Defining Creativity - Week 2

What is creativity?

According to http://www.quantum3.co.za/CI 20Glossary.htm;

Creativity refers to the act of generating new and useful ideas, or of re-evaluating or combining old ideas, so as to develop new and useful perspectives in order to satisfy a need. It is the capacity to select, re-arrange, combine, or synthesize existing facts, ideas, images, or expertise in original ways.

Linda Naiman define creativity as...

The act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing. Innovation is the production or implementation of an idea. If you have ideas, but don't act on them, you are imaginative but not creative.

Some people can become creative just sitting around and suddenly pops out a creative idea. While others need a lot of hard work to generate a creative thoughts. You don't really need any money to become creative. If money is the issue for you not being able to apply your creativeness, then use your creativity to find other solution in order for you to apply that creativity. Just by solving the problem, you already become creative. Nevertheless, anyone can become creative without realizing it.

Creativity is demonstrated when you:

- Invent something which has never existed before
- Invent something which exists elsewhere but you are not aware of
- Invent a new process for doing something
- Reapply an existing process or product into a new or different market
- Develop a new way of looking at something (bringing a new idea into existence)
- Change the way someone else looks at something

Children are the best example to show how creative they are. As a child, they know less about the world and its society. Therefore, sometimes they ask questions that grown up people never thought of questioning it before. When face by problems, they might try using different methods creatively to overcome it. This is because they still haven't governed by the rules of norms.

To be a creative person, you need to dare being different. Being different here means to think, see and do different things than other people. People who don't really dare to be different is because they wanted to be and feel safe by following the norms of life and afraid of doing mistakes. Doing mistakes isn't entirely a bad thing. When you made a mistake, find the solution in order for you to not repeat the same mistakes again. I once stumble a book in a bookstore but I can't recall the title. It's about "a road with a hole":

1. I walk on a road. And there was a hole. I fell into the hole and it's impossible to get out. It's not my fault.
2. I walk on a road with a hole. I fell into the hole and it's very difficult to get out. It's my fault.
3. I walk on the same road and I fell into the hole again. It is becoming a habit. I get out immediately.
4. I walk on the same road. But this time, I walk around the hole.
5. I took different road.

What is trying to convey here is that we shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes. Just like Thomas Edison, who face thousands of failure light bulbs, but in the end, he successfully create the 1st light bulb ever. He too had been experienced the writer's block which is one of the greatest obstacle in a creative process. Even so, when you really just don't give up and try to get over the obstacle, you will pass the writer's block.

To put it simple, creativity needs a lot of hard work by looking things differently. Until one day, thinking creative is as simple as abc and 123.

References:
http://www.creativityatwork.com/articlesContent/whatis.htm
http://www.brainstorming.co.uk/tutorials/creativethinking.html
http://www.kenlauher.com/daily-wisdom/?Tag=Creative 20Thinking
http://www.quantum3.co.za/CI 20Glossary.htm
http://www.thomasedison.com/biography.html
Creative Studies notes prepared by Mr. yap Sao Bin