The Myth Of Creativity
hanson.gmu.edu
The Myth Of Creativity
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Re: The Myth Of Creativity
#2While I see value in the overall message, I think the author sets up a false dichotomy that somehow suggests there's a gulf between creative invention and pragramtic diligence. This is often something I run into - this notion that creativity equals flights of fancy, non-realist, ungrounded. On the contrary, creating, is in my mind, the wisdom to use the opportunities and resources close by, whether internal or external, to be productive in ways that exceed beyond what would be easy. Creativity and results can not be separated.
Re: The Myth Of Creativity
#3While I see value in the overall message, I think the author sets up a false dichotomy that somehow suggests there's a gulf between creative invention and pragramtic diligence. This is often something I run into - this notion that creativity equals flights of fancy, non-realist, ungrounded. On the contrary, creating, is in my mind, the wisdom to use the opportunities and resources close by, whether internal or extern…
The author refers to creativity as thaught in creativity seminars to BMAs, project managers etc. He elaborates on the concept as used in these classes.
Re: The Myth Of Creativity
#4While I see value in the overall message, I think the author sets up a false dichotomy that somehow suggests there's a gulf between creative invention and pragramtic diligence. This is often something I run into - this notion that creativity equals flights of fancy, non-realist, ungrounded. On the contrary, creating, is in my mind, the wisdom to use the opportunities and resources close by, whether internal or extern…
Hanson is distinguising creativity as that flash of inspiration, that occasional lucky bit of genius from the humdrum of tiny, everyday improvements in process.
Or
A good idea and $2 will get you a cup of coffee, a good idea and great execution will make you rich, famous, or whatever else it is you want.
Re: The Myth Of Creativity
#5While I see value in the overall message, I think the author sets up a false dichotomy that somehow suggests there's a gulf between creative invention and pragramtic diligence. This is often something I run into - this notion that creativity equals flights of fancy, non-realist, ungrounded. On the contrary, creating, is in my mind, the wisdom to use the opportunities and resources close by, whether internal or extern…
Good point. The wisdom to use opportunities is underestimated I think. There is a lot of creativity in building something good with the tools available. I say good instead of new, because for developers the result will be something you've seen before. But under the hood, there is something that makes it quicker, more stable and more easier to use.
Sometimes creativity is not so fancy or easy to see. I think the author is talking about the fancy.
Re: The Myth Of Creativity
#6[deleted]
Re: The Myth Of Creativity
#7I agree with him that mostly the bottleneck is not in idea generation, but in what you do with the ideas that you and others have. Unfortunately, he does not really address the "doing" part, except by saying diligence is good. Sure, but you also need audacity to push good ideas against resistance. You need an open mind to use the best ideas of others. To me diligence implies doing what you're told, but I don't think that will result in too much innovation, because that presumes that your boss understands the value of the new thing as well as you do, which is very rarely the case.
Re: The Myth Of Creativity
#8While I see value in the overall message, I think the author sets up a false dichotomy that somehow suggests there's a gulf between creative invention and pragramtic diligence. This is often something I run into - this notion that creativity equals flights of fancy, non-realist, ungrounded. On the contrary, creating, is in my mind, the wisdom to use the opportunities and resources close by, whether internal or extern…
Yeah, I think there's this odd view that creativity is ex nihilo, an unexplainable intercession from the cosmos that disrupts the usual ways of thinking. Since an area I care about is creativity in AI systems, we very much hope that isn't true, because simulating intercessions from the cosmos on computers is hard. ;-)
Although it's got all sorts of things I disagree with, a decent overview of, "can we nail down creativity more specifically than just 'flash of inspiration'?", and in particular how it ties in with "normal" problem solving, is Margaret Boden's book: http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Mind-Myths-Mechanisms/dp/0415...
Re: The Myth Of Creativity
#9This author sounds boring.
Re: The Myth Of Creativity
#10Successful innovators usally knows that genius is 1% inspiration or creativity and 99% transpiration - hard work to implement the idea or several ideas until the successful idea and it's implementation is found.