MARCH 2009

Welcome to Creativity Immersion, a monthly newsletter published by Synchlora LLC dedicated to the development of creative thinking and new ideas.

In this issue:

The Power of Creative Thinking

Why So Few Women Inventors?

The Right Perspective - A Shadowy Whole?

Product Review: imindmap ™

Visual Metaphors From Nature

To sign up for monthly alerts when a new issue becomes available, please visit Subscribe to Creativity Immersion. Our email address policy promises your privacy.

The Right Perspective - A Shadowy Whole?

In her book Mapping the Mind, Rita Carter offers an intriguing metaphor that describes the way the left and right hemispheres of the brain appear to work together. Imagine a paint bucket and a large movie screen. The thicker the paint is applied, the more clearly the picture comes into focus. The paint bucket has only enough paint to bring a small portion of the screen clearly into focus and just enough paint to barely cover the entire screen to present a shadowy whole.

Apparently the left hemisphere prefers the former strategy of bringing a small area clearly into precise focus while the right hemisphere prefers the latter strategy of observing a shadowy whole. The image below illustrates how these two strategies may work together.

This image illustrates the combined effect where the left hemisphere focuses on the precise detail of a small area, while the right hemisphere perceives a shadowy whole of a larger area. Working together they provide an ability to clearly perceive small areas within a larger, but less focused context.

How does this relate to finding new ideas? The ability to see a shadowy whole or broadly focus on different concepts supports the notion of finding new connections between existing concepts previously thought to be unrelated. Essentially, more unrelated players are allowed on the mental stage . Like molecules in a flask, the more players present and active on the stage, the more likely they are to bump into each other to form a new idea.

Conversation alone tends to be associated with left hemisphere activation and does little to stimulate the right hemisphere in comparison. Taken together, these findings suggest that traditional brainstorming sessions that occur primarily with verbal discussion leave much of the brain unengaged. Even note taking tends to be used as an idea capture technique rather than an idea stimulation technique.

Instead, consider ways to engage the right hemisphere any time new ideas are desired. Stimuli believed to enhance right hemisphere participation include symbols, images, colors, pictures, aromas, multiple textures, and sounds. Techniques that use right hemisphere stimulation tend to produce more ideas overall and more original ideas as well. While these techniques are conceptually easy to use, they must first get by the logical gatekeeper (i.e., the left hemisphere) to receive permission for what might otherwise be deemed as silly and unacceptable behavior.

The purpose of this article is to offer the left hemisphere evidence from brain-based research to support the value of right hemisphere participation in the hopes that this task may be easier to accomplish.

Email Address Policy

Your email address will not be shared or used for any other purpose. An unsubscribe link is always provided in new issue alerts for immediate removal.

The Power of Creative Thinking
Creative thinking is the ability to generate many ideas, look at things from different perspectives and find new connections between concepts previously thought to be unrelated. Einstein once described creative thinking as a kind of mental "combinatorial play". Creative thinking is based on a curiosity and openness to new possibilities that is natural in children and often lost in the process of growing up. One key aspect of creative thinking is that judgment is absent in this kind of thinking. Some creativity techniques suggest that judgment is "withheld" and this perspective is unfortunate; it sounds as if judgment is present but suppressed. In a true state of creative thinking, judgment does not exist. Ideas, especially absurd ones, are explored with the "what if" delight of a child.

While everyone is capable of reclaiming this child-like essence of creative thinking, many people have lost touch with their innate ability to think creatively due to an over reliance on critical thinking. There is no denying the value of critical thinking, but for whole brain thinking a balance must be found. One theory of creativity suggests that thinking occurs across a continuum, with free-style imagination at one end and critical thinking at the other. A person who cannot think creatively is essentially stuck at the critical thinking end of the continuum. Both kinds of thinking are valuable, and developing an ability to switch back and forth at will is the ultimate goal.

For many people, just realizing that creativity isn't always about art is a first step toward reclaiming their ability to think creatively. Possibly the next most important step is gaining a sense of permission to be able to temporarily halt critical thinking mode in order to shift across the continuum into creative thinking mode. Beyond this realization and sense of permission, each person has a unique style of creative thinking that can enrich both personal and professional life. Developing personal creativity is a lifelong process of nurturing and discovery. Each issue of this newsletter will offer insights, tips and techniques to help make progress along this journey.

Why So Few Women Inventors?
Research studies offer a surprising insight about why there are so few eminent women inventors in history. While the first and perhaps more obvious cause might be attributed to the limited educational opportunities afforded to women, the studies suggest another reason that may be worth noting in the hectic environment most people face today. One of the factors cited by many creators was the need for periods of absolute solitude without interruption. It appears that even the threat of interruption was seen by eminent creators as damaging to their efforts.

The traditional role of women included protecting their husbands from such interruptions, serving as buffers between external interruptions and the solitude of their libraries, laboratories, or studios. Additionally, women were typically expected to be on call constantly to meet whatever needs might arise from children, family and unexpected household dilemmas. In summary, studies draw a reasonable conclusion that the lack of uninterruptible solitude played a significant role in the disproportionate number of women creators.

If you are trying to boost your ability to create new ideas, it may be worth a moment of reflection to assess the amount of uninterruptible solitude available to you on a daily or weekly basis. Ideas, like any creation, are particularly vulnerable in early stages of development and must be given a chance to develop without interference. Back to top

Product Review: imindmap™
Last year at the American Creativity Association conference in Singapore, I had the good fortune to meet Tony Buzan, the creator of Mind Maps®. He introduced a new software program called imindmap™ that easily creates mind maps with the rich, organic feel originally intended. It is simple to set up and use, and you should be able to create your first electronic mind map in a matter of minutes - it's that intuitive. With the simple act of dragging a dot, you can create an organic branch and sub branches of the same color. Adding text is a breeze. While start up is simple, there are many advanced features that you can grow into as needed. And if you are unfamiliar with the concept of mind maps, the site offers a resource center filled with tutorials, examples and video messages about how to create and use them.

Practical Application

Here is an example of how I have combined hand drawn and electronic mind maps in my consulting business for idea facilitation sessions. If the team is unfamiliar with mind maps, it is good to start with a sample mind map unrelated to the challenge to be addressed to guide people through the basics. When everyone is comfortable with mind maps, the sessions begin with individual hand drawn mind maps created by each person on the team to allow time for personal reflection without interruption. This activity is followed by a team mind mapping session to combine and generate ideas. At the end of the session, someone is assigned the task of translating the hand drawn mind map into an electronic version using imindmap™.

The electronic version is circulated to team members and others who might be beneficial in the process to review during an incubation period. The next team mind mapping session begins a new iteration of the process by using the electronic mind map as a jumping off point to create new hand drawn mind maps. The process iterates until the related project is completed.

Visual Metaphors From Nature

The beautiful seed capsule of the plant "Hearts-a-Bursting" (Euonymous americana) develops as a colorful encasement that splits open after ripening to reveal several seeds held apart from each other. This photo, with the focus on a single seed, is a metaphor for the concept of breaking a large problem (the capsule) into smaller problems (an individual seed). One way to do this is to list attributes of the challenge that requires creative thinking and focus on a single attribute. For example, if the challenge is to build a more innovative umbrella, you might focus on a single attribute (e.g., a handle) and focus on ways to develop a more innovative handle. By focusing on individual attributes rather than the whole, the mental patterns and assumptions that form the proverbial box become smaller, and the task of "thinking outside the (smaller) box" may become easier

For more information about metaphors, see the short paper Fresh Thinking with Visual Metaphors and the blog Inspiration From Nature.