"What is Creativty?"

[googlebay]

"thinking cap" is a devcie that aims to promote creativity … worked by suppressing the left side of the brain, associated with knowledge, and stimulating the right side, linked to creativity.
… Professor Snyder added that the work was inspired by accident victims who experienced a sudden surge in creativity after damaging the left side of their brains.
…. people who suddenly have damage to the left temporal lobe will burst out in the arts or other types of creative activities,"
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci...214-1asg4.html

In other words to get creative you need to have damaged left temporal lobe. You may have inherited this condition or get it by a disease, done chemically (drugs) psychologically (trauma) or physically (by a surgery or a hammer).

[pauland]

I think I probably need two of those thinking caps..

[Gamerprinter]

I think I am right brain dependant on most things I do. Of course the left brain handles step-by-step tasks like using Xara to create designs. However, as most people seem to exist in the left brain, it takes activating the right brain to get creative. I am always creative in most every task I do. My left brain trys to control the right, but often fails. Perhaps I'm just severely left lobe damage...

GP

[TwidderBird]

thank you Gogglebay, Pauland, and Gameprinter for adding your ideas and musings here

[Gamerprinter]

I think right brain thinking is 'lateral thinking' rather than left brain thinking which is 'linear thinking'. In linear thinking you start at the beginning and take all necessary steps to reach a logical conclusion. Whereas lateral thinking is taking two unrelated ideas, bringing them together to create a third new idea based on the two unrelated ones. Humor works in lateral thinking. You tell a joke the relies on linear thinking, when the punchline is bringing a seemingly unrelated thought and tying it to the result of the linear thinking listener of the joke, the unexpected solution is what makes it 'funny'.

When I create a map (I'm a pro fantasy cartographer, my primary means of utilizing much of my creativity). I do my best to make a representation that best describes what I want my viewer to see and understand. At the same time, I seek for ways to present that information differently and uniquely than what one normally expects. The result is both spot on and surprising - a necessary combination to make a best purpose map.

In my current project, I am the concept creator for a dark horror Japanese inspired game setting. I am taking two normally unrelated concepts, feudal fantasy oriental and dark and gritty horror. For game settings you'll find one or the other, among other settings. I am the first to bring feudal Japan and Asian horror tied together - creating a new concept.

Most activities I do, I use lateral thinking to be creative. I do not depend on linear thinking for much except for day to day activities. I constantly search for the unrelated subject that will inspire a new concept in whatever I am doing at the time.

GP

[TwidderBird]

thnx for sharing what you did, Gameprinter. I like your ideas. in taking that test I provided as a Part of answering the question on creativity, this is mostly what I learned about myself- I don't do much in linear ways or am good at linear ways. I like your expression of 'lateral thinking'. makes sense to me sounds like you have an interesting job!

[zaphodeist]

Lateral thinking is holistic, perhaps thinking in 3D rather than 2D or even 1D [linear thought]. I totally agree that it should be included as a form of "Creativity" as it utilises Socratic/Platonic Dialectic - deconstructing to build the "Truth". It is totally creative

[TwidderBird]

My highest score was in Random 'thinking'. Just like my life...I'm a little bit all over the place . I was greatly relieved to understand that this was not the same as insanity ....tho some days I do wonder

[nicemoney]

A brief moment of inspiration when something new is added to the collective consciousness.

Agree with you Derek, something derivative is often mistaken for "creativity"

[Gamerprinter]

Well, I spent a good 8 years working with various 3D applications having done some forensic animation for court proceedings, as well as created 'gobs' of 3D fun. Although I still dabble, working with 3D taught me lots about light and shadow - more than I ever learned in art school. And sometimes I incorporate 3D creations in my 2D maps.

But the point I'm making is that I think in 3D, even though I create 2D maps. So as I create I see the map in 3D, and to some degree that understanding comes off in the map and the viewers see depth where none truly exists.

Not the same as 3D thought, I understand, but I agree creativity is more than just lateral thinking, but that is a step in the direction towards taking the irrational and making it rational through applied non-linear ideas with creative results.