RR Week 4 – Creative Crisis! Due by midnight Friday of this week.
1. Watch and consider this video about creativity and business AND about the supposed “crisis” of creativity in the U. S. http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/29/po-bronson-creativit/
2. Postulate and comment on why fewer students and young adults are creative now
than in years past. Also comment on how important you think innovation
is to business – should it be considered one of the most important
aspects of business? Why or why not? What are the benefits either way? BE SURE TO PUT YOUR NAME ON YOUR POST!!!!!
3. Extra information:
Po Bronson on the Crisis of Creativity in American Business
Here is an article that Po, Bronson wrote for Newsweek about this topic in case you want to read more.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.html
Po Bronson on the Crisis of Creativity in American Business
Here is an article that Po, Bronson wrote for Newsweek about this topic in case you want to read more.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.html
4. And more extra information: a blurb about Po Bronson from the video site:
Po Bronson is the author of two acclaimed novels, a book of short stories and four best-selling non-fiction books including his 2005 bestselling What Should I Do With My Life which was on the New York Times bestselling list for 10 months. Bronson's work is extremely varied. Not only has he written about Silicon Valley both in non-fiction (Nudist on the Late Shift) and fiction (The First $20 Million is Always the Hardest) , he has also authored bestselling analyses of family (Why Do I Love These People) and, with Ashley Merryman, of education and bringing up children (Nurture Shock). Now Bronson is writing about creativity itself. In a Newsweek cover story last month, Bronson and his co-author Merryman write about the crisis of creativity now affecting the American educational system. According to Bronson, the results of creativity tests for American kids has been falling since 1990 — a particularly worrying statistic for American business given that these test scores have been rising over the past twenty years in most other industrialized countries around the world. As Bronson told me when we met in San Francisco late last month, this creativity crisis may be the single most important issue facing the future of American business. –Andrew Keen
Andrew Keen is the author of The Cult of the Amateur.
Po Bronson is the author of two acclaimed novels, a book of short stories and four best-selling non-fiction books including his 2005 bestselling What Should I Do With My Life which was on the New York Times bestselling list for 10 months. Bronson's work is extremely varied. Not only has he written about Silicon Valley both in non-fiction (Nudist on the Late Shift) and fiction (The First $20 Million is Always the Hardest) , he has also authored bestselling analyses of family (Why Do I Love These People) and, with Ashley Merryman, of education and bringing up children (Nurture Shock). Now Bronson is writing about creativity itself. In a Newsweek cover story last month, Bronson and his co-author Merryman write about the crisis of creativity now affecting the American educational system. According to Bronson, the results of creativity tests for American kids has been falling since 1990 — a particularly worrying statistic for American business given that these test scores have been rising over the past twenty years in most other industrialized countries around the world. As Bronson told me when we met in San Francisco late last month, this creativity crisis may be the single most important issue facing the future of American business. –Andrew Keen
Andrew Keen is the author of The Cult of the Amateur.
PLEASE put your name on your post.
Due by midnight Friday this week – 2/1/13.
After listening to Po speak, I have some agreements and some disagreements. First off, I can't say that I agree with the notion of the dopamine levels thing. By medicating people with adderral to give them a higher level of dopamine, this could change their personality and hinder creativity. I was a prime example of that and there are others out there as well. Not to say that it hinders everyone's creativity, but you can't just give someone a pill to raise a level of something and expect creativity to blossom from it.
ReplyDeleteNow with that being said, I do in fact agree with the statement that we have less creative individuals in society today. Contrary to popular belief, there is an extreme amount of creativity lacking in culture and society. Why do I say this? Well, we live in the ages of the internet, which is good sometimes, but it poses as a problem within the creative realm. With all information being so readily available, we are flooded with designs, ideas, products and ads all the time and it's hard to stray away from that. Unfortunately, what's happening is that people are seeing all of these things and then copying or recreating something that has all ready been created. When this happens, there's an overflow of shitty design, amongst other things and it's all because people aren't thinking on their own anymore.
I find it interesting that creativity is becoming a hot topic and the current status of creativity within the United States. Creativity is declining and Bronson states the issue lies within the school system and the nationalized, standardized curriculums that are put into place. They inhibit a child's creativity by forcing them to memorize rather than think curiously and innovatively to come up their own ideas and questions.
