40 Keys to Creativity

I have twittered about this but then all my blog readers do not follow me on twitter (I won't mind, you know!). Hence this piece.
Ok here goes ...

We are all creative in some ways. That is a fact.
Only we have forgotten.
So once in a while we need a swift kick to get us going.
One such swift but well-meaning kick is delivered here.

It is actually an excerpt from the book Ignore Everybody by Hugh Macleod. I would recommend that you buy this book. Even if you don't, please spend some 5-10 minutes reading 1/40th of that book in his web site: Gaping Void.
You will not regret it.
I promise.
Happy reading.

Also spend some time browsing the web site to see creativity come alive.

And no, I do not get any commission for sending you across to his site.

Skewed Research

In the name of testing creativity researchers can go to any extent. Consider this example I picked it from the book :59 Seconds by Professor Richard Wiseman.

Can you add a single line to the following equation to make it correct? ('not equal to' is not a solution):

l0 l0 ll = l0.50

Spend some time here. Then uncover the answer hidden in the gray box below (click and drag):

Place a horizontal line over the second 'l' to get
l0 TO ll = l0.50
(It is time: Ten to Eleven = Ten-Fifty)

Now if you are a normal person, then chances are that you could not solve it. Unless someone has a funny sort of creative mind, this cannot be solve. Why? No one writes Ten-Fifty as 10.50. The convention is to write it as 10:50, right?

What is the purpose of such exercises? Does it really test your creativity? Or perhaps, researchers derive some sadistic pleasure by deliberately misleading.

Dell Copying Apple. Where has Creativity Gone?

Suppose I am the Chief Designer (or whatever I am called) at Dell.
My boss comes to me and tells me that I need to make an Apple-Look-Alike Dell computer.

What happens to my creativity?
What happens to my desire to mark my stamp in the world of computers?

Fortunately I am not in Dell.

But what is Dell thinking? Dell, that has been forefront of marketing ideas has now resorted to this? It definitely is a marketing opportunity, I agree, but where is the pride? Dell even calls their machine with the same name ("All In One").

You see the two models (Dell and Apple) and let me know what you think of the two.

No wonder Apple is rocking the hinges of the world and Dell is reduced to a also-ran.

Stimulating Creativity

Some management studies surprise me no end. Take this study on How To Stimulate Creativity? for instance. "Go live abroad", it says. Immersing yourself in local experiences for a prolonged period helps stimulate creativity. People who are bi-lingual or tri-lingual are found to be more creative in the study.

I have no doubt it does. Different inputs fire different neurons in your brain. variety of experiences help trigger creative juices. You do not have to live abroad for that. Just do things differently.

Do you drive to your office everyday? Do you take the same route? Try a different one. Or go to office in a bus for a month. Or better still pedal to office.

Do you love thrillers? Go to your local bookshop or the library and pick up a genre that you would never think of reading.

You can't stand classical music? Listen to Carnatic / Hindustani / Wsetern classical for a month. Oh! You are already into classical music? Listen to Jazz then.

Learn a new language on your own.

You do not have to go live abroad to become creative. You can create your own different environment at home. And I promise you, each of my suggestions given above will increase your creativity. It is the new experience and the ability to weave the new experiences into your daily life that makes one creative.

And if creativity was linked to number of languages, then all Indians would be overflowing with creativity. Any educated Indian would know at least 3 languages, if not more.

Wait a minute! Perhaps, we Indians are really very creative.