What do you think about when you’re asked the question of “What is Creativity?”
I don’t know about you but I really have to stop and give it lots of thought before I can actually begin to answer such a question. It seems so simple and yet the words seem to be on the tip of my tongue but they just don’t seem to want to make an appearance. I guess the problem lies in the fact that everyone, everywhere these days is using this term for almost anything you can think of.
Yes, everyone wants to be considered creative or wants their program to look in the eyes of others as being considered creative.
Creativity is also equated it seems with innovation
Thinking of this I’m reminded of that commercial where the people are lying on the floor meditating and when the boss asks what they’re doing they say something like innovating. When asked if they have gotten there or if they even know what it is, they don’t seem to know because they haven’t innovated that yet either. That’s probably not exactly how it goes but I think you get the picture.
Innovate, creativity they seem to be interchangeable to some but does this fill in our answer to what is creativity?
Many say creativity is the ability to create something but does that actually fit for our definition? If I create a cake am I creative or is it only creativity if I’m the first one to make this particular cake. Something that no one has ever produced before.
But let’s now say that I produce a cake that no one ever has made before but no one likes my cake not even me. Was I still creative and does this fit into our definition per say?
Here’s yet another thought. If someone creates music that to me is absolutely disgusting and even makes my ears hurt but you think it’s the most fantastic song ever, is that creativity?
So, when answering our question and forming our definition of what is creativity do we need to include that it’s in the eye of the beholder as to what this word actually means?
Or do we just make it as simple as possible and say that creativity is producing something original, something no one else has ever produced, or done before and leave it at that?
But then again, what about imagination?
Does imagination have something to do with creativity? Is it enough to just produce something original or do we now need to consider the imagination as part of our equation? Does what we produce need to be imaginative?
Oh, and what about our dreams? They seem to be original, never before produced and talk about imagination. I don’t know about you but many of my dreams are out of this world and as far as I’m concerned rather creative.
This talk about dreams brings up another point. Does our definition for, “What is creativity?” need to include the manifestation of something into physical form.
Maybe if we include this it would mean that my dreams would be considered creativity only if I take one of those dreams and create a book, movie or even words to a song out of the dream. And of course it would have to be one that no one else had ever produced before me.
But then again, I’m not so sure this fits the bill either
It seems that the more I do explore the definition the more confused I get and the more questions I propose without answers to explain them. So, I haven’t really given you an answer to the original question, “What is creativity?”
But what I do hope is, that in the process of writing this I have stimulated your thinking and in my own way created something original by putting this all down on paper for the whole world to see.