Creativity: ISP 5660 and AGS 3340, Winter 2003
Notes from class on January 10
Link back to course Welcome...

How do you say his name (Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi)? Question from Nancy Mcquaide.
MEE-high CHICK-sent-mee-high

Other words associated with creativity (discussion):

• Change
• Innovative
• Original
• Thinking
• Imaginative
• Unique
• Daring
• Bold
• Action packed - something is happening all the time
• Not of the norm
• Changing the culture (the standard definition in the creativity field, from Csikszentmihalyi and Gardner)

A number of people said they took the course hoping to become more creative themselves. The evidence is very strong (see web page on Amabile Chapter 4 on course web site) that becoming creative cannot be taught, and if it is assigned or a consideration in rewards such as grades, it disappears. There is a web page on the course web site on the objective characteristics of creative people. Gardner recounts the history of this effort in the beginning of Creating Minds. Briefly, researchers were successful in identifying objective characteristics of creative people, and in devising training programs to increase test scores in these areas (see web page on objective characteristics of creative people for details). Unfortunately, increasing test scores in these areas did not actually lead to increased creativity. (Nonetheless there is a thriving consulting industry in putting on such training workshops even today. There is no evidence that these workshops lead to increases in creativity.) Also, Teresa Amabile's research shows that rewards (such as grades or pay rates) strongly inhibit creativity (that is, kill it). Actually, any extrinsic pressures or rewards inhibit creativity, with the single exception that honest but balanced criticism from someone who takes you seriously, can enhance creativity.

Corporate Creativity did not arrive in time for the beginning of ISP 5660, and the reading and assignment schedule has been changed. Creativity has been moved to the beginning.

In the Syllabus, near the beginning under the heading "ISP 5660; main Creativity course," the schedule of topics was not changed to match the new order of reading assignments after Corporate Creativity did not arrive in time.

Arguments against the "creative hero" or "heroic creativity" hypothesis (See Agenda 1, Item III.A.). This hypothesis, that creativity is entirely inside the creative person, and involves a struggle against reactionary experts and administrators, often with the cheering support of the general public, is inherited from the Romantic movement of the late 19th century. How true is it?

• First argument against: The creative person must be taught what to do by those reactionary experts (point originally made by Deborah Dorsey, amplified by David Bowen). For example, in order to become a poet, the person must be shown or taught what poems are, and be "turned on" to poetry.
• Second argument against: If creativity is entirely within the person, as the creative hero hypothesis says, then creative people should be found in all times and places in roughly equal numbers. This is far from being true. You will read about this in Creativity.
• I remember that Carri Glide made a point here, but I forget what it was. Can anybody help here?

For people that like online courses, what do they like the most from Agenda 1, Item XVI.A (the end)? Everyone in class guessed that they liked the convenience and self-scheduling. But this is not the case - the people who like online courses participate strongly in the online discussion, and count this as the best thing. You might think that computer-mediated discussion would be impersonal, but actually it offers a chance to know everyone well, to make your point clearly and the way you want to make it, and to participate in a really great and substantive discussion.