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For a Genius Brain, Focus on How to Think, Instead of What to Think
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Pamela Slim
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Creativity is complex
It means producing something novel or original, evaluating, solving problems, whether on paper, on stage, in a laboratory or even in the shower.
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Knowing how to think
Geniuses know “how” to think, instead of “what” to think.
People who are more creative can simultaneously engage brain networks that don’t typically work together.
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Networks of the creative process
- The default mode network involved in memory and mental simulation
- The salience network which detects important information
- The executive control network which plays key roles in creative thought
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Creative work takes time
It can take years to perfect a piece of art, or build something unique.
Cultivate patience. And learn to enjoy the process. It’s part of the discovery.
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“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”
Stephen King
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Geniuses are self-learners
They are autodidacts and have an inner motivation to solve problems that fascinate them. They preferred figuring things out, rather than waiting to be taught.
They also choose their subjects, materials, rhythm and time.
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"To truly create something amazing, or contribute to the world, you have to be able to connect countless dots and cross-pollinate existing ideas from a wealth of unrelated disciplines."
Thomas Oppong
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Think productively, not reproductive
We tend to reproduce what we are thought or what we learn when confronted with issues or things to solve.
In order to creatively solve a problem, you must leave aside the initial obvious approach that comes from past experience and re-conceptualize the problem.
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“On average, creative geniuses aren’t qualitatively better in their fields than their peers, they simply produce a greater volume of work which gives them more variation and a higher chance of originality.”
Prof. Dean Simonton
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Key Ideas
The genius
Genius is too elusive and too subjective to be easily identified. It requires too many traits to be simplified.
However, we can try to understand it by looking at intellige...
Intelligence as a yardstick
Lewis Terman, who helped pioneer the IQ test, tracked over 1,500 Californian schoolkids with IQs above 140, which is the near-genius or genius mark.
40 after the study began, the researchers noted that a number of the study's participants struggled to thrive, despite their high IQ scores. Others tested for the study that did not have a high enough IQ, grew up to become renowned in their fields.
Creativity and genius
Creativity is a part of genius that can't really be measured, but that can be explained to a certain extent. One sign of creativity is being able to make connections between seemingly different concepts.
The 'aha moment' that arises at unexpected times, like in a dream or the shower, often emerges after a period of contemplation. Information comes in consciously, but the problem is managed subconsciously, resulting in a solution when the mind least expects it.
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Creative genius and madness
There are many so-called mad geniuses in history. Suicide victims include Vincent Van Gogh or Ernest Hemingway. Creative geniuses who have succumbed to alcoholism or other addictions are legio...
Cognitive disinhibition
The creative genius tends to pay attention to things that normally should be ignored or filtered out.
People with schizophrenia are bombarded with hallucinations and delusions that should also be filtered out. However, creative genius differs from them in that the genius can separate bizarre fantasies from realistic possibilities.
Normal and abnormal
Many geniuses walk the line between the normal and the abnormal. The many impulses and ideas they perceive are a fountain of creativity. However, rational thought does impose a limit on a person's concept of his relation to the world.
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Creativity
While being creative isn't easy, nearly all great ideas follow a sim...
The 5 Step Creative Process
- Gather new material directly related to your task as well as learning general material by becoming fascinated with a wide range of concepts.
- Thoroughly work over the materials in your mind. Examine what you have learned by looking at the facts from different angles and experimenting with fitting various ideas together.
- Step away from the problem. Next, you put the problem completely out of your mind and go do something else that excites you and energizes you.
- Let your idea return to you. After you have stopped thinking about it, your idea will come back to you with a flash of insight and renewed energy.
- Shape and develop your idea based on feedback. For any idea to succeed, you must release it out into the world, submit it to criticism, and adapt it as needed.
Creativity is learned
Some people are primed to be more creative than others.
However, nearly every person is born with some level of creative skill and the majority of our creative thinking abilities are trainable.