How to be Creative
"In creativity research, we refer to the three bs - for the bathtub, the bed
and the bus - places where ideas have famously and suddenly emerged", says R.
Keith Sawyer, author of 'Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human
Innovation'. When we take time off from working on a problem, we change what
we are doing and activate our brain...Take risks, expect to make lots of
mistakes, because creativity is a numbers game. Work hard and take frequent
breaks, but stay with it over time. Do what you love, because creativity
breakthroughs take lots of hard work. Develop a network of colleagues, and
schedule time for free-wheeling unstructured discussions. Most of all forget
those romantic myths that creativity is all about being artsy and gifted and
not about hard work" Globe and Mail, Jan 27, 2006.
Great Eureka Moments in History
In 1907, at age 28, Einstein was working in the patent office in Bern,
Switzerland when by his own account, a "breakthrough came one day." Instead
of keeping his mind on his work, his thoughts wandered to, "If a man falls
freely, he would not feel his weight." Einstein's response to his thought
was immediate: "I was taken aback. This simple thought experiment made a
deep impression on me." By linking accelerated motion and gravity, Einstein
eventually created his masterwork, the general theory of relativity. However
it took him eight years to work through the mathematical details.
University of Toronto Magazine Autumn 2005
Being surrounded by people who actually have made discoveries of note is
hugely important to making discoveries of note," says John Polyani, Nobel
Prize laureate. Such minds can serve not only as an inspiration, but also as
a reality check. "It is part of the process of discovery that you need to
have razor-sharp people around, to prevent you from fooling yourself into
thinking you've solved something." he says.
At U of T, visionary planners are designing new facilities that will bring
together razor-sharp people from particular disciplines as well as top
researchers from allied but distinct disciplines, giving them new
opportunities to interact ... It will feature an innovative open concept
design - lots of glass and open spaces - to encourage "scientific mingling"...
Exposing students to more than just what's between the covers of their
textbooks is a clearly desirable goal...Bill Buxton, a designer and
consultant who has taught in U of T's computer science department and still
advises graduate students, believes there's a real danger in having young
people narrowly focus their studies. He says that Canadian Nobel Prize
winners almost all "have a near-professional competence in something outside
what they won the Nobel Prize for." At least two of the winners in chemistry
and medicine, for example, have significant talent in art and theatrical
writing - "precisely the types of programs which are being cut from the
school system," say Buxton.
excerpts from "Eureka", University of Toronto Magazine, Autumn 2006