{"id":20225,"date":"2010-08-28T01:06:30","date_gmt":"2010-08-28T00:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=20225"},"modified":"2010-08-28T01:07:23","modified_gmt":"2010-08-28T00:07:23","slug":"creativity-innovation-making-the-mind-struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/creativity-innovation-making-the-mind-struggle\/","title":{"rendered":"Creativity, Innovation &#8212; Making the Mind Struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n            google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><br \/>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">The following is by G. A . &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken, President of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.markencom.com\/index.htm\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.markencom.com\/index.htm', 'Marken Communications']);\" ><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">Marken Communications<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"> Inc. He has kindly given us permission to republish his thought-provoking article. As with everything that we publish at AlienBabelTech, the opinions expressed are solely those of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and the <strong>opinions of the rest of the ABT staff.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"> <\/span><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"> \u2013Mark Poppin,<\/span> <span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">ABT Senior Editor<\/span><\/span><\/strong> <strong> <\/strong><\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-13.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20226\" title=\"Untitled-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-13.jpg?resize=298%2C298\" alt=\"Untitled-1\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-13.jpg?resize=298%2C298 298w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-13-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 298px) 100vw, 298px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/strong><strong>Figure 1 &#8212; Innovative Thinking \u2013 <\/strong>Often viewed as the center of business and technology innovation, the U.S. has done such a great job of implementing formula education, we\u2019ve damaged our ability to think creatively and develop innovations that have become the mainstay of our industries.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Labor Day in the U.S. is a fading concept.<\/p>\n<p>Less than 40 percent of the working population is actually doing what can be called physical labor.<\/p>\n<p>The rest are doing data manipulation, handling content tasks.<\/p>\n<p>So, we guess most of us have to take a break from thinking.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Jeez\u2026we know people who do that all the time!!!! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The improbable idea was triggered by an article by a friend, Rob Enderle, on the 4<sup>th<\/sup> of July when he suggested taking a freedom break from technology.<\/p>\n<p>You know, no email, no IMs, no microblogs, no text messages, no social site postings.<\/p>\n<p>Gawd, that sounds like a stupid idea.<\/p>\n<p>But he reflected on his youth.<\/p>\n<p>You remember, when we simply laid on the grass, stared at the sky and let our minds create all types of cloud images \u2013 a sailboat, a beautiful girl, a horse, a bird, an old man, anything our minds could conger.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-24.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20227\" title=\"Untitled-2\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-24.jpg?resize=229%2C229\" alt=\"Untitled-2\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-24.jpg?resize=229%2C229 229w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-24-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Figure 2 &#8212; Relax, Imagine \u2013 <\/strong>Folks probably thought you were just goofing off when you were young; but then, staring up at the clouds and conjuring up action, romance, far-away places was a constructive way to exercise your creativity.\u00a0 It may be time to go back to those days.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Kids today don\u2019t have much of a chance to do that.<\/p>\n<p>Their earbuds are plugged in.\u00a0 Messages are coming\/going on their mobile device.<\/p>\n<p>Recently, we came across an article on Digital Natives and <strong><em>Newsweek<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s piece on <em>The Creative Crisis. <\/em>It made us think that as a country, perhaps we\u2019re doing more and thinking (creatively thinking) less.<\/p>\n<p>We admit it.\u00a0 We\u2019re a digital immigrant.\u00a0 Our kids are digital natives because they never knew the days before computers, before smartphones, before broadband internet.<\/p>\n<p>Our first choice in finding an answer is not Google, Yahoo, Bing or any search engine.\u00a0 Actually our best answers come simply thinking of how we could do something faster, better, more easily, less expensively\u2026lying in the grass or 60 feet under the ocean\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n<p>Seemed a little strange \u2013 eerie even \u2013 when we read Sarah Perez\u2019s ReadWrite article on a Northwestern University study that kids could search like crazy and that the credibility of their answers was based on search engine ranking.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, they\u2019re smart\u2026just not street smart.<\/p>\n<p>Indirectly, the <strong><em>Newsweek<\/em><\/strong> article said maybe we \u2013 boomers, GenXers \u2013 did it to them \u2013 GenYers, iGeners.<\/p>\n<p>The article pointed out that preschool children, on average, ask their parents about 100 questions a day.<\/p>\n<p>Man we remember the endless stream of questions\u2026why, why, why.<\/p>\n<p>And then\u2026it stopped.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t because they lost interest, they simply stopped asking questions.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the answers may have affected their motivation \u2013 <em>go ask your mother<\/em> or <em>look it up on your computer.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>We felt a little better because the article noted that kids who grow up in a family of opposites tend to be more creative.<\/p>\n<p>If there is one thing the wife and I are, it\u2019s opposites.<\/p>\n<p>Turns out, creativity thrives in a changing environment of chaos, boredom, stability, challenge.<\/p>\n<p>Boy\u2026that\u2019s our house!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-33.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20228\" title=\"Untitled-3\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-33.jpg?resize=289%2C218\" alt=\"Untitled-3\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Figure 3 &#8212; In Google We Trust \u2013 <\/strong>Ask a digital native a question and they use their search engine \u2013 Google, Yahoo, Bing, you name it \u2013 for the answer.\u00a0 The higher the search engine ranking, the better the solution.\u00a0 No thinking, no creativity required.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The research Perez referenced found that too many digital natives are perfectly satisfied with the first thing the search engine brings up.\u00a0 It\u00a0 was the best answer because it was the first.<\/p>\n<p>Often called the father of creativity, Dr. E. Paul Torrance started with the premise that there is no one right answer and defined creativity as something original and useful.