ReplyDeleteAfter listening to Bronson, I recognize now that I have been a victim to this schooling system and I am a prime example of how memorizing and doing everything as teachers and the State ask you do to, you will succeed with flying colors. But now, going to a more liberal-based college where the classroom is a place for questions, ideas and dicussion rather than lectures and memorization, I find myself struggling more to keep up intellectually. I have never questioned a text or an idea we do at Champlain and it's diffucult for me to stray from what is in black and white. I actually see this a lot in my Technology and Development class for CORE. I never speak or question anything because I don't know where to start, I don't know how to utlize my creative thinking.
I am not the only victim of our schooling system, so are millions of other students all over the United States. We aren't given the chance to be create individuals unless we are blessed with a teacher or two who believe strongly in a different technique of teaching. It's sad, that our country cares more about getting kids through school rather than creating influential and high-thinking individuals. We need a school curriculum that includes creative thought and a creative teaching strategy.
I think that our economy and country as a whole would be significantly better off if a new curriculm was in place. So many students could be dropping out of school, not pursuing higher education, or are just plain failing because the current techniques used don't work for them. My boyfriend, for one, is a high school dropout and if you were to ask him why he did so, he'd tell you it's because he didn't like school. But he can't really elaborate much more than that because he mind doesn't work in a way where he can give a structured extensive explanation for leaving. He isn't able to utlize his reasoning because he's never had to before, he wasn't taught or exposed to basic creativity most people have. That's because he's different and he learns different. If we had a more creative curriculum, his logic and reasoning would be more advanced and he might have finished school. There might have been a program or route to take in high school that was more than taking tests and writing papers that he could connect with on a creative level.
It is important for business, especially today, to be creative. There are so many businesses of all shapes and sizes today and in order to stand out, have an effective mission, and create business you have to think out of box. They need creativity in order to be successful. As our creativity levels decline, the need for creative individuals rises because we've advanced and come so far, new ideas and thoughts need to be generated to keep interest in everything, especially businesses.
I find it quite sad what Po is talking about it and to be honest I disagree with him completely. I don't think there is a creativity crisis at large. I do believe there are certain stigmas about creativity that must be addressed though. I do believe what he was saying about how people think they need to "act" creative to be creative. I think this has something to do with the way the media has portrayed certain people. For instance, a local design firm here, JDK, for some reason, has a stigma about it that everyone that works there is hipster. And to work there, you must be a hip-snowboarding-person; this is not true. And, it is extremely unfortunate that people believe that. This is one of many examples that this theory could be applied to. I have no comment about the dopamine other than the fact that its absolutely ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteCreativity isn't lost, but I do believe it is hidden for some individuals. And in tht case, if it is, they should not look to others to find it, but look at themselves and discover their own true creativity. It is because of actions like that, that will keep creativity strong and passionate.
Fewer students and young adults are creative today because of the school systems are creating robots rather than critical thinkers. If you do not take the right classes then you can miss out on all of the interesting new ideas. When Po mentions how other countries are increasing in creativity and we are decreasing it shows how the focus of American school systems are lacking in that department. Every standardized test is testing for exactly that, a standard. Not to see how original an idea can become.
ReplyDeleteInnovation is business is the new moneymaker. Whether it be a brand new idea or just modifying and improving an old idea is the only way to get ahead in today's economy. If you have nothing to distinguish your business from any other, the road to success will be difficult. Innovation is definitely a main aspect of business because you can hire anyone to do the numbers or paperwork or management. But with a creative team of workers, their thoughts and styles will be noticed before traditional methods.
Personally, I thought there was a major, screaming flaw in Po's argument, especially at the end of his video. He said, quote, "based on STANDARDIZED TESTS for creativity, our scores have gone down since the 90s." I don't know, maybe I'm just being jaded here, but it seems a little bit comical to me that a standardized test would have ANY relevance in "measuring" North American creativity. It's just appears to me that he is completely contradicting himself, where he is saying there is problem with American schools (which I don't deny that there is!!) in that there is such a huge focus on memorizing information and taking these standardized tests, yet he is quantifying creativity by use of one of these same standardized tests. Just seems bizarre, and downright stupid to be honest.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is any real way to measure how creative people are or aren't. Just because someone doesn't think of "new and innovative ideas" at the drop of a hat does not mean they are not creative. Just because people are presented with a problem and do not always seek "out of the box" solutions does not mean they are not creative. In my opinion, it means they are resourceful. They use what they know to work, and tackle a task in the most efficient, comfortable way possible. To me, I don't think this makes someone boring, uncreative, or lacking intellectual ability. I also think that some people may struggle to be creative in a secluded environment (ie. when taking a "Standardized Creativity Test" to measure how great they are at tackling problems), but will thrive if they are able to bounce off of the ideas of others. Just because someone may have an initial idea doesn't mean that it is fulfilled to its potential, and it often takes a very different kind of creativity to think about all of the logistics and how this initial idea can be brought to fruition.
