Happy ideas
Filed under: education, innovation, lifestyle, thinking
A curiosity of distance learning online is that I often think out my problem as I type it out. More curiously, I frequently resolve my own issues by articulating the problem through Blackboard. Weird.
Graham Wallas refers to this as the ‘incubation stage’ of the creative process* and I relate to that with gusto. He describes the incubation stage as that subconscious period where you may in fact be doing other tasks at the time but in your subconscious you are actually pondering the resolutions to your problem or situation. Like a lightning bolt straight to the frontal lobe, I frequently wake from deep REM sleep to write down my illuminating thought – all the while cursing Wallas under my breath.
Sadly, I am usually venting to a lecturer late at night via email when mid-rant I suddenly realise that in the process of outlining my issue I have solved it. I should usually sleep on the problem rather than hitting the send button but I often send the email – all the while cursing Wallas under my breath.
Wallas goes on to describe the stages in the creative process as ‘preparation, incubation, illumination and verification’. I particularly like the illumination stage which he goes on to describe as the ‘Eureka!’ moment or ‘happy idea’. These moments are far and few between for me and I often find myself feeling constipated trying to forcefully squeeze out a Eureka moment. I just end up with high blood pressure and bulging eyeballs, which is never a really good look.
When those Eureka moments do occur it is a fantastic feeling. It is one of the joys of distance learning that really floats my boat. I rush to log into the Blackboard to blurt my idea out to the rest of my online colleagues hoping someone is online to congratulate me. Then comes the endless wait, the constant back and forth, the endless clicking of the refresh button and sometimes the disillusionment with the lack of response.
I’d be interested to hear about your creative processes. Do you think technology can help you be more creative?
*Article from “The Creativity question / edited by Albert Rothenberg and Carl R. Hausman”, Chapter 2, 1976, pp. 69-73.
Being stuck with technology for most of the working days, my creative process starts by getting as far away from all technology as possible. Going surfing is a good primer for such activity as they have yet to come up with e.g. mobile devices that could withstand a day in the water (or the inevitable “washing machine” as I’m not very good at the sport
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When you do come up with an idea – a Eureka moment, if you will – it’s far, far more convenient to use pen and paper to draw it up than to fire up a computer and attempt to document it clumsily within the constraints of whatever software you’re trying to do it in.
This may change in the future – perhaps even with the iPad if it’s good enough (doubt that though) – but for now, technology is of no help in the crucial steps of the eureka-style creative process.
However – and this is another topic entirely – creativeness or innovation is NOT about “Eureka” moments or lone geniuses thinking $hit up. That is a common misconception. Innovation comes from properly framed teamwork with the right mix of people.
But like I said, that’s another story..
That’s a really good point Sami and I hadn’t made my point clear about how technology enables my creative Eureka moments!
I use a Wacom graphics tablet for storyboarding and doodling creative ideas and I guess not exactly telco or technology exactly I still think it adds to the mix.
I agree with you about innovation and teamwork although in my Degree it is all distance learning so the only teamwork I get is from Blackboard (and my puppies) so I still rely on my own creative thoughts and process to be innovative.