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s still a popular myth that creatives are right brain people and analytical folks &#8212; scientists\/engineers &#8212; are left brainers.<\/p>\n<p>Actually, Torrance and those who followed him determined creativity requires both sides of the brain \u2013 left brain divergent thinking (generating many unique ideas) and right brain convergent thinking (combining those ideas into the best result).<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s easy enough to understand but K.J. Kim found that up until 1990 there was a steady increase in IQ and creativity scores.\u00a0 Since then, IQ has continued to rise but creativity scores declined.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>So?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>How does the U.S. continue to innovate and be competitive in the PC, CE, communications, content arena without creativity?<\/p>\n<p>Where do the patents.. companies\u2026books\u2026ideas\u2026hardware\u2026software\u2026you name it come from?<\/p>\n<p>Sure, you can blame the TV babysitter, videogames, iPods and other mind diversions; but heck, nearly every kid on the planet has access to this stuff.<\/p>\n<p>Another easy out is to say that schools lack creativity development programs.<\/p>\n<p>How about blaming boomers, GenXers, GenYers?<\/p>\n<p>Kids can go through a multitude of creative phases \u2013 role-playing, paracosms, unconventional answers to conventional questions, wandering curiosity.<\/p>\n<p>Some adults are fortunate enough to never outgrow these phases.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re never really content.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re active, engaged, motivated, open to the world and ideas around them.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. had its famous \u201cNo Child Left Behind\u201d and similar dysfunctional education reforms, but no concerted effort to nurture creativity, innovation.<\/p>\n<p>European Union countries have.<\/p>\n<p>And they use Torrance\u2019s test (developed in the U.S.) to track, benchmark their progress.<\/p>\n<p>Even China did away with what has been referred to as drill-and-kill teaching and transitioned to problem-based learning.<\/p>\n<p>Thinking squarely inside the box educational \u201cexperts\u201d say they simply don\u2019t have the time for creative classes \u2013 art, music, writing.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, like science, engineering, accounting (just ask Bernie) aren\u2019t creative?<\/p>\n<p>The brain goes through the same process regardless of the field.<\/p>\n<p>Facts are found, research is done, ideas are generated, filtered, evaluated on the fly, solutions\/options are weighed, answers\/alternatives are developed, solutions are tried.<\/p>\n<p>As Edison said, <em>\u201cI have not failed. I&#8217;ve just found 10,000 ways that won&#8217;t work.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what entrepreneurs, inventors, software developers, scientists, engineers, musicians, authors, doctors, diplomats, even generals do.<\/p>\n<p>They develop new hardware, software, art, ads, music, programs, policies, cures and entertainment.<\/p>\n<p>They don\u2019t get there by memorizing.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-43.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20229\" title=\"Untitled-4\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-43.jpg?resize=166%2C182\" alt=\"Untitled-4\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Figure 4 &#8212; Creativity Starting Point \u2013 <\/strong>The industry\u2019s best (and worst) innovations have come from here.\u00a0 Creativity requires problems, options, solutions to jump back and forth and even bridge the gap.\u00a0 Rote memorization, formula education training\/testing, rigid management\/work rules force creative thinking out of the picture.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>They get there by learning, solving problems using the left and right side of the brain\u2026and everything in between.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers note that creativity involves both convergent \u2013 examining, diagnosing the problem\/issue and divergent \u2013 developing possible solutions\/answers \u2013 thinking.<\/p>\n<p>It seems as though we\u2019re developing a generation (or two) of problem identifiers rather than solution creators\u2026innovators.<\/p>\n<p>The Torrance test may not be perfect, but so far it has been pretty accurate.<\/p>\n<p>So?<\/p>\n<p>Well an IBM survey of CEOs recently identified creativity as the key leadership competence executives would need in developing original ideas and being receptive to them from others.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe we\u2019re pushing so hard to have kids pass standardized tests and have adults present\/implement standard solutions that we\u2019re killing our creative, innovative advantage.<\/p>\n<p>IQ has nothing to do with creative accomplishments.<\/p>\n<p>Creativity is the ability for an individual to be flexible in his\/her viewing problems\/opportunities and thinking through\/looking at the alternatives to arrive at an innovative solution.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-52.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20230\" title=\"Untitled-5\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Untitled-52.jpg?resize=244%2C192\" alt=\"Untitled-5\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Figure 5 &#8212; Deep in Thought \u2013 <\/strong>Thinking \u2013 especially for yourself \u2013 isn\u2019t easy.\u00a0 It\u2019s work.\u00a0 Hard work.\u00a0 But it\u2019s nice to have a choice.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>There\u2019s nothing wrong with good, honest physical labor\u2026as long as you\u2019ve thought about what you want to do!<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"># # #<\/p>\n<div><strong>By  G.A. &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken<\/strong><\/div>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>President<\/strong><strong> Marken Communications, Inc. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong> <a href=\"mailto:Andy@markencom.com\">Andy@markencom.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Please join us in our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/abt\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Forums<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Become a Fan on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142', 'Facebook']);\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech', 'Twitter']);\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For the latest updates from ABT, please <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?feed=rss2\" target=\"_blank\">join our RSS News Feed<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Join our Distributed Computing teams<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Folding@Home &#8211; 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A . &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken, President of Marken Communications Inc. He has kindly given us permission to republish his thought-provoking article. As with everything that we publish at AlienBabelTech, the&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":396,"featured_media":20230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2533,6],"tags":[4043,4044,4045],"class_list":["post-20225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abt-news","category-news","tag-creativity","tag-innovation","tag-leadership-qualities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/396"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}