today, some things are a complete surprise and novelty. Mobile phones and the World Wide Web are just two examples of generation through novel thinking.

I’m quite aware that some people may say that a mobile phone isn’t novel – it’s just a ‘better’ telephone, isn’t it? In my opinion, those that say "there is nothing new under the sun" are basically limiting their ability to create. It’s a bit like saying that there can be nothing new in literature because we all use the same 26 letters of the alphabet!

My point is that it’s harder to learn and create if you only sort for similarity. An important part of creating a learning environment is to prevent people from sorting for similarity too soon.

Let me give you an example. I used to teach Chemistry to final year degree students. Talk about a tough audience! The prevailing attitude was:

• You’re about to talk about X
• X
  How Can The Democrats Win In 2008? (First of Two Parts)
  I. VICTORY OUT WESTIf the Democrats are to seize control of the White House in 2008, they need to rally behind the party’s brightest star, New York Senator Hillary Clinton. If they again parade a spineless, lackluster nominee—a la Al Gore, Bill Bradley, John Kerry, Michael Dukakis, "Hollerin’" Howard Dean, et al. They can expect another election day version of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. If the Democrats are humbled again, they have nothing to look forward to in 2012, unless the Republican President-elect makes a Gerald Ford-like gaffe or two.For the Democrats once-promising candidate Gavin Newsome is already out of the running. His endorsement of gay marriage left him with the maverick label and knocked him out of contention. (Is he (the new “Governor Moonbeam?”) The name of Bob Graham pops up every year, but he is as faceless as they come. Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards are two more
  Creativity is an area that has fascinated me ever since I first became interested in personal development, hypnosis and NLP. What intrigues me is the structure underpinning abilities that we consider exceptional or extra-ordinary.

  Creativity is an interesting area to explore, as so few people know how they are creative. And the limitations in thinking about creativity often become apparent as a result of a few simple questions.

  What do I mean by ‘limitations’? There are many popular presuppositions about creativity that can be very limiting.

  A common idea is that there is such a thing as a ‘creative person’, implying that creative people are born, not made. If you refuse to believe that, it opens up the possibility that anyone can learn to be more creative.

  More creative? Doesn’t that imply that we’re all creative in some way? That leads us to the next limitation - a rigid idea of what constitutes creativity. Does the term only apply to musicians, artists and writers? Or genius inventors? Or can engineers and tennis players be creative too?

  What is creativity?

  It’s necessary that we develop a working definition of creativity in order to focus in a useful way. The dictionary defines creativity in three ways:

  1. marked by the ability or power to create : given to creating

  This first definition refers to the ability or power to generate something new. It doesn’t describe how – and the word ‘how’ implies a process.

  2. having the quality of something created rather than imitated

  The important part of this second definition is that it makes a distinction between ‘creating’ and ‘imitating’ something, with a line drawn to separate the two.

  Betty Edwards challenges the precision of that definition in her excellent book “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”. Think about this:

  Is tracing a photograph ‘creative’? Is copying a drawing of a scene ‘creative’? How about copying the actual scene? Is that last example different from painting a landscape? Where should the line be drawn between creation and imitation?

  3. managed so as to get around conventional limits

  This is the ‘thinking out of the box’ that we hear so much about. ‘Conventional limits’ is an ambiguous term and could mean ‘normal limits’ or ‘limits defined by agreement or consensus.’ From a practical point of view, both add up to ‘perceived limits’.

  Creativity of this sort can involve achieving things that were previously thought to be impossible, such as breaking the sound barrier. Or this definition could equally apply to the breaking of established convention with each new artistic movement. Impressionism and Cubism both defied previous norms in art, for example.

  In light of those definitions:

  • Do you consider yourself to be creative?
  • What creative resources do we all have?
  • How do you know how creative you are / can be?

  There are ways to be more creative. Most approaches focus on strategies for creativity – and there are many. However, virtually all of them seem to fit into four broad categories. In this part, we’ll explore the first category – Generation.

  1. New ideas - 'Generation'

  Creativity through generation is the process of evolving new ideas. I recently read an article which looked back at the predictions that were made in the 1960’s about what life would be like in the year 2000. While it was possible to predict many of the technologies we have

  today, some things are a complete surprise and novelty. Mobile phones and the World Wide Web are just two examples of generation through novel thinking.

  I’m quite aware that some people may say that a mobile phone isn’t novel – it’s just a ‘better’ telephone, isn’t it? In my opinion, those that say "there is nothing new under the sun" are basically limiting their ability to create. It’s a bit like saying that there can be nothing new in literature because we all use the same 26 letters of the alphabet!

  My point is that it’s harder to learn and create if you only sort for similarity. An important part of creating a learning environment is to prevent people from sorting for similarity too soon.

