Tools for Creativity
On this page 8 headings
Start here An architect had to build a big mall in Africa without much air conditioning. His answer came from an unexpected place: a termite mound. That is the power of a creativity tool.
The creativity canvas on the slide holds words like curiosity, attitude, belief, inspiration, imagination and process. This page covers four tools:
Tool 1: Seeking information
You cannot solve what you do not understand.
- Get information before solving anything, even family problems.
- Never jump to ideas as soon as you hear a problem.
| Ways to get information | Example |
|---|---|
| Observation | Watch how people use something |
| Listening | Hear people’s complaints |
| Asking questions | “What bothers you about this?” |
| Secondary research | Googling, reading |
Tool 2: Imagination
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” — Albert Einstein
Imagination is the ability to take your mind wherever you want, whenever you want. You can sit on the moon, visit your grandfather’s old house, then jump into the future, all in a minute.
If something does not exist today, it is because it has not yet been imagined. Example: a housing shortage? Imagine living underwater, with fish outside your window.
Set a context. Imagine for something (“I want to imagine new housing”). Otherwise your thinking goes all over the place.
Imagination exercises (write in your notebook)
| Exercise | The professor’s answer |
|---|---|
| A paper plane can deliver one message. What would it say, and to whom? | To all scientists working on the environment: “Please hurry up with your solutions — we are in grave danger.” |
| You can become an animal or bird for a day. Which one, and why? | A lion, to find out if it really is the king of the jungle. |
| A statue comes alive. What would you talk about? | He would ask the statue of the poet and freedom fighter Subramania Bharathi on the Chennai beach where his inspiration came from, and whether he wrote his poems in one flow. |
Tool 3: Curiosity
“Curiosity is the fuel for discovery, inquiry and learning.”
Curiosity = seeking information + asking questions. The more questions you ask, the more answers you get.
Curiosity + imagination together: Leonardo da Vinci imagined a flying machine (around 1488) and asked, “How does one fly?”
Try it: ask five questions about a tree near you.
- How does it pull water up from the ground?
- How long do trees live?
- How does it use sunlight to grow?
- How does a seed become a fruit?
- How does it grow leaves again after shedding them?
Now try a chair or your laptop. Who invented the keyboard? How long do laptops last? You will start “seeing what is not seen”.
Four dimensions of curiosity
| Dimension | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Joyous exploration | Pleasure from exploring and learning new things | Enjoying finding out how trees work |
| Deprivation sensitivity | Noticing a gap in your knowledge and wanting to close it; relief when it closes | A thriller that never tells you who the murderer was would drive you mad |
| Openness to people’s ideas | Valuing different views; deliberately asking others for their approach | “What is your view on this?” |
| Stress tolerance | Being willing to put up with the discomfort of the new, unfamiliar or uncertain | Sitting on the edge of your seat for 2 hours to see the ending (the professor admits he skips to the last episode!) |
Tool 4: Intersections
When two ideas meet, a third idea is born. This idea comes from The Medici Effect by Frans Johansson.
Lecture example — Peter Café Sport, Horta, Portugal A café on an island where sailors from many countries meet before crossing the Atlantic. One fisherman uses a hook. Another uses bait in a sack cloth, so unwanted fish can be thrown back unhurt. Put the two ideas together, and a new kind of hook that doesn’t hurt the fish may be born.
Lecture example — the Eastgate Centre, Harare (Zimbabwe) Architect Mick Pearce had to build an office and shopping complex without heavy air conditioning. He had also studied how termites keep their mounds cool: cool air enters at night and warm air leaves. He combined architecture + termite mounds. The building ventilates, cools and heats itself through natural means, saving a lot of energy.
Copying nature to solve human problems like this is called biomimicry.
More examples: pencil + eraser = a pencil with an eraser on top. Camera + water (transparent) = a transparent camera.
How to use intersections
- Ideas multiply when you break down associative barriers (stop thinking “these two things are unrelated”) and step into the intersection.
- Learn related-but-unusual subjects. A data science student can borrow ideas from cooking or gardening to solve a data problem.
- Keep questions in mind so you spot connections by chance (serendipity).
- Be deliberately creative.
In one line: Four tools generate ideas: seek information first, imagine freely, stay curious, and combine different ideas at intersections. Exam words: creativity canvas, seeking information, observation, secondary research, imagination, context, curiosity, joyous exploration, deprivation sensitivity, openness to people’s ideas, stress tolerance, intersections, Medici Effect, Eastgate Centre, Mick Pearce, biomimicry, serendipity.