The Art of Creative Thinking Outline
Title: The Art of Creative Thinking
Author: John Adair
Length: 120 pages
Publisher: Kogan Page Ltd (July 11, 1990)
ISBN-10: 0951183524
ISBN-13: 978-0951183526
On Human Creativity
Everything you need to create is already there
"Your task as a creative thinker is to combine ideas or elements that already exist. If the result is an unlikely but valuable combination of ideas or things that hitherto were not thought to be linked, then you will be seen as a creative thinker."
The wider the apparent distance the greater the degree of creative thinking involved
Use The Stepping Stones Of Analogy
Most things already exist in some form in the natural world
Keypoints
- thinking by analogy, or analogizing, plays a key part in imaginative thinking. This is especially so when it comes to creative thinking
- nature suggests models and principles for the solutions of problems
Make The Strange Familiar And The Familiar Strange
To begin understanding something new, see how it relates to something you know
Don't lock on to this analogy, instead, seek to understand more fully
When you begin to understand something fully, you should seek to distance yourself
Widen Your Span Of Relevance
Seeing connections between disparate fields is creative
Therefore it is not surprising that inventors and other creative thinkers have knowledge in more than one field
Often, people come up with startling advances in fields other than their profession
Sometimes, too much knowledge may be a disadvantage
The transfer of technology from one field to another with some degree of alteration and adaptation is one way in which you can make a creative contribution
Practice Serendipity
Unexpected and delightful discoveries by accident
Have a wide span of attention, at least wide enough to see things that are useful but not relevant to what you are currently pursuing
Even when traveling in your own thoughts or mind, be ready for other thoughts that may also be useful
"There are two ways of doing things", said Christopher Milne at the unveiling ceremony. "You can decide exactly what you want to do and make a list on a piece of paper and then do it all precisely. This was Rabbit's way. At the end everyone says, "Well done, Rabbit. Clever Rabbit." Or you can have a rough idea of what you want, hope to set off in the right direction and probably end up with something quite different. Then you realize it isn't such a bad thing after all. That was Pooh's way and that's how we've done this."
Realize when you have met unexpected people or had unexpected thoughts in your life
Being overly organized is inimical to creativity
Chance Favors Only The Prepared Mind
Think of a problem and keep it in your mind, seeing possibilities as you go on
Sometimes you will do fruitless work, but you may stumble upon a fortunate accident
Curiosity
You must be curious to be creative, to want to know things for the sake of knowing
Try to be selective in your curiosity
Keep Your Eyes Open
Observe the things around you and use them for inspiration
It is difficult to be completely objective: we are blinded by our memories and what other people have thought
Our minds are programmed to notice certain things. You can program yourself with the interests that you have.
We hardly see people or things that we are familiar with until they change
One of the best forms of training observation is drawing or sketching
The act of observation is not complete until you have recorded what you have seen, thereby helping to commit it to memory
Listen For Ideas
Have an open mind – it doesn't mean you will buy the idea, proposition, or course of action being put to you, but you are in the marketplace for ideas
Comprehension should come before analysis and evaluation (don't jump to conclusions)
Always talk to people and try to listen to their ideas – don't cut yourself off from ideas
It takes talking to listen effectively (bounce ideas back and forth)
"Never miss a chance to shut up."
Reading To Generate Ideas
You must internalize the ideas and remember them
The only books that are helpful are those that are slightly further down a path that we have started on
Stimulate things other than the area that you are interested in – listen to interesting music, read poetry
"Nothing is worth reading that does require an alert mind, open and eager to learn."
"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body."
Keep A Notebook
I already keep one, but this helps to reinforce this idea
Don't forget to add inspirational quotations, stories, and examples to your collection
Test Your Assumptions
Make conscious assumptions and see where the conclusions lead you
"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions." -Einstein
You should imagine, but then use evidence to support your thoughts
"Opinions are often more precious than true."
Make Better Use Of Your Depth Mind
Subconscious mind
A framework of effective thinking
- analysing
- synthesizing
- valuing
The depth mind works like a computer that processes and prints out its findings for the conscious mind to find
There is a skill in allowing your depth mind to do work
Do Not Wait For Inspiration
It is unwise to wait for the right mood
Inch by inch
Don't be nervous or negative, creativity favors a positive, confident mind
Talks a bit about the feeling of religious inspiration. I have an aversion to this idea, so I should explore it more.
Sharpen Your Analytical Skills
preparation, incubation, illumination, verification
a period of intense application, followed by moving conscious attention away from the topic, sometimes a flash of insight, and subjecting to critical tests
check your definition of the problem
Suspend Judgment
Don't put guards on your own mind
Beware of critics - "this is the reason why professional creative thinkers - authors, inventors, and artists, for example - seldom talk about work in progress"
Learn To Tolerate Ambiguity
You should hold ambiguity in your mind and play with it. Many people are not successful at doing this (marriage, etc.)
Courage and perseverance are cousins
negative capability is your capacity to live with doubt and uncertainty over a sustained period of time
"Doubt is not a pleasant mental state, but certainty is a ridiculous one."
Drift, Wait, And Obey
Be willing to delegate to your drift mind
Sleep On The Problem
Might dream of the solution
Going over before bedtime is nice to relax and use your imagination
Write down dreams
Working It Out
You have to apply yourself to making things happen
You won't always get a fully formed idea, most of the time you need to start working at it
If you haven't worked on the edge of failure then you haven't worked on the edge of real success
Think Creatively About Your Life
Identify your strengths