Flashes of genius: Learning the art and science of creativity
Presented by: Allen Gannett, TrackMaven
The keynote presentation on day 2 focused on unleashing creativity across industries and interests. The key takeaways were not just specific to medical communications, and many can be applied to assist us in unlocking possibilities for our clients, authors, and ultimately, patients.
Many people believe that creativity is something you are born with. For example, many people believe that Mozart was a child prodigy who woke up one day at the age of 3 and started composing music. In fact, his success is a story of incredible privilege, wealth, and pressure:
- Mozart's father insisted he became a musician and hired several music teachers
- While Mozart was forced to practice religiously from the age of 3, he didn’t compose music until the age of 11 and did not play his first concert until the age of 17
However, there is science behind creativity and current research does not support the “flash of genius” theory. Instead, it shows that, above a certain average IQ, everyone has the same creative potential.
What sets the best creatives apart is not that they were born with this gift but rather that they are focused on consumption in addition to creativity (e.g., reading every book about a certain topic).
Consumption is a huge part of the creative process; it’s impossible to have insights about things that you don’t know anything about, and as such, “a-ha moments” are normal cognitive experiences that often have deeper meaning.
Four elements of the "Inspiration Theory" of creativity
1
Individual
2
Easy
3
Overwhelming
4
Manic