So, to summarize this rant of slight frustration, I do agree that there should be more of an emphasis on allowing kids to explore their creativity in school in a large variety of ways -- asking questions and problem solving only being a small portion of that. And I agree with the idea of not trying to fill a stereotype of a "creative genius," but simply not being afraid to allow your thoughts and intuitions to shine. However, I do think that the notion of measuring creativity in general is pretty odd, and probably impossible. I also don't think that speed really has anything to do with creativity -- some great ideas come quickly and some take more time to develop.
I don't know, this whole post is kind of disorganized, but I generally felt uncomfortable watching this video.
I think that kids are more creative these days then in generations past, but with the convergence and access to media has led to an overload of information. So many people can have so many opinions and ideas about things that they are lost so quickly that people don;t even have time to digest them. A couple decades ago it was easier to spot good ideas because there weren't so many channels available to see them, so the people who came up with them had to spread them on their own.
ReplyDeleteon the other hand I think that the school system in the US does try to kill creativity. They sort of force us through the meet grinder of memorizing information and spewing it back at the teachers who have lost their desire to be educators. Paying teachers next t o nothing doesn't help them want to inspire. It Kills their inspiration. I had an amazing English teacher in HS that really enjoyed what he did, and made us enjoy it too, but he was told that his contract would not be renewed so he gave up and let us watch what ever movies we wanted in class for the rest of the year.
Why are fewer students and young adults creative now then in past years? I don't think that is completely the case. I think many people are just as creative in past years, however they portray their creativity differently now-a-days. With technology, people are being creative every day creating new apps for our phones and computers, and special features on cars.. We did not have that before, then again that is because of technology now. But still, people are being just as creative in past years but in different ways.
ReplyDeleteI think innovation is very important to business. I think it should be considered one of the most important aspects to business because our world is always changing and the technology is always improving. I think the benefit of having it as an important aspect connects another half of the spectrum... Innovation will connect a company with new people, and new technology which prompts new ideas.
I don't know if I necessarily agree with the proposal that there are fewer creative students and young adults than in years past. How does one even measure something like creativity? There are an infinite amount of ways that it can be perceived, interpreted, used, and implemented. I have a hard time believing that any test could record this. Perhaps these tests could show how 'out of the box' one thinks, but creativity involves other human traits/actions/ways of thinking. Nonetheless, even if there supposedly are less creative people out in the world today, I don't see it as a problem. There will always be creative people, and people who are not creative. It reminds me of when people will say, "older music is so much better than new, modern music." In my opinion, that's not the most valid of statements. There will always, for as long as we exist, be good music and bad music. Looking at how innovative businesses and technology have become within the past decade alone, it's pretty apparent that there are some creative minds out there—maybe a lesser amount of minds in total, but those minds that do exist, perhaps have greater creative capacities.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that innovation is key when it comes to businesses. Innovation keeps ideas fresh, which then keeps products, services, etc. fresh, along with how they're marketed. These new methods tend to gain attention, resulting in profit—the ultimate goal of businesses. Creative, innovative, relatable, simple, new ideas/products/services, if they're realistic enough, can be extremely successful.
I don’t believe that there is a problem in modern day America when it comes to creativity. I find it sad that it is even a discussion. We don’t have the few "great minds" that we did in previous centuries but this is due to the fact that the world is a completely different place. There are many creative people still out there; some just need to find the creativeness inside of them. Innovation is very important to business simply in order to keep them one step ahead of their competition.
ReplyDeleteI think that people are less creative because our schools teach that there is one answer, the one the teacher wants. I work with middle schoolers and to get them to think about something and come up with their own answer is almost imposable. I believe the desire and ability to be creative is present in all of us, but the fear of being wrong stops people from trying. Teachers have put a fence around our creativity and by doing so they keep our entire mind inside of that same fence.
