Pages

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

What Is Creativity?

Hi y'all! Sorry for the recent falling-off-the-face-of-the-planet-ness. I'm still here, still writing and still thinking about all y'all that are kind enough to read my ramblings.

And that kind of brings me to today's post. It's the start of a new semester. My last true semester of real college classes--the classes that I will be taking this summer don't count in my mind--living on the college grounds, and RA-ing for all that I'm worth. It's bittersweet in some ways, and in others, I'm just ready to get out and get in the classroom full time, like I will be next fall. But aside from my emotional conflict over this semester, I'm starting to get in the swing of things for my new classes, and there's one that I'm super excited about!

This semester, I'm taking an education elective called "Creativity and Problem-Solving", which to me is probably one of the coolest classes to ever be offered. As someone who's primary academic interest is what many others consider "boring" or "dry", I can't wait to really explore all the different things that I can do in my classroom to get my students thinking creatively about history. (Teaching geek moment, I know...)

Anyways, for this class we have to keep a journal of sorts, and each week we can either choose from a prompt that the professor has suggested, or write/draw/creatively express ourselves on a topic of our own choosing. For the first week, I decided to go off of the professor's simple (yet surprisingly complex) topic of, "What is creativity?"

The following is my un-edited, somewhat stream-of-consciousness, and personal insight into creativity. I'd be interested in hearing any feedback or additional thoughts that you guys have on this topic. This is the fundamental question that I will be wrestling with for the rest of the semester in this class, so any and all perspectives are welcomed and appreciated!

Enjoy!

Creativity is the capacity to think in new and unique ways about a situation or problem. Creativity is being able to risk failure in an attempt to create something new or different or better. Creativity is enthusiasm and passion and a whole lot of spunk—a confidence that you will succeed in your endeavors. In my mind, creativity and safety are antithetical. When I think of some of the most creative people I know, I think of a group of individuals that constantly astound me with their willingness to stretch the realms of possibility to the point where they border on the brink or complete and utter failure, or a revolutionary success. There is nothing contained or typical or predictable about these people. They are the kind of individuals that can talk you into your wildest dreams and make them come true, and then some. They have a combination of foresight and insight in a striking balance that leaves you wowed, yet a seeming lack of belief in negative consequences—in spite of all that foresight. I guess another element of creativity is inherently related to my understanding of people. I have no understanding or example of creativity that is not attached to an individual I know and the workings of their mind. Creativity is thus a uniquely human characteristic. Creativity goes beyond resourcefulness and an ability to adapt—characteristics that are instinct to most organisms with a nervous system and a brain. Rather, creativity is the convergence of a visionary understanding that anything is possible and the rare ability to apply logical patterns of thought to make it so. In some ways, I picture true creativity as the meeting of two minds in one person—the wonderfully and gloriously abstract and absurd collided with the brilliance and logic necessary to make the absurd a reality. To me, that is the epitome of creativity.

No comments:

Post a Comment