The Thinking Library

What is creativity?

Something is not creative simply because it is unusual or unfamiliar. An idea or work needs to be both new and appropriate or valuable in its context. Value in poetry, scientific explanation and machine design is judged differently. “New” therefore raises questions about for whom, in which field and for what purpose.

Discovering an idea for yourself is an important moment in learning, but does not mean you are the first person in the world to discover it. Both personal development and changing a field’s established knowledge belong in discussions of creativity, with different standards.

How does it develop?

Knowing the materials and limits of a medium helps reveal new possibilities. Rhythm in music, language in writing, materials in design and previous explanations in science provide raw material for creation. Encountering different perspectives expands possible connections; judgment and revision turn possibilities into work.

Amabile’s framework considers domain knowledge, creative processes, intrinsic motivation and the social environment together. It shows the limits of treating creativity only as individual talent. Time, materials, colleagues’ feedback and the setting for evaluation are also part of the discussion.

Generating and selecting possibilities

Imagining many possibilities and choosing one that fits a purpose are different activities. Rejecting the first idea too quickly can narrow the possibilities, while collecting ideas without judgment may produce no useful work. These activities can repeatedly influence one another during creation.

Imagination also reorganizes familiar knowledge

Remembered experiences, concepts and examples can support new relationships. Exploring within a field’s conventions differs from changing the conventions themselves. Boden’s book helps examine these distinctions theoretically; it does not explain the whole creative process through a single device or brain region.

Beyond the individual: a field and a society

How work is received depends on readers, users, colleagues and institutions. Collaboration is more than adding up people’s ideas: different forms of knowledge, language and evaluation work together. Social and cultural research on creativity belongs alongside the study of individual mental processes.