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For a Genius Brain, Focus on How to Think, Instead of What to Think
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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Key Ideas
Pamela Slim
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.
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.
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
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.
Stephen King
“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.”
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.
Thomas Oppong
"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."
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.
Prof. Dean Simonton
“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.”
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 intelligence, creativ...
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
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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Key Ideas
Intelligence is not genius
Genius is not about having an extraordinarily high IQ, or even about being smart. It is not about finishing Mensa exercises in record time or mastering fourteen languages at the age of seven.
Geniuses and problem solving
Leonardo da Vinci believed you begin by learning how to restructure the problem by looking at it from many different angles.
In order to creatively solve a problem, the thinker should not use the usual approach that is based on past experience. Geniuses use several different perspectives to solve an existing problem and thereby also identify new ones.
Making your thoughts visible
Galileo revolutionized science by making his idea visible with diagrams, maps, and drawings. Einstein believed that words and numbers as they are spoken did not play a significant role in his thinking process.
Geniuses seem to develop a skill to display information in visual and spatial forms, rather than only mathematical or verbal lines.
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Key Ideas
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.