Creativity

Introduction

We want to prologue this very important subject using Metaphor:  If you could define creativity in a metaphoric way, what might you say and why?

Example: Creativity is like a cat chasing its tail. 

In the act of creating or in solving problems in creative ways we often go round and round in endless circles wanting to pounce on an idea. Sometimes the answer or solution is right before our eyes but we can't see it. In order to find the solution, find the missing piece, solve the problem, we need to just look at something familiar in a new and different way.

Much of the thinking done in formal education emphasizes the skills of analysis--teaching students how to understand claims, follow or create a logical argument, figure out the answer, eliminate the incorrect paths and focus on the correct one. However, there is another kind of thinking, one that focuses on exploring ideas, generating possibilities, looking for many right answers rather than just one. Both of these kinds of thinking are vital to a successful working life, yet the latter one tends to be ignored until after college. We might differentiate these two kinds of thinking like this:

|Critical Thinking |Creative Thinking |

|analytic |generative |

|convergent |divergent |

|vertical |lateral |

|probability |possibility |

|judgment |suspended judgment |...