Creativity

10 05 07 - 09:54 A word everyone knows and no one can agree on the definition of

By John Potter

The dictionary says

1. the state or quality of being creative.
2. the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.
3. the process by which one utilizes creative ability: Extensive reading stimulated his creativity.

How come everyone has a different idea of what this word means? Unlike “Hat” or “Dog” it seems that everyone has their own personal definition of creativity. 

Most people seem to agree that creativity is involved in visual art, music or fictional writing, but even then there are arguments over what constitutes art as well.

Frank Zappa once said that art is something you make from nothing and then you sell it.
It’s my favorite definition, but most artists don’t start with nothing. Canvass and paint are manufactured by companies through complex methods that are a mystery to most of the people who buy them, and the same can be said of musical instruments or even paper and pencils.

Actually nothing is pretty hard to come by and you really can’t make something out of nothing or it wasn’t nothing in the first place.

Rather than try to force my own definition on you I would like to relate some personal observations I’ve made over the years, and like most stuff on the internet they are based solely on my experience and opinion and you should treat them as such:

• Some people think they’re creative and everyone else knows they’re not.
• Some people know they’re creative and everyone else thinks they’re not.
• Some people are only creative once, or a few times in their life, but when they are it’s really, really impressive.
• Some people are creative most all the time, but never do anything impressive.
• Some people are really creative, but otherwise very stupid.
• Some people are really smart, but not creative at all.
• Everyone thinks they’re a better judge of creativity than anyone else for no logical reason whatsoever.
• Creative people get stereotyped.
• Everyone is confused about where craftsmanship ends and creativity begins and vice versa.
• No one knows whether creativity is purely genetic or a learned skill or some combination of both.
• Some of today’s trashy pop entertainment will become considered masterpieces some day.
• A lot of the great art in galleries was considered trashy pop entertainment when it was created.
• No one really knows what they’re capable of creatively or otherwise until they find themselves doing it.

The untrained creative person:

Of course there are creative people who never had any formal training who compete on equal ground with trained creative people, but I want to mention how creativity fits into everyday life for people who have no aspirations of being artists of any type.

Creativity can manifest itself in mundane ways like a working mom who can make a decent dinner out of three ounces of leftovers a can of soup and crackers or the way people have taken computers and the internet and found so many ways to use them for which they were never intended or designed. These things go unnoticed while sometimes work like laying tile is referred to as an art, which I would personally call a craft.

The trained creative person:

I’m trying to stay away from absolutes, but let’s agree on one thing…If someone goes to a reputable school and majors in art, music or creative writing and they graduate then they are creative. This is true because a bunch of people who are as qualified as a reputable school could find has deemed them as such. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are creative geniuses, but graduating from an engineering school doesn’t insure you’re a genius either, just a qualified engineer. Give credit where credit is due.

Two Big Myths:There are two other things I feel that I can confidently say I know not to be true and I feel compelled to state as such…

• Creative people will do what they do out of vanity or something even if they were not paid or reciprocated in some way.
  This is taking a job qualification or positive character trait and treating it like a mental disorder.
• Creative people are difficult to work with.
  Just not true. Creative people may work differently, but have been considered some of the hardest working, most reliable employees at most of the places I’ve worked.

So…what is creativity?
Your definition is just as valid as mine.

Just remember that, given the right circumstances, we’re all capable of wonderful and/or awful things that we would never expect. Most of our live are spent somewhere in the middle using talents we’ve learned step by step and replaying them like human tape recorders, but we all play on our strengths that come closer to these extremes that we may not even be aware of ourselves. Whether it’s a gift from birth, or a perfect storm of life’s experiences that come together in a way to subtle to describe in words, creativity must be at least a part of those extreme  experiences. When you experience creativity in yourself or someone else you know what it is and it doesn’t matter if anyone else agrees with you…it’s wonderful.

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