Tag: inventor

Our creative potential is nearly shut down by early schooling. Teachers are the first to admit this. In kindergarten, all the kids are artists and inventors. Starting in the first grade, the kids have to work all the time. There’s no more time for fun, because there’s so much they’ve got to learn. They’re rarely allowed to daydream any more. It’s a wonder that any of them ever grow up to be artists or inventors.

When it comes to creativity, myths keep most people firmly rooted. Only artists have creativity, and creativity is rare, we’re told. Creativity is mysterious and magical and divine, people say. Creativity, in short, is not something mystical; it’s an extension of what you already know. To be more specific, new behaviors (or “ideas”) emerge as old behaviors interact, and the process by which behaviors interact is orderly.

If creativity is so accessible, what’s holding us back? When a group of people are asked, “Please raise your hand if you consider yourself to be creative,” – why do only a few hands go up? Why are corporate leaders, government officials, politicians, crime fighters, teachers, and parents all starving for new ideas? Why are art, music, and literature in the hands of a tiny fraction of the population–while the rest are mere spectators?

There’s another reason why creativity seems to be in short supply: Myths about creativity are deeply entrenched in our culture. Myths have enormous power to shape everyday behavior, often to people’s detriment. When people believe the world is flat, for example, they are not likely to venture out to sea, and far away lands, remain undiscovered.