Creativity is More than Art

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Western Australia has a Thinker in Residence. The theme for the 2011 program is, Unlocking Creativity. As the website says,

the program "will turn the spotlight on the role of creativity, culture and education... The residency will build on work to date in the areas of arts, innovation and education as tools to foster the skills and potential of younger West Australians." (9 Nov 11)

All very good. All very positive. Perhaps a bit limited.

Jonathan Holloway has an even more limited view of "creativity".

Holloway is the artistic director of the Perth International Arts Festival. In an article in The West, Holloway discusses his views of and involvement with the 2011 Thinker in Residence program (It all adds up if young ones love to imagine, The West, 8 Nov 11).

Holloway is involved in "the arts". He is entitled to a view that creativity is solely found in "the arts". That is his view.

Creativity is, however, far more than the ability to create music, sculpture, paintings and so on. Wikipedia offers a very broad view of creativity. It also attempts a very brief definition:

Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new (a product, a solution, a work of art, a novel, a joke, etc.) that has some kind of value. (Wikipedia, 9 Nov 11)

A new product -- an app on your iPhone, for example -- may be the result of creative thinking. The suggestion to decriminalise drugs may be a creative solution to problems of drug-related crime. Some very boring statistics may be the result of some very creative thinking.

A work of art is just one possible result of creativity... And there are many, many very boring works of art which clearly demonstrate the lack of creativity of the artist. Yes, even music can be boringly non-creative!

None so blind...

Holloway's article begins with this contentious statement:

... most of us would be happier if we were to find ourselves seated next to a professional musician at a dinner party rather than a statistician.

He hedges that statement with, "I believe", "broadly speaking" and "Although some of my best friends are mathematicians..."

Half way through his article Holloway writes:

Second, 20 per cent of the jobs that will be done in five years by people leaving school today haven't been invented yet, or so a statistician told me at a dinner party.

The statistician's conversation clearly stuck in Holloway's mind. I wonder what happened to the forgettable drivel being spouted by the "creative" musician on Holloway's other side?! Perhaps Holloway was fascinated by the creative way in which the musician was playing with his spoons... but the statistician's comment was clearly more memorable.

How did the statistician reach the 20 per cent suggestion? Dare I say it... perhaps he was creatively playing with numbers?!

Einstein said: "Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere", and it is this thinking that is the essence of creative learning.

Holloway has identified the core element of creativity: imagination. He then narrows the definition to include only "the arts". Despite quoting directly from Einstein, one of the most creative thinkers of the last century. A man who was creative in the field of the physical sciences.

I'm pleased to see that Holloway supports working with "creative practitioners" from many fields: "the arts, science, engineering and industry". It would be nice if he could listen to his own words.

Creativity is where a person is able to create something new. Something of value (at least, to someone). Creativity is not limited to the arts.

Education may encourage -- or stifle -- creativity. Rote learning of what is known allows students to leap -- creatively -- into the unknown. Imagination will help direct the steps of creativity.

The arts offer one means to encourage imagination and creativity.

Fact-based subjects -- such as statistics, economics, physics -- also allow room for imagination and creativity. It all depends on how the lessons are presented.

Creatively.

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems. Agamedes Consulting: Support for your thought. email nick leth at gmail dot com