Over 50 years ago, science-fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote an essay on creativity, a must-read. Scientist Arthur Obermayer found Asimov's "On Creativity" while clearing out some old files. Even though the essay was written half a century ago, its contents are highly relevant for today. You should try to read <a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/view/531911/isaac-asimov-asks-how-do-people-get-new-ideas/">the complete essay</a>, but here are a few of Asimov's ideas on how creativity occurs.

Isaac Asimov's "On Creativity"

What is needed is not only people with a good background in a specific field. People should be capable of connecting ideas that are not usually related. Consider the theory of evolution, created by both Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace.<ul><li>Both travelled to distant places.</li><li>Both observed strange species of plants and animals and how they varied from place to place.</li><li>Both were eager to find an explanation.</li><li>Both failed until they read Thomas Malthus's "Essay on population".</li></ul>

Creativity requires you to connect two unconnected ideas

We have difficulty thinking of an idea even when we have all the facts in front of us. Thomas H. Huxley exclaimed after reading On the Origin of Species, "How stupid of me not to have thought of this." Connecting unrelated ideas needs courage, as most people will cross-connect the related ideas. The ideas that seem very unreasonable at first requires daring, and only afterwards does it seem reasonable.

True creativity is only reasonable in retrospect

Creativity requires isolation. The creative person's mind is mixing information all the time, even if he is not conscious of it. Consider the famous example of Kekule working out the structure of benzene in his sleep. The presence of others can disrupt this process since creation is embarrassing and messy. Only one out of a thousand foolish ideas are good, and you don't want to display them all.

Sometimes it's best to brainstorm by yourself

No two people have the exact mental stores of items. One person may know A but not B, and the other may know B but not A. If both know A and B, they may get the idea, but not simultaneously. Further, the information may be a combination of A-B, which may not be significant. But if one mentions some unusual combination of A-B and the other of A-C, the combination of A-B-C may give an answer, which neither could find separately.

Creativity happens in collaborative environments too!

There must be a sense of comfort, permissiveness and relaxation. Generally, people disapprove of creativity. To be creative in public can be worrisome. Individuals must feel that other's won't make fun of them. Therefore, people must be willing to sound foolish and listen to others sound foolish.

Innovation happens when people are encouraged to discuss wild ideas without worrying about appearing stupid

Creative ideas never seem reasonable at first.

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Creativity

Ideas not going anywhere? Try these 5 tips on creativity from Isaac Asimov

An appropriate object can be photographed, printed, trimmed and then glued onto your workbook page – or digitally superimposed upon a page and then printed. Alternatively, you might photocopy an object (placing the item directly upon the photocopier or scanner, with teacher supervision) so that it seamlessly integrates with the page. The remainder of the mind map can then be added by hand. As the photograph becomes a dominant element upon the page, the object should be selected with care.

Take a beautiful photograph to place in the center

This approach gives you an opportunity to play with space and color, while recording ideas. A range of different painted marks could be used – splashes / smears / drips etc. It is worth remembering that color choices should be thoughtful and not distract from subsequent work in your sketchbook.

Use painted areas to contain text

In many cases, the brainstorming phase of an Art project has to be completed quickly, however, if you are a fast drawer and have a spare weekend, you might wish to produce a collection of drawings to illustrate your ideas. You might wish to include a range of different mediums. Before spending considerable time on this exercise, you should check with your art teacher whether this is appropriate for your project.

Draw lots of small pictures to illustrate ideas visually

Integrate a mind map with an ‘incomplete’ image that extends across the page. Many Art students find that drawing itself allows them to relax and thoughts to flow freely. You may wish to make a mind map in and around an observational drawing that sprawls across a page, in a fragmented, semi-complete way. As you think of possible ideas, these could be scrawled upon the drawing and extending out from this, creating an organic and spontaneous record of ideas. Strong observational drawers could find this an excellent way to flaunt skill to the examiner from the very first page of their sketchbook.

Integrate a mind map with an ‘incomplete’ image 

Collecting, ripping and arranging a range of images, textures and surfaces can provide a creative base upon which to write and draw further ideas. These pages from a visual journal explore ideas related to illustration, fairytales and mythology.

Collage torn images, textures and surfaces together

Drawing a mind map over blurred and running watercolor forms can result in an exciting abstracted diagram. As mentioned in the above example, colors that link in with the subject matter should be chosen (muted, softer colors are usually more appropriate than psychedelic pinks and greens, for example).

Draw over an abstract watercolour ground

This is the part 1 of the ideas for creating attractive mind maps..... 😊

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Creative mind maps making (part-1) 

The Fishing Line Technique is a productivity method with the main goal to help you hold your train of thought for as long as possible until you get to something concrete.
The basic principle of the Fishing Line Technique is based on the importance of not being disturbed whilst in the process of trying to come up with new ideas, or any creative process in general.

Fishing Line Technique

If you’ve ever been fishing you know that it’s all about finding the right spot, casting your fishing rod and then starting the big wait.
You sit there, patiently waiting and observing your rod, until you see that something got its first nibble and that there is finally some tension on the line: a fish is on the hook! From now on it’s all about maintaining that tension while carefully and slowly reeling in the line to bring the catch to the shore.

Importance Of The Fishing Line Technique

When you try to come up with new ideas, you first need to spend some proper time pondering over the problem. And once you’re onto something, it’s like when you got some tension on that fishing line! Now it’s all about holding this tension for as long as needed to transform that first glimpse of an idea into something more concrete – which in our fishing example equals bringing the fish to the shore.If at that very moment, when the idea is finally materializing, you get distracted by something, your tension on the line is lost and the idea might be gone forever.

The Idea Generation Process

Whenever you’re trying to come up with a new idea, trying to work out a solution to something or doing any creative work in general, make sure beforehand that nothing will disturb you.This means basically doing three main things:<ul><li>Allocate proper time for thinking and doing some deep work, and let others know that you won’t be available during this time.</li><li>Retreat to a space where you can be undisturbed for as long as needed and tune out any potential distraction with background sounds.</li><li>Make sure every possible notification is turned off.</li></ul>

Fishing Line Technique In Practice

The fishing line technique has the main goal to help you hold your train of thought for as long as possible until you get to something concrete.

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The Fishing Line Technique - Noisli

Personal identity is the essential property that makes you, you.

Personal Identity

This theory suggests that you retain your identity because you remain in the same body from birth to death.•But our bodies replenish and remodel itselves