ReplyDeleteWithout our creativity we fail to be innovative. Innovation is the driving force behind business. Today’s business world lacks the innovative minds that got us to where we are today. China used to be the most innovative country in the world giving the world gunpowder, the crossbow and many other things. Now they just manufacture things that other people create. And if you look at their schools they have some of the strictest ways of learning. Everything you learn is so you can take a test after you turn eighteen. So you can hopefully be put in a good class and get a good job.
James Wicks
Bronson states that standardized tests and the school system is a major issue to society and greatly decreasing creativity in the minds of children is a strong statement to make. I don't know if I can fully agree with this remark for many reasons. Testing has always been a part of our society in one form or another. How can you take this idea of standardized testing and even put in the same category as creativity? Creativity is still around if not more then ever. I feel like it's just more competitive market and people strive for the best. Creativity can lead to the best product or the best new campaign. I disagree with the idea that creativity is in the decline, thats like saying there is no good music anymore. It might be harder to find but there is still so much out there.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the article on TechCrunch, Bronson and co-author, Merryman, wrote an article in a Newsweek cover story about how the creativity test scores have been falling for American kids since the 1990's. To me, this makes absolutely no sense. There is no test in the world that can measure someone's creativity. I think that having a creativity test is pointless because anyone can be creative with anything. One person can be really creative with drawings and sketches whereas someone else might be creative with architecture or perhaps photography. I think that the results of a "creativity test" don't have much significance because such a test wouldn't be able to cover all the things that people can be creative in. If someone scored bad on this test, they just might not be creative in those particular subjects. I think that everyone has the capability to be creative and that everyone is creative in their own way. In terms of a crisis, I think kids are less creative because of stress that school brings upon them. Our society values efficiency and hard work. It leaves little space for kids to be creative in their daily lives. Creativity should be one of the most important aspects of a business. In order for a business to flourish, they need creative minds in order to push them forward and come up with new innovations. Without that, a business won't move forward and progress.
ReplyDeleteI actually chuckled at the this part of a sentence: "the results of creativity tests", even though it was definitely not meant to be funny. Obviously I'm not alone in my way of thinking, because lots have people above me have commented on this as well.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the point of creativity is that you CAN'T test it--there are so many different types of 'creative'. Someone who can compose music and someone who is a painter would probably both be considered creative people, but music actually has many mathematical and logical aspects to it, which painting does not (although perhaps some painting does), and I feel as though that would not be measured correctly through tests.
I also think Po Bronson would be very confused by me. I think I must be the most boring creative person ever. I'm not a risk-taker in the usual sense of the word. I don't really feel any need to break out of the 'normal' mold (although...what IS normal, really?). I don't think I need to 'act crazy' for people to see me as someone who is creative. And yet, I am successful as a designer. So riddle me THAT, Po.
I think the biggest reason that fewer students and young adults are creative now is because creative type classes are being cut from schools. There is so much emphasis on being “smart” that a lot of people unfortunately believe that an art class does not matter so they just cut the whole program. What they are doing instead of making students “smarter” is negatively impacting each student's ability to think outside the box and have a release from constant facts being thrown at them. As students, all we have to do is memorize as much as possible for a test, but what is going to make that information stick? By making it creative and different than just lecturing. I don't remember taking too many creative classes when I was in elementary/middle school. The first art like class I remember taking was in the 8th grade, and then not again until my senior year of high school. In between that, all we had to do was memorize facts and spout them out when asked. I remember very little from high school because I wasn't being taught it, it was just spoken to me in a way that did not make me remember it.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that is impacting creativity is the large amount of technologies that are doing everything for us. Younger generations don't have to figure many things out for themselves anymore.
Innovation is incredibly important to businesses. Without innovation, nothing new would ever come to play, and companies would never move forward. Companies should encourage their employees to be creative in whatever way allows them to do their job well. If people can think about their work in a creative way that suits them, then they will most likely enjoy their job more which will lead to them doing their job better. This is a win-win situation because the employee likes their job, and the companies have happy employees that are working hard.
I thought the article you posted was really interesting, but a bit repetitive of the video. My favorite part of the article is this: Plucker recently toured a number of such schools in Shanghai and Beijing. He was amazed by a boy who, for a class science project, rigged a tracking device for his moped with parts from a cell phone. When faculty of a major Chinese university asked Plucker to identify trends in American education, he described our focus on standardized curriculum, rote memorization, and nationalized testing. “After my answer was translated, they just started laughing out loud,” Plucker says. “They said, ‘You’re racing toward our old model. But we’re racing toward your model, as fast as we can.’ ” The US needs to start paying attention to what other countries are doing and taking some cues from them. We are not doing things the best, or even well, anymore.
