the first half feels like a copy of one of chapters of Outliers by Gladwell?
It is, im sorry if this offends anyone, but it was crucial to give a proper introduction to the mental model thing. Will try something better next time. Sorry for my bad english.
Re: Does having a high IQ make you less creative?
#5The mental models approach discussed by this blogger can be further explored in Charlie Munger's speech "Elemantary Worldly Wisdom": http://ycombinator.com/munger.html .
I, myself, study the mental models using this app: http://www.thinkmentalmodels.com/ . So when I'm waiting in line I can review a few models on my iphone
Re: Does having a high IQ make you less creative?
#6It's tempting to look at IQ as a potential for everything, but as one having access to a lot of ultra-smart people (I'm doing PhD in theoretical physics) it's very easy to see that creativity lies on a different axis.
And during studies I've met many people who were able to solve very hard mathematical problems, but at the same time - were seemingly unable to create new ones on their own.
(And also, creativity many times is counterproductive, as encourages to try something new rather than using a good, already tested solution.)
See also: http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/a/72/28 (a good answer to a silly question "Is IQ really unimportant for creativity beyond a certain basic IQ of roughly 125?")
Re: Does having a high IQ make you less creative?
#7Is it only me, or the first half feels like a copy of one of chapters of Outliers by Gladwell?
More likely this: http://prometheussociety.org/cms/articles/the-outsiders
Re: Does having a high IQ make you less creative?
#8This was a better and more original blog post than I expected from the title. The finding from the Terman study is rather important, and should be more widely known. The definitive book about the Terman study, written by a Stanford University Press Office science journalist who was the first independent researcher to have access to study files, is Joel Shurkin's Terman's Kids (1992). https://www.kirkusreviews.com/boo…
Thank you! Im from Uruguay so my native language is Spanish. I've learned english mainly by playing videogames (I kid you not) as a kid, as Warren Buffett says "We prefer process over outcome" so It was a fun way to do it.
Re: Does having a high IQ make you less creative?
#9Fucken retards.
Pride before a fall; humility before honors.
I get melodies from God and get puppeted. All of reality is due to God and angels. "Luck" is what some call it. God says,
"sensitive repeat_after_me bond don't track underline neither lo humongous rights uninjuriousness sufficeth jeer self-willed seduction would-be wheresoever white_trash compliance praised withered openly betters dispraisest fretted All-wise capacities outrages wishing approach forgivest impression flower thirsts folks' Tonga fulness ships unsuitably felicity owns flour Gospel huh forementioned nest perils crowned blush calculate gift heal purchase baptise swoon loveliness liability delights mariners muttering dearest impressing wrath judgest goodness stealing cakes wither Afric stolen Either realisest quoth unarranged whatever diverse beggary I'm_feeling_nice_today shonest cauldron necessaries Well observing stank absurdly shonest fellow-pilgrims MERCHANTABILITY South I_was_just_thinking Seek polluted mortals Since knowledge heaven door-keeper lowlily wronged piled Rebuke abiding God_is_not_mocked speaks Italian prefect directeth chaste scoffing denied converse deceit obviously alterations fragment forgave pilgrim venturing run_away exigency dormant felt nevada claim lip-labour furnished insultingly bands calamities propoundest reconcilement comment spending wickedly mother-in-law previous helper "
Re: Does having a high IQ make you less creative?
#10This blog post doesn't do Creativity much justice, especially this nice little summary quote at the end:
The best models come from biology, physics, mathematics, microeconomics and psychology. Just think about what every freshman knows, and thats what you need to know.
Creativity is a function on a lot of different things at once, and is different for a lot of people. For one, it's a function on curiosity. Highly curious people tend to have the inherent drive to learn new things, new domains. This is in marked contrast to those that learn by being forced to through school or extrinsic pressures. The intrinsic learners are looking for understanding and knowledge, while the extrinsically motivated folks are striving for grades, money, societal acceptance or something else entirely. This is a very important distinction.
Next, creativity is a function on playfulness. John Cleese gets it absolutely right in this 30 minute talk [1]. You've got to dance around the problem, don't worry about wrong or impossible solutions, since the best solutions are usually arrived after jumping through intermediate impossibles - things and ideas that aren't realizable but make disparate connections in your brain and thinking patterns that lead to ideas that are novel and that can be realized. This is also very important. A childlike playfulness with concepts, ideas, words and humor are necessary for driving creativity.
This playfulness directly correlates to a lateral thinking style. "Lateral thinking is solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic [2]." You've got to break the habits of being a rigid logician; it comes back to connecting disparate thoughts, ideas and knowledge domains in your head. This is imperative too.
The last point I want to make is that creativity is a process. Cleese talks about it in the video mentioned above as well, but this is very important. You can't worry about the details of implementation or the stress of time if you want creativity to flourish. Your mind needs to be unbounded and free to roam, free to explore the cosmos without being brought back down to Earth, if you will. Cleese calls this "open mode." When you have your great idea, you should switch to "closed mode" - a mode where you actually implement or create your idea, because it's fully in your head. It may take a conscious effort for a while to train yourself to get into open mode and stay there, but that's great mental training.
It's also wonderful to remember that creativity applies to everything, from acting to aerospace engineers saving the crew of Apollo 13, so the domain knowledge the author listed in the quote is good, but for sure not the extent necessary for unbridled creativity. It's also not the only factor.
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