I honestly cannot remember a time where I didn’t want to be
creative — but I cannot remember the time when I’ve ever wondered what it truly
means to be “creative.”’
Something
as subjective as creativity can be difficult to pinpoint. Sure, it’s easy for us
to recognize when something is creative, but what exactly does that mean?
Objectively speaking, that is.
This
question bugs me. After reading through several essays from acclaimed
authors such as Margaret A. Boden,
Steven Johnson and even Albert Einstein (who, I’m sure, doesn’t need to be justified with a
hyperlink), the concept seems a bit more tangible to me. Each author focused on
different aspects of creativity; however, one idea from each of their
perspectives stuck out to me in a, well, creative
and ingenious manner.
In Boden’s "What is Creativity?," she briefly focuses
on the idea that creative thoughts are, more or less, a lucky and random
combination. Einstein’s letter to Jacques Hadamard mentioned how creativity
denotes a person’s flow of logic. Steven Johnson’s appendix in his piece, "Where Good Ideas Come From" listed many
creative innovations in science and technology through the years. Boyle’s Law
of proportions stuck out the most to me and melded harmoniously with the
other two themes.
“There is, of course, a certain connection between those [creative]
elements and relevant logical concepts.” – Einstein
“Accordingly,
the surprise of the ‘creative idea’ is said to be due to the improbability of
the combination.” – Boden
“… the
volume of the gas will remain inversely proportionate; i.e, as one decreases,
the other increases, in proportionate degrees.” – Johnson
A creative
thought represents a sense of concrete, scientific logic, which is then tainted
with a sense of spiritual, subjective originality. Both elements work together
in proportion to one another.
The more someone’s thoughts become
logical and mathematical, the less creative they are and vice versa.
Thinking about becoming creative
always brings me back to the viral YouTube video, "Don't hug me, I'm Scared." Just as the puppets in the video lose sight of black-and-white type thinking
and venture over to the side of colors — ignoring the un-creative color green,
of course — and creativity, their thoughts run wild. Wild, creative thoughts. So
undomesticated that it draws the characters to a potent, creative insanity.
And so again, I’m reminded of
Boyle’s law: as one’s creativity increases, one’s ability to be logical — and,
in the case of the video, avoid death — decreases.
I feel as though creativity will
always be in a constant limbo with logic. They’re polar opposites, and
ultimately, one cannot exist without the other. And isn’t that what creativity
is? Beating the logic, escaping from reality, and entering a new world with a
new set of rules that may or may not make sense? Just as the characters of “Don’t
hug me, I’m scared” enter a new world with creativity, for better or for worse,
it is the process all creative people go through.
The balance between these two ideas
are key. Finding that balance and tailoring it to your personal style truly
makes a person creative.
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