Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind

Creativity, is always so hard to describe to anyone else. As a former tutor on a degree course in the arts, as well as a textile designer for many years, I came to recognize those qualities in a student that, would more or less determine how good they were going to be. To the lay person, creativity is often seen as practical skill, being good with fabric or plants or buildings or whatever, but in practice, it always felt more to do with certain personality characteristics and whether they had them or not. This is why I suspect that those awful creative workshops for business types never actually do anything either; you can develop the skills, but they need to be there in the first place. A former tutor, when I was doing my own post graduate work, once said, that if you were creative, you could turn your hand to most creative tasks, garden design or architechture; you could learn the practical stuff, but not so much the creativity of mind that was there or not. And yes, being open as a personality, is the most important thing. Creativity is something, as the authors say, admired in a loose general way in society, but not the actual creative mind or personality, which is very messy and different from most others. I know, I was one growing up and never fitted into other peoples ideas of what was normal, until I was lucky enough to get into art school during my late thirties. What a joy, to be surrounded by other odd bods who thought and felt the same way and me, and what a joy not to have to explain why you do or don't do things the same way as other people; although sometimes you do of course. My husband who is a scientific creative (he has worked on NASA products, both in the US and here in the UK) read the book after me and agreed with the authors assertions about the difference in various types of creativity, the differences between artistic and scientific creatives. I so wished I had had this book when I was growing up, it would have helped me understand myself so much and saved so much pain and misunderstanding, particularly if those around me had read it too. Far from being unoriginal, as one reviewer complained, this book is full of the latest research, carefully gathered together in a very readable form. Research is growing all the time and we are now learning so much about not just what we create and how to go about it (which is what I and others teach) but the nature of that creativity itself. Do not be fooled, there is a mine of important information in this book and if you are, or are thinking of going into any creative field as a career, please read it first; excellant too if you have a creative person in the family. Read it and take note; I cannot recommend highly enough.

Thoroughly researched, insightful, practical.The authors bring together a wealth of fascinating research plus examples of known creative people arranged into 10 behaviours common to many creative people. The result is a book which makes you aware of the different behaviours that can augment creativity so you can be sensitive to them - in yourself and others - do them more, and really indulge them. The book is a pleasure to read with its entertaining stories and exploratory style and left me with an even greater respect for those who succeed in creating something genuinely new and different.

Scott Dawg is the bomb

Better than I was expecting! Would recommend to all, creative or not.

Years ago, John Kotter told me during an interview that one of the greatest challenges to change agents is to change their thinking about change. I was again reminded of that as I began to work my way through Scott Barry Kaufman and Carolyn Gregory’s brilliant examination of “the mysteries of the creative mind.” In the Preface, they cite these observations by Francis X. Barron: “The creative genius may be at once naive and knowledgeable, being at home equally to primitive symbolism and to rigorous logic. He is both more primitive and more cultured, more destructive and more constructive, occasionally crazier and yet adamantly saner, than the average person.”Several dozen creative geniuses immediately come to mind as I re-read those comments. However different they may be in most respects, all of them seem (at least to me) to share a quite unique talent for seeing or hearing works of art that have not as yet been created. Their imaginations and intuitions enable them not only to connect “dots” that no one else has as yet recognized but also to connect other “dots” that do not even as yet exist. Kaufman and Gregory cite an abundance of research and share what they have learned from it.For example, “Creative people are hubs of diverse interests, influences, behaviors, qualities, and ideas — and through their work, they find a way to bring these many disparate elements together.” However, that said, the Berkeley study indicates that “the ingredients of creativity are too complex and multifaceted to be reduced to a single factor” and this new way of thinking about creative genius “gave rise to some fascinating — and perplexing — contradictions” that are best revealed within the narrative, in context. It can be noted now that the creative process draws on the [begin italics] whole [end italics] brain” and many different neural networks can be involved, including the default network” of the brain that Kaufman and Gregory characterize as “the imagination network.”These are among the several dozen passages of greatest interest and value to me, also listed to suggest the scope of Kaufman and Gregoire’s coverage:o Intelligence as related to creativity (Pages xxii-xxiii)o Play (3-13)o Passion (14-29)o Thomas Edison (25-26 and 179-180)o Hard work and passion (26-29)o Daydreaming (30-44)o Solitude (45-57o Intuition (58-80)o Expertise (66-67 and 78-80)o Neurological aspects of creativity and direct stimulation of the brain (76-77)o Openness to new experiences (81-98)o Neurological aspects of creativity and dopamine (85-87 and 89-90)o Nonconformity (90-91)o Outsider’s mind-set (94-98 and 176-178) o Bias against creativity (170-172)o Mindfulness (99-121)o Meditation and distraction (108-111)o Neurological aspects of creativity and mindfulness (111-114o Sensitivity (122-144)o Adversity (145-162)o Viktor Frankl (147-148 and 150-151)o Conformity (172-175 and 181-185)o Steve Jobs and Apple’s “Think Different” campaign (163-164)o Thinking differently (163-186)After interviewing 40 recipients of the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, Denise Shekerjian wrote Uncommon Genius: How Great Ideas are Born in which she observes, “What harnesses the idea of vision to the creative impulse is the notion that dreams unleash the imagination. And taking this one step further, where the dream addresses some greater good, there is an even stronger tendency to take risks and make the innovative leaps necessary to accomplish its goals. Limit yourself to your own private world and you've limited your creativity by worrying about how to protect what you've got and how to get what you're missing. Get yourself out of the way in pursuit of some greater good, in response to a strong pull of mission, and you've liberated the mind."I commend Scott Barry Kaufman and Carolyn Gregory on Wired to Create while acknowledging that no brief commentary such as mine could possibly do full justice to the information, insights, and counsel they provide in it.With all due respect to “the mysteries of the creative mind,” however, I wholly agree with them that almost anyone can live and work much more creatively than they do now. “Creativity isn’t just about innovating of making art – its’ about [begin italics] living [end italics] creatively. We can approach any situation in life with a creative spirit. We all have the capacity to dream, explore, discover, build, ask questions, and seek answers – in other words, to be creators.”

