The What, Who, Where, How, When, Why of Creativity and Creative Thinking

What is creativity? Well, it depends who you ask.

Oxford: The use of the imagination or original ideas

If you ask Merriam-Webster: the ability to make new things or think of new ideas. Dictionary.com:the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations.

Cambridge English Dictionary: the ability to produce original and unusual ideas, or to make something new or imaginative. Wikipedia: Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed.

Notice, if you will, that none of these definitions mention human beings!!

Who is creative? Can you describe the attributes of a creative person (one word adjectives)? Please feel free to add yours on the padlet on the opposite page.

Where do creative people hang out? In cities. Which cities? Scroll down to see. What is strange about this list?

Amsterdam

Berlin

Austin

Stockholm

Capetown

Tokyo

Melbourne

London

New York

Paris

What, no Tel Aviv? No San Francisco? Oh, it’s from a blog about lifestyle and fasion. But still…. Ahhh, Tel Aviv is number five in Richard Florida’s list. That’s better news.

Why are some people extremely creative? Well, according to Mihaly Csikszentimihalyi, they have FLOW. In other word, they are able to get into a ‘zone’. Still don’t get it? Read his book. Or watch the video. Or perhaps it’s biochemistry.

When does creativity strike? Is there a specific time of day? A specific activity? Ideas come to us when we are observant, curious, doubtful, playful. Oh, and doing a mundane activity (like showering) can help as well.

artwork: Rotem Omri, From “Jeff the Mis-Fish”

How does creativity work? If I knew that, I would be writing free books. I would be charging money for them.