I agreed with a lot of you guys guys are saying. I agree that I really don't think there is a problem with creativity in our culture with OUR generation When it comes to adults that may be the case. Movies, for example are always being remade by older people who have already seen the movie just remake it in a more modern way, really no creativity involved. I also agree with Hannah that there are so many kids on medication these days and if there is any problem with lack of creativity in todays generation I am sure that has something to do with it. Those medications make kids zombies and don't let their minds run wild and think of fun and new games to play or pictures to draw.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of part two he discusses the "definition" of creativity as being the production of something origin or new to the social conduct.....not crazy wild ideas that have no adaptive qualities."
This is where i disagree. I think the best and most creative times come from wild ideas. It relates back to graphic design to me. I graphic designer will spend hours on a computer putting random shapes and designs on a shirt for example that really has no solid picture to it and doesn't make sense, bit people love it. I think creativity is alive and well in out lifetime, I just think it is happening in ways we have never seen before.
There is a lack of creativity due to the way we are taught in grade school about the teacher always is right and that there is only one way for things to be done. How can we be creative when we are told what we are to create and how we need to create it? The simple solution I see is letting people, to a reasonable extent, have what every person has which is the freedom of expression. In order to have innovation you need creativity. Why is there no innovation anymore? Beyond what I have said earlier I can’t really answer that question.
ReplyDeleteI think that it makes perfect sense that in creativity tests; the average creativity in young people in North America has had a major decline since the 1990’s. With out a doubt, this is due to the uprising of technology in our every day life. Video games, computers, cell phones, and other similar devices are making everybody in the younger generations have the same entertainment habits. This, in return will call for a decline in creativity.
ReplyDeleteI also think that this is the reason why students and young adults are less creative now than in previous years. It’s very easy to lose yourself in the technological world around us, and those that can manage to pull through are able to show how truly creative they are. Business is all about innovation and being without it makes a person more likely to fail.
I truly believe that innovation is born from passion. And without passion, you’re “half-assing” your way through anything. You may know that a business will be profitably monetarily, but if you are not truly passionate about this business journey you will not be able to take much away from it other than the money.
Fewer students and young adults are creative now than in years past because of the way children are raised and educated. We don't know exactly what to blame in America, but some modern things that impact creativity and divergent thinking skills include the lack of time spent doing creative activities. The time that could be spent creatively is taken away by television and the wrong type of video games. More so, the way that children are taught in American schools includes no development of creativity. Nationalized curriculum standards are concerned with pushing facts into kids' heads. They need to compete with China and other Eastern cultures, which have been kicking America's ass in mathematics and sciences. America needs to change curriculums back to creative problem solving learning. Not specifically a "creativity class", but regular subjects should be taught more creatively. If students generate questions about a subject and study it curiously, the things you learn are relevant to your question and stick better.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting that standardized tests of creativity began in the 1950s, and have gone up until 1990. Since 1990 there has been a decline in creativity, due to the aforementioned variables.
Innovation in business is very important from both internal and external points of view. Bronson mentioned in part IV about people working in social media for specific companies, and how they just retweet things instead of coming up with innovative creative content. They aren't pushing themselves to create good ideas; it's "faux creativity." Creativity and innovation should be one of the most important aspects of business because it makes people happy. An innovative company open to change and progress would satisfy employees with a creative capacity, whether natural or learned through practice. Creative people need new experiences, novelty, and risk; people don't want their brains to go to waste. Innovation would create a better company culture, and I'm sure their products or services would reflect that in a positive sense to their customers.
-Kayla Hedman
Im on the fence about this one, I feel as though there are definitely a handful of people in the student/young adult age range that are becoming less and less creative, with that said I feel as though that there are also a ton of people who are becoming more creative in different ways so overall it really evens itself out. In my mind what is making people "less creative" is the way people use the resources around them. In some cases kids use computers and the internet to get sucked in to social media and social networking to link up with people and become sort of a zombie and thats where i feel like could be a good change if some didn't do that as much. Not only that but i feel like i see less and less people outside spending time being active with todays popular activities. This could easily be changed but much of the population has no motivation which is sad and a bummer to be quite honest.