Loads of quotes, it is how the book starts. The Preface kicks off with two and each chapter starts with words other than those of the authors. Little if any original thought and thoroughly boring. How did it get so many fulsome endorsements? Beats me, perhaps they were paid?

Adorei a abordagem mais direta e científica sobre a criatividade. Normalmente, aqui no Brasil, o assunto é tratado como "coisa de hippie" ou com um olhar excessivamente artístico. Ver o nosso potencial criativo ser abordado como uma característica fundamental da espécie (e o que podemos fazer para deixá-lo ainda melhor) foi uma experiência muito agradável. Recomendo para todos que trabalham com criação de alguma forma ou curiosos sobre a espécie humana.

Facinating Read. Those who want to change the world , pursue their passion should read this.

This is a good book for anyone interested inthe creative process. As an artist I recognize and appreciate the research that has gone into this book.

This excellent book by Scott Barry Kaufman and Carolyn Gregoire summarized ten habits research has revealed are typical of the creative mind, habits we can cultivate in ourselves to improve our own creativity.Imaginative PlayCreative minds often ask themselves, “What if?” Like children at play, they put themselves into unusual, fictional situations. The Wired to Create authors quote George Bernard Shaw, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”PassionA passionate interest fuels creativity, and the results reinforce the passion. We see that passion in child prodigies, like cellist YoYo Ma, but also in mature artists, like Grandma Moses.DaydreamingDaydreaming is a characteristic of many creative people. Associations are made that would not develop without our letting our minds wander. Creative solutions are often the joining of seemingly contradictory elements. Sweet and sour pork, anyone?SolitudeCreative people often prefer to be alone, and they don’t feel lonely. The “noise” of the world is reduced, so they can think more clearly, make more creative connections.IntuitionReason carries us only so far, and then we tend to rely on our intuition, which is somewhat a product of our experience, and as we mature, we have more of it. “I just know….” Steve Jobs is quoted in Wired to Create as calling intuition “more powerful than intellect.”Openness to ExperienceWe can seek out new situations, new people, new endeavors, and we can also just decide to view our current circumstances in new ways. “What if…?”Mindfulness“Mindfulness” is awareness coupled with curiosity, attentiveness. Look outside of ourselves, but looking within has merit, too. Note: mindfulness seems to be opposite of “daydreaming.” Each in its proper time?SensitivityHeightened awareness can lead to creative responses. However any virtue can be overdone. Others may not appreciate your sensitivity. Having a thin skin leads to unnecessary inter-personal friction. Beware.Turning Adversity into Advantage“Every knock is a boost,” we mutter, as we pick ourselves up and learn from what just happened, from a newly altered perspective.Thinking DifferentlyOriginal thinking is characteristic of creative people, and your willingness to non-conform, coupled to the lessons you’ve learned produce viewpoints that can be unusual. “Where you stand depends on where your sit.” The accumulation of our unique experiences can put us in positions from which we get unconventional, creative viewpoints.Go Ahead, Be CreativeThe message of this valuable, encouraging, well-written book? Harness your inner creative talents, whatever they are.

Fabulous read! As a creative individual myself (I'm a novelist), I was very interested in the characteristics, and manifestations, of creativity in highly creative people. Though the book made me feel good about myself that I have all the ten traits that creative people tend to have, it also challenged me to do some things differently in my life, to do even more in my art and writing. I was already pretty happy about the stories I write (though I'm always open to more improvement), but I see now that I can innovate even more.The point that we need to have the courage to do things differently in our art, even when most people reject or dislike it, is very important, as I know from my experience as a writer how much we start to want to please our readers, at the cost of sacrificing our artistic freedom and originality. Not saying that we must completely ignore our readers either, but depending on the artist's goals, we can somehow balance the need to make the audience happy (especially if we want to sell our work), and the need to be true to our art and experiment to our heart's content.What I enjoyed most about this book, apart from it being full of inspiring, nonconformist thoughts in itself, is that it cited tons of research and case studies. There's a big difference between just telling us that creators have these ten qualities (imaginative play, sensitivity, etc.), and showing us a mass of data behind each of these ten qualities. The data and studies don't just substantiate the importance of these personality traits and behaviors; they make the author's points clearer, more interesting, and more convincing. The abundant number of case studies and research described were very intriguing to read!The only thing that really bothered me wasn't about the book itself. It's just that when there is a research study on creativity that involves participants coming to the lab (or whatever venue), it seems that the participants' creativity is only ever measured by solving puzzles (with only one correct answer) or by engaging in divergent thinking tasks (e.g. think of as many uses of a brick as possible.) There are many types of creativity, not just the problem-solving or idea-generating type. For instance, there is the kind of creativity you see when writers think of the most interesting, entertaining, consoling, or love-inspiring plot events, characters, sentences, descriptions, and many other things. Despite there being case studies on famous artists and writers, I don't see much (if any) research on not-yet-famous people in their creative abilities as "entertainers", "intriguers", " inspirers", and "soothers", as opposed to "problem-solvers". Creativity is not just, and not always, about solving problems. But again, this is a critique I have on creativity research in general, not on the book itself.Overall, Wired to Create was an enriching and enlightening read for me as a writer, and as a person who has always been fascinated by creativity.