  Let me give you an example. I used to teach Chemistry to final year degree students. Talk about a tough audience! The prevailing attitude was:

  • You’re about to talk about X
  • X
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    what constitutes creativity. Does the term only apply to musicians, artists and writers? Or genius inventors? Or can engineers and tennis players be creative too?

    What is creativity?

    It’s necessary that we develop a working definition of creativity in order to focus in a useful way. The dictionary defines creativity in three ways:

    1. marked by the ability or power to create : given to creating

    This first definition refers to the ability or power to generate something new. It doesn’t describe how – and the word ‘how’ implies a process.

    2. having the quality of something created rather than imitated

    The important part of this second definition is that it makes a distinction between ‘creating’ and ‘imitating’ something, with a line drawn to separate the two.

    Betty Edwards challenges the precision of that definition in her excellent book “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”. Think about this:

    Is tracing a photograph ‘creative’? Is copying a drawing of a scene ‘creative’? How about copying the actual scene? Is that last example different from painting a landscape? Where should the line be drawn between creation and imitation?

    3. managed so as to get around conventional limits

    This is the ‘thinking out of the box’ that we hear so much about. ‘Conventional limits’ is an ambiguous term and could mean ‘normal limits’ or ‘limits defined by agreement or consensus.’ From a practical point of view, both add up to ‘perceived limits’.

    Creativity of this sort can involve achieving things that were previously thought to be impossible, such as breaking the sound barrier. Or this definition could equally apply to the breaking of established convention with each new artistic movement. Impressionism and Cubism both defied previous norms in art, for example.

    In light of those definitions:

    • Do you consider yourself to be creative?
    • What creative resources do we all have?
    • How do you know how creative you are / can be?

    There are ways to be more creative. Most approaches focus on strategies for creativity – and there are many. However, virtually all of them seem to fit into four broad categories. In this part, we’ll explore the first category – Generation.

    1. New ideas - 'Generation'

    Creativity through generation is the process of evolving new ideas. I recently read an article which looked back at the predictions that were made in the 1960’s about what life would be like in the year 2000. While it was possible to predict many of the technologies we have

    today, some things are a complete surprise and novelty. Mobile phones and the World Wide Web are just two examples of generation through novel thinking.

    I’m quite aware that some people may say that a mobile phone isn’t novel – it’s just a ‘better’ telephone, isn’t it? In my opinion, those that say "there is nothing new under the sun" are basically limiting their ability to create. It’s a bit like saying that there can be nothing new in literature because we all use the same 26 letters of the alphabet!

    My point is that it’s harder to learn and create if you only sort for similarity. An important part of creating a learning environment is to prevent people from sorting for similarity too soon.

    Let me give you an example. I used to teach Chemistry to final year degree students. Talk about a tough audience! The prevailing attitude was:

    • You’re about to talk about X
    • X
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      Knowing when to enter the market is crucial to exercising a good technical trading strategy. There are many pitfalls that inexperienced traders experience because they are entering the market when the probability for making a successful trade is reduced. So when is the best time to look for a trade and why?The best time to look for a trade is when there is heavy volume in the currency markets. Since the Forex market is open 24 hours per day, it’s best to find the times when multiple countries markets are trading at the same time. Every Forex market in the world operates from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in their respective time zones. In order to take advantage of the chance of many trades developing, one needs to look at when the Forex market times in different countries overlap. In the overlapping times when multiple markets are open, generally there is the most volume and pip movement.For instance, i
      ision of that definition in her excellent book “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”. Think about this:

      Is tracing a photograph ‘creative’? Is copying a drawing of a scene ‘creative’? How about copying the actual scene? Is that last example different from painting a landscape? Where should the line be drawn between creation and imitation?

      3. managed so as to get around conventional limits

      This is the ‘thinking out of the box’ that we hear so much about. ‘Conventional limits’ is an ambiguous term and could mean ‘normal limits’ or ‘limits defined by agreement or consensus.’ From a practical point of view, both add up to ‘perceived limits’.

      Creativity of this sort can involve achieving things that were previously thought to be impossible, such as breaking the sound barrier. Or this definition could equally apply to the breaking of established convention with each new artistic movement. Impressionism and Cubism both defied previous norms in art, for example.

      In light of those definitions:

      • Do you consider yourself to be creative?
      • What creative resources do we all have?
      • How do you know how creative you are / can be?

      There are ways to be more creative. Most approaches focus on strategies for creativity – and there are many. However, virtually all of them seem to fit into four broad categories. In this part, we’ll explore the first category – Generation.

