From jim.mcnelly@granite.mn.org Wed May 4 19:49:54 1994 Date: Wed, 4 May 94 16:09:00 +0600 From: Jim Mcnelly To: LONDON@SUNSITE.UNC.EDU Subject: Creativity FAQ Subject: Creativity FAQ This message was originally addressed to Leo Elliott [76440.1416@COMPUSERVE.COM] and a carbon copy was sent to you. ---------------------------------------- This message was from Rousseau Paul to JIM MCNELLY and was forwarded to you by JIM MCNELLY ---------------------------------------- Dear creative colleague Following are the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) suggested by you, i.e those who voted for the newsgroup misc.creativity. As you can see the task before us is huge, not to mention the difficulty we will have in agreeing to the "correct answer" for each of the questions. A Proposal First, thanks to all of you who submitted questions. I did some editing since there were many repeat questions, and this may explain why your particular questions may not appear here. I doubt if the over 300 people who are receiving this post will be have the time or be interested in working on answering these questions. So, what I want you to do is to decide if you want to continue to develop the FAQ. IF YOU WANT to join the misc.creativity "FAQ Team", send me a note to that effect, (with subject line Creativity FAQ Team) You will then receive further instructions. If you do not, ignore this and I will not correspond with you any longer concerning this matter. Nothing personal, I will just drop you from my group alias. If you want to get back to me later, drop me a note). To help you decide, here is my plan for developing the FAQ. 1. A limited number of related questions are sent out to the FAQ Team (probably beginning with the ones under resources) and team members develop the answers. 2. Answers are sent back to me. I collate them, leaving conflicting viewpoints intact, check for spelling and post the FAQ, version 1, to misc.creativity newsgroup. 3. Another set of questions are then sent and the process starts again, ending with the posting of an updated and expanded version of the FAQ. 4. This continues until the questions end (probably never :-)) So there it is. Please do not feel guilty for not responding. You don't even have to say no, just do nothing, except continue to read misc.creativity. However, if you want to be part of the misc.creativity FAQ Team, act quickly so we can get this off the ground as soon as possible. BTW, I intend to list the names of the Creativity FAQ Team on the actual FAQ. Tell me if you do not want to have your name listed. *********************************************************************** General What is Creativity? How do I know if I am, or could be, creative? Is creativity a natural trait in humans? Can people really learn how to be more creative? Isn't creativity found in a few people, like inventors or artists? What practical value does creativity have for the average person? Where do ideas come from? What's a good diet for increasing my creativity? How does the environment affect creativity? What adaptive advantages or disadvantages (in an evolutionary sense) might creativity have? Resources What are some Books, Journals, Films, Audio Recordings, Software, Magazines, and on-line Resources (lists, newsgroups, e-magazines) that discuss and promote creativity? What are the major conferences and annual meetings related to creativity? Who (people and organizations) does creativity training and certification? What are the main professional groups in the field of creativity? Mental Health Is there really a correlation between madness and creativity? Was Freud right in stating that creativity and neurosis have a lot in common: both are unable to accept the world as it is. What is the relationship between creativity and insanity? Is creativity dangerous to your mental health? Can my creativity help or hurt me in my day-to-day life? Consciousness What do dreams have to do with creativity? What states of mind are most helpful, i.e. meditative, desperate? What's the consensus on drugs and creativity? (witness Coleridge, Huxley and Hemingway)? What is the relationship between the conscious and unconscious mind and creativity? Age Is it really more difficult to be creative went we get older? Are children more creative than adults? Right-Left Brain What is the interplay between right brain and left brain in the creative process? Do I have to learn how to access my right brain to be creative?" Physiology What is the source of the tangible "rush" or exhilaration that happens when you're creating? Is it physical? Interpersonal How or why is our creativity sparked by contact with other people's creativity? How can managers foster creativity? In what ways might I make the creative talents of the people around me socially beneficial? Techniques and Methods What can I do to increase my creativity? What is brainstorming? What is mindmapping? What is storyboarding? What is fishboning? What is brainwriting? What are some successful methodologies for improving one's own creativity? What are some steps/actions that a person or group can take to "improve their creativity" or creative ability? What do people need to learn in order to systematically enhance their individual and collective creative competencies? What training has been designed to facilitate the development of enhanced creative competencies? Which software tools are available to organize ideas, pieces of knowledge, in a visual oriented inspiring way? Evaluating Ideas How do you go about evaluating ideas for execution (once one has brainstormed a large set of ideas, what good rules are there for narrowing the focus)? How can we better manage the balance between new ideas and old realities? Groups How do I get a group to generate more and better ideas? Do groups help or hinder the creative process? Blocks What are some of the barriers to creativity? What are some exercises to overcome a lack of creative thought, e.g.. writer's block? What are some of the main things which hamper creative thinking or creative processes in general? How can one cope with the distractions of daily life that inhibit or deflect creativity (for example, child care, elderly parents care, dull job, ill health, etc.)? History and Research What did early studies of creativity produce? Who conducted them? When was the term "creativity" first used and by whom? What is the relation between creativity and intelligence?" In laymen's terms, how does the creative part of the mind work? Selling What are some ways to demonstrate the practical value of improved creativity (particularly in the world of business, where decision makers frown on the idea of "fun and games" without any payoff)? Invention What's involved in the invention process: product development, patents and marketing) Odds and Ends Isn't it true that left-handed people are more creative? Are there any differences between creativity and new ideas or there are the same? What are the differences between different and creative? Jim~ McNelly ReSourceNet and GardenNet 612-654-8372, 656-0678 v.32bis jim.mcnelly@granite.mn.org --- * May 4th - Some men's lives are too noble to be merely successful. cc: Michael Million [MM24681@UAFSYSB.UARK.EDU] Byron Belitsos [71055.3435@COMPUSERVE.COM] Dan Massey [massey@world.std.com] Lawrence London [LONDON@SUNSITE.UNC.EDU] Dick Prince [rfprince@netcom.com] Phil Calabrese [CALABRES@COD.NOSC.MIL] Pat McNelly [PMCNELLY@LIBERTY.COM]