ReplyDeleteWith that said i feel like every comment i made about people getting sucked into computers and the internet is also the reason why people are getting more and more creative. If done right information on the internet can expand ones creativity levels extensively. Feeding off of other peoples styles is something that i know i do to expand my own style and create new stuff. Being outside and being active is another thing that clears my head and others that i hangout with and helps out with good creative thoughts in their head. So again i don't think that there is just one side of this there are just as many if not more people becoming more creative than people losing their creativity.
It is something that will benefit you in any career regardless of what your profession is creativity will be a positive aspect that one would bring to a business to expand a new advertisement plan or even different working conditions the list is endless. Creativity is always a good thing.
-Sam Parker
I think Bronson makes a really interesting point about how American children are less creative now than they used to be. It seems like in our drive to create "productive" people, our school system has forgotten the importance of ingenuity and innovation in favor of people who can just do whatever job is given to them. It's as if our education system is several decades behind where it needs to be, because that's how long it takes for us to figure out how to actually teach the things we value in adults.
ReplyDeleteThe way the business world works now (although it's not exactly my area of expertise), it seems like there are two ways to get ahead: efficiency and innovation. To use a metaphor, being efficient is like being the best person on the crew with a hammer, and being creative is like being the guy who invents the nail gun. Being efficient might put you ahead, but innovation is the only way to change the game, and changing the game will put you leagues ahead of the competition.
I definitely don't think people are less creative now than in the past. Creativity isn't some tangible, numerical quality that can be studied like some scientific or mathematical formula. It's an expression, a feeling, a belief in viewing something in a different way. Creativity never looks the same from one person to the next, because it's completely subjective. It might look different now compared to, say, 20 or 30 years ago, but creativity is still around.
ReplyDeleteI think innovation is fairly important in the business world. That's not to say that innovation should be the "be all end all" important thing to a business, but it shouldn't be completely ignored. Innovation is what helps to keep a business thriving, interesting, and fresh. A new idea, a new business model, a new product, something to make some positive waves. Granted, innovation comes with an inherent risk. New products or ideas don't always go over well. They might fail or might not even compare to an older, time-tested idea or product. But the need to create and develop new things is ever-present. Even if you should fail, you should continue working and developing your ideas. As Thomas Edison said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
After watching this video I was actually shocked at the statistic that people are becoming less creative since 1990. After he went on to explain that it could be because kids are spending less time doing creative activities, it started to make a bit more sense to me. I thought about how our education system is set up, with, even today, continual budget cuts of the creative aspects of school curriculums. I definitely think that as I grew older it seemed to be taught more to stay away from creative instincts, especially in school papers and projects, and do it how it was “supposed to be done”.
ReplyDeleteThis is a crazy thing to me because I think innovation is growing increasingly more important to business. Despite schools seeming to look down at creativity, I think businesses continue to look for it. In my opinion, innovation, in this day and age, is absolutely one of the most important aspects of business. Our businesses are being globalized and the world is getting smaller. The people today are also more driven and, according to the video, smarter, than they ever have been before. If people don’t keep innovating and being creative and coming up with new ideas they will be left in the dust.
Being innovative, in my opinion, does not have a down side. Even if not all of your ideas are plausible, the ones that are will get you far.
Kate Young
I think creating a "pressure" so to speak either way would create superbly awful circumstances. Pressuring someone to be less creative and more productive obviously can stifle and kill someone's creativity but I feel as though a pressure or expectation for someone to be "creative" can also work that way. There are people who are born creative and it's about nurturing that creativity and encouraging it that will keep creativity alive. But there are also people who aren't creative but incredibly smart in other ways. My cousin was never creative growing up and by school standards, wasn't considered "smart", yet he could take apart anything and put it back together hardly glancing at directions. I think creating these places where people should fit into is stupid. I honestly would hate to have this guy as a dad because there would be so much pressure and expectation to have this "creativity" when in all actuality, creativity is just not something everyone is necessarily born with.
ReplyDeleteI think forcing someone to fit into any type of mold whether it be a CEO mold or an artist mold is the problem, not the actual dispute as to whether or not "creativity is dying".
I personally don't think creativity is dead right now. I believe similarly to everyone else in that it is just more difficult to be creative these days. we find ourselves in an era with things that you wouldn't believe. Computers you can touch to use without any interface other than your hands. We also have technology not given to consumers which allow any surface to become an interactive screen. I believe the main issue is that many of the things that people thought of as futuristic have already been created so it is very hard to come up with new ideas.