      1. New ideas - 'Generation'

      Creativity through generation is the process of evolving new ideas. I recently read an article which looked back at the predictions that were made in the 1960’s about what life would be like in the year 2000. While it was possible to predict many of the technologies we have

      today, some things are a complete surprise and novelty. Mobile phones and the World Wide Web are just two examples of generation through novel thinking.

      I’m quite aware that some people may say that a mobile phone isn’t novel – it’s just a ‘better’ telephone, isn’t it? In my opinion, those that say "there is nothing new under the sun" are basically limiting their ability to create. It’s a bit like saying that there can be nothing new in literature because we all use the same 26 letters of the alphabet!

      My point is that it’s harder to learn and create if you only sort for similarity. An important part of creating a learning environment is to prevent people from sorting for similarity too soon.

      Let me give you an example. I used to teach Chemistry to final year degree students. Talk about a tough audience! The prevailing attitude was:

      • You’re about to talk about X
      • X
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        of established convention with each new artistic movement. Impressionism and Cubism both defied previous norms in art, for example.

        In light of those definitions:

        • Do you consider yourself to be creative?
        • What creative resources do we all have?
        • How do you know how creative you are / can be?

        There are ways to be more creative. Most approaches focus on strategies for creativity – and there are many. However, virtually all of them seem to fit into four broad categories. In this part, we’ll explore the first category – Generation.

        1. New ideas - 'Generation'

        Creativity through generation is the process of evolving new ideas. I recently read an article which looked back at the predictions that were made in the 1960’s about what life would be like in the year 2000. While it was possible to predict many of the technologies we have

        today, some things are a complete surprise and novelty. Mobile phones and the World Wide Web are just two examples of generation through novel thinking.

        I’m quite aware that some people may say that a mobile phone isn’t novel – it’s just a ‘better’ telephone, isn’t it? In my opinion, those that say "there is nothing new under the sun" are basically limiting their ability to create. It’s a bit like saying that there can be nothing new in literature because we all use the same 26 letters of the alphabet!

        My point is that it’s harder to learn and create if you only sort for similarity. An important part of creating a learning environment is to prevent people from sorting for similarity too soon.

        Let me give you an example. I used to teach Chemistry to final year degree students. Talk about a tough audience! The prevailing attitude was:

        • You’re about to talk about X
        • X
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          e

          today, some things are a complete surprise and novelty. Mobile phones and the World Wide Web are just two examples of generation through novel thinking.

          I’m quite aware that some people may say that a mobile phone isn’t novel – it’s just a ‘better’ telephone, isn’t it? In my opinion, those that say "there is nothing new under the sun" are basically limiting their ability to create. It’s a bit like saying that there can be nothing new in literature because we all use the same 26 letters of the alphabet!

          My point is that it’s harder to learn and create if you only sort for similarity. An important part of creating a learning environment is to prevent people from sorting for similarity too soon.

          Let me give you an example. I used to teach Chemistry to final year degree students. Talk about a tough audience! The prevailing attitude was:

          • You’re about to talk about X
          • X is a lot like Y
          • and I know all about Y.

          Willingness to learn had ceased for most, as they had only sorted for similarity. To open up the channels of learning, it was necessary to encourage them to compare what they really knew with what they should know – a strategy of sorting for differences.

          If you see the world through a filter of difference, there are new ideas all the time. A small difference results in incremental change – a ‘slightly better’ paperclip, for example. Generation demands a large difference - which results in something novel.

          This creative strategy is great for problem-solving – many of our innovations have been developed as the solution to a pressing problem. So let’s put it to work.

          Exercise: Problem Solving Through Generation

          Do you have a (practical) problem with no current solution? Or would you like a better way of doing something?

          Apply one of the following strategies:

          1. The Magic Pill Scenario

          Ask yourself:

          “If you were to take a magic pill that meant you would wake up tomorrow with the problem completely solved, what would have changed?”

          This presupposes that there is a solution and you are free to discover for yourself what changes you need to make. It’s also an explicit request to focus on differences between the ‘problem state’ and the ‘solution state’.

          1. Learning From The Future

          Imagine a time in the future when the problem has been solved or the goal has been accomplished.

          Bring yourself forward into that imaginary future, knowing that one day it will be a reality.

          Check that the end result is satisfactory. If it’s not, change it until you’re completely happy with it.

          Now look back towards the present and notice all of the events that took place before that result - those actions which allowed you to accomplish that.

          Be aware of what you did each step of the way and allow your mind to fill in the details as you go.

          Now you know how you will get there and have a complete plan.

          Further Ideas

          These are just a couple of ways in which you can apply strategies to generate novel results and solve problems in the process. As I said before, there are many strategies for creativity. And you can use these strategies to evolve more new creative methods.

          Next time, I’ll explore the second category of creativity – Synthesis.