Chapter 9: Creativity: Unleashing Your Untapped Capabilities

When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on Earth. So what the hell, leap.

—Cynthia Heimel,
writer and humorist

What Is Creativity?

Steven Pinker, author of How the Mind Works, says, "All of us are creative. Every time we stick a handy object under the leg of a wobbly table or think of a new way to bribe a child into his pajamas, we have used our faculties to create a novel outcome."

That is what creativity is all about—novel outcomes. It doesn't matter if the outcome is a stable table or a rocket engine, the source of creativity, and the work involved, is the same. One dictionary defines creativity as "having or showing imagination and artistic or intellectual inventiveness." So what does it take to be creative? Does it take unusual talent or exceptional intelligence? Not necessarily.

It's not always the most talented artist who comes up with the most creative result. It's not always the smartest individual who puts forth the best ideas. Charles Darwin was only a mediocre student. Albert Einstein failed algebra. Many famous and obviously creative people never even finished high school. In fact, Steven Pinker also says "there is little or no relationship between IQ and achievement in any sphere of adult endeavor yet studied."

Because it is not that creative people are more intelligent than anyone else, it must be that they use their intelligence differently. They are not content to follow the paths that others have taken; they collect knowledge and then apply their own ideas and uniqueness to the situation. They are in a constant state of incubation. They focus on something, put it to a test, put it aside, then come back with an even stronger focus and put it to another test.

Creativity = Create + Activity

Creativity is merely a plus name for regular activity ... any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.

—John Updike,
author