ReplyDeleteIn no way shape or form is creativity dead, people are just taking it much slower because it is much harder to come up with that fresh new idea. When talking about innovation in a business I think it is more important than ever. we find ourselves once again in an era where many businesses create and supply the same product for the general consumer. It is the process and quality that is what narrows it down for people. Look at cars, that is something which is constantly being innovative. If you look at American cars as opposed to European cars though we find American cars going back to the classics. European cars are also going back to some of their smaller designs with the economic cars and then the high performance luxury keeps pushing upon what is completely unnecessary that we can put in a car to make people lazier. Finally look at Asian cars, adding things which provide comfort and make sense. I believe that maybe in this country we are struggling but look outside our nation and you will find an innovative world.
Honestly it is hard to say that we have a creativity problem. I believe that we are far from that because I see people in this world do the impossible everyday. Everything from technological and medical advances that could only have been achieved through creative outlook, to people performing the most amazing intense tricks, shows, dances, and other performances that captivate and entrance the world. As for our generation of the millenials I do believe we are creative. However we push our creativity down to become more main stream because that is what we were taught to do. We are told we must have things done a specific way and when its not done the way we were told to do it, we are criticized and punished. We have literally been beten to perform a specific way through our schools programs. However creativity is not dead or gone, we just suppress our ideas more and believe such ideas are not what the world wants to see.
ReplyDeletePo Bronson spoke about how innovation was not always a part of human history but he mentions that we always had the capability to be creative. With that being said, creativity is an important part of the business world because creativity fuels innovation. Innovation breeds new industry and growth within existing industries so creativity definitely has a big role in the business world.
ReplyDeleteBronson continually mentioned Silicon Valley as an example of how this all works. The growth of Silicon Valley because of all the innovation is proof that creativity is important to business. Areas of the world that lack innovation generally lack strong and diverse industry. Creativity is an important part of innovation which is an integral part of business.
However despite the importance of creativity, it is on the decline. In one part of the interview Bronson mentioned that he found himself more creativity he was forced to be creative. I would say that our educational system doesn't put us in a position where we were forced to be creative. Instead a great deal of our education consists of standardized tests, following specific directions, and memorizing information. Additionally a lot of programs such as art, music, and other creative arts programs are the first to be cut in a school.
I don't wholly agree that students and young adults have had their creativity stifled since the nineties but rather that creativity flourishes in certain areas of the world. Major hub spots of creativity being New York or San Francisco. For that fact even Burlington. Certain periods in history it is seen how creativity flourishes due to certain global events.
ReplyDeleteOn the education system in America, I completely agree that it has come to stall. I've constantly heard that high school was about conformity (uniforms, set lunch time, memorize and regurgitate). Their are some apples in the bunch that are born with wisdom far past that of their peers. This should be recognized and fostered by teachers. Teachers who see a student just as much as their parents may see them. They need to take a more hand on approach. Especially about religion, sex, and culture.
Before I go off on cultural identity and how America forces you into the wrong sized shoes I'll leave.
I don't necessarily agree that there is less creativity now than in previous years. I think that with technology today, some people are focusing their creativities on other things than the tradition forms of media we perceive with creativity. There are video games, websites, virtual tours, movies, tv shows, all things that require creativity but have evolved with the advancement of technology. If anything, creativity is thriving.
ReplyDeleteCreativity is the production of something new. people felt that had to act weird in the past for people to take them seriously as a creative genius. i think this is an interesting point that Bronson brings up. Artists come up with the "wild and creative ideas" so them acting weird would verify their brilliance. He says that with practice people can master their creativity. I think fewer people nowadays are creative because people do not always practice creativity. people are much more multitasking beings now than ever before. Creative people add to the economy but people who are not right brain thinkers feel they have to be creative in order to do well in work and not leaving the jobs for people who are right brain thinkers. people on dopamine are more productive at work and can create so much more.
ReplyDeleteEveryone wants the newest and greatest thing. Need is a concept that we came up with that means that it is necessary to have. We often say we need something when in reality we want it. It is human nature to want more, to wonder and think. Innovation and creation is a product of our wants. We wanted water in our houses so we created a means of achieving this goal. As long as we have wants, there will be creation. Creativity is in our nature, we solve problems to survive. The fact that some view our generation less creative is in my eyes false. Creativity has just evolved into something that some cant recognize. Businesses have to be innovative, customers get bored very easily. If they don't see the importance of innovation then they will be left in the dust by the ones that do.
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