What is creativity? The ultimate guide to understanding today's most important ability.
CREATIVITY
Creativity is one of those traits that people seem to have an intrinsic understanding of, but if you actually ask them to define it, they get tripped up. It's easy to come up with a list of creative people (Frida Kahlo, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Einstein), and the outcomes of creativity (a novel, an invention, a new way of looking at the world), but it's difficult to wrap your head around the actual concept of creativity. The more I researched this article, the more I realized creativity is an incredibly nuanced phenomenon.
But you have to start somewhere, so let's begin with a definition:
Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ways of thinking or acting, and to develop new and original ideas, methods or objects.
Let's break that down:
It's an ability
It's also an ability to run a mile, or to do calculus or recite a Shakespearean sonnet (Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?). So creativity is a skill that is specific to an individual. For some people, it might seem to come naturally, but it is something that anyone can improve at if they give it the time and effort.
It transcends traditional ways of thinking or acting
Transcending means you're going above and beyond. It's recognizing the limitations of what already exists, and trying to improve upon it.
It develops new and original things
I think the key word here is develops. Creativity goes beyond imagining: it's about developing. If it's an idea, you go out and do the research to prove it. If it's a new process you try and test it to see if it works. If it's an object, you build it.
Great! And now that I've provided you with that enlightening definition, let's wade a bit deeper and try to really understand what creativity is (and why you should or shouldn't care).
Creativity is a relatively new phenomenon
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Creativity has only been a thing for the past 60-80 years or so.
"But wait," you say, "what about all those amazing artists and inventors of yesteryear. Are you telling me you don't think Mark Twain and Sir Isaac Newton weren't creative? Preposterous!"
I am certainly not one to dis the fathers of Tom Sawyer and gravity. What I'm saying is that the concept of creativity as we understand it—even though it seems so ubiquitous—wasn't really part of the popular lexicon until midway through the last century:
In many ancient cultures, ideas or advancements that we would attribute to an individual's creativity were deemed "discoveries." Even artwork was seen as an imitation of nature rather than a form of creation.
In the medieval Christian world, creative ideas were positioned as divine inspiration. Did you do something awesome? You owe god a high five for sending that fantastic idea your way, my friend.
With the dawning of the enlightenment, we started to see a gradual shift towards individual responsibility, but even then the focus was on imagination and intelligence—both of which are definitely part of the modern definition of creativity, but not quite the same thing.
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