Author and
Wired editor
Jonah Lehrer joined
DraftFCB's Director of Strategic Planning Matthew Willcox to discuss the science of creativity, specifically what triggers it and whether it can be honed.
One major problem we have with creativity reveals itself in linguistics: we talk like it's singular, but it's plural. Our job is to
think creatively the right way at the right time, applying the appropriate mental tools to the task at hand.
Relaxation Breeds Insight
To understand the different facets of creativity, it helps to know what precedes a moment of insight:
alpha waves, closely associated with states of relaxation. Walking to the beach, taking a shower, daydreaming -- doing something you really like doing, in other words -- is what makes it possible for your mind to arrive at what we traditionally understand to be creative epiphanies.
The logic is simple. When we're not relaxed, we're too focused, producing both physical and mental tensions. Tension only restricts and builds upon itself, stifling any semblance of insight before it can even be born.
This is the first key: We assume productivity means we're at our desks, staring at a computer screen. But
when you need huge conceptual breakthroughs, get away and bury your toes in the sand, or take a warm shower. Do whatever you must to release your mind from the manacles of the problem.
Read the rest of this nummy num-num at Yahoo! Scene, for which I'm doing Cannes Lions coverage this year.
