Brilliant piece, Colin. It was a thrill to read - I really appreciate your take on creativity and I’m looking forward to checking out the shared links.
Hi Colin, thanks for an interesting and thought provoking article. I have one question about the definition of creativity. When I’ve shared this definition of creativity with non-academics, many of them intuitively react negatively to the ‘useful’ part of the definition. They feel it does not ring true and somehow misses the point to associate the word ‘useful’ with some forms of creativity output, such as paintings, literature or music. They do not feel that that the purpose of art is ‘to be used’. One person even linked the word ‘useful’ with an assumption of utilitarianism!? I think there are probably many philosophical approaches to explaining the experiencing of an artistic product as ‘using it’, but a definition without this requirement might be more ‘useful’? What might be the issue with replacing the word ‘useful’ the word ‘value’? For example: ‘Creativity is the production of novel ideas, products, processes, or services that have value’. I feel this might overcome the problem, as people may be less likely to take issue with art being described as having ‘value’, than they would with it being described as being ‘useful’. What do you think?
Thanks Clark! I've had exactly the same experience and can totally relate to people who don't like the word "useful." Many definitions subsitute the word "appropriate" for "useful," but technically mean the same thing. That's a fine approach, in my view. There are also creativity scholars who think that "valuable" should be a third aspect of creativity. I'm hesitant to add it to the definition because, in many studies, we are trying to predict how valuable people will find a creative product. And if we put it in the definition, we create a tautology.
What a great post! I hadn't before seen the contrasting terms "outcome creativity" and "experiential creativity," but they make great sense to me - and can really help clarify scholarly disputes as well as advice on creativity. Colin, I love the way you "science up" discussions of creativity at the same time you make them accessible to every reader. Very useful. And novel!
Brilliant piece, Colin. It was a thrill to read - I really appreciate your take on creativity and I’m looking forward to checking out the shared links.
Thank you for this lovely reply and for reposting this, Lisa! I also look forward to checking out your writing on creativity.
Hi Colin, thanks for an interesting and thought provoking article. I have one question about the definition of creativity. When I’ve shared this definition of creativity with non-academics, many of them intuitively react negatively to the ‘useful’ part of the definition. They feel it does not ring true and somehow misses the point to associate the word ‘useful’ with some forms of creativity output, such as paintings, literature or music. They do not feel that that the purpose of art is ‘to be used’. One person even linked the word ‘useful’ with an assumption of utilitarianism!? I think there are probably many philosophical approaches to explaining the experiencing of an artistic product as ‘using it’, but a definition without this requirement might be more ‘useful’? What might be the issue with replacing the word ‘useful’ the word ‘value’? For example: ‘Creativity is the production of novel ideas, products, processes, or services that have value’. I feel this might overcome the problem, as people may be less likely to take issue with art being described as having ‘value’, than they would with it being described as being ‘useful’. What do you think?
Thanks Clark! I've had exactly the same experience and can totally relate to people who don't like the word "useful." Many definitions subsitute the word "appropriate" for "useful," but technically mean the same thing. That's a fine approach, in my view. There are also creativity scholars who think that "valuable" should be a third aspect of creativity. I'm hesitant to add it to the definition because, in many studies, we are trying to predict how valuable people will find a creative product. And if we put it in the definition, we create a tautology.
What a great post! I hadn't before seen the contrasting terms "outcome creativity" and "experiential creativity," but they make great sense to me - and can really help clarify scholarly disputes as well as advice on creativity. Colin, I love the way you "science up" discussions of creativity at the same time you make them accessible to every reader. Very useful. And novel!
Thanks so much, Teresa! And thank you for taking the time to comment on this!
Thanks Colin. I enjoyed your article. Much appreciated. Uncle Mike
Thanks for commenting everyone! Sorry I was so slow to respond. I've been a little under the weather since I posted this.