Creativity Article

[idraw]

Creativity Article ( Scientific American--- Scott Barry Kaufman)
exerpt follows—(I included the link,https://getpocket.com/explore/item/creativity-is-much-more-than-10-000-hours-of-deliberate-practice?... the full article is too long to post here)
Traits that predict creativity—
I copied the list but not the full text beneath each item topic (read the article)
1. Creativity is often blind.
2. Creative people often have messy processes.
3. Creators rarely receive helpful feedback
4. The “10-Year Rule” is not a rule.
5. Talent is relevant to creative accomplishment.
6. Personality is relevant.
7. Genes are relevant.
8. Environmental experiences also matter
9. Creative people have broad interests
10.Too much expertise can be detrimental to creative greatness.
11. Outsiders often have a creative advantage
12.Sometimes the creator needs to create a new path for others to deliberately practice.

[KeegansCreation]

Nice article. I want to add on one little thing that I got from Stephen King, my favorite writer. Parameters. He wrote a book about creativity in writing and said that being able to write about literally anything resulted in writer's block and not being able to think of anything. You have to tighten up the parameters and that sparks creativity.
Zazzle has recently started offering tight parameters from time to time. It really is quite helpful. "Make a product for Mother's Day" is very open ended and you may be stumped coming up with anything creative. But they recently said "make two shirts for Mother's Day, one for Mom and a harmonizing one for her child". That tighter parameter sparks creativity.

Back to the linked article. Point 10, "Too much expertise can be detrimental to creative greatness" seems counter intuitive but I've heard it cited with respect to scientific discoveries. It is said that groundbreaking scientific discoveries are made by people in their 20's and 30's, much less often in their 40's through 60's. This is because they do have to get the necessary education in their field, but they also need a fresh mind that isn't bogged down by decades of approaching a problem the same familiar way. 

[ColsCreations]

This is because they do have to get the necessary education in their field, but they also need a fresh mind that isn't bogged down by decades of approaching a problem the same familiar way.

Yes!! I've always said, if you don't know it can't be done, you might be able to do it.

[Windy]

I learned this as a coach for Odyssey of the Mind. The kids were given very strict parameters to follow in solving a particular problem. Specific measurements and materials might be mandated or barred, so that the possible ways to go about it seemed very constrained. But  this made the kids have to think very hard to get the job done. You would have thought little could be accomplished, but the range of contraptions the kids imagined and built was vast.

[shellifitz]

 I am not really sure what the intention of this post is, but I feel like I need to point out that certain people are born with a creative drive that must be expressed.  I do think creativity can be acquired but I don't think that the drive I am speaking of can be quenched. It will come out somehow regardless of any feedback and/or encouragement whether positive or negative.  I think there are historic examples of stifled creativity and artistry gone bad, specifically in the sad story of people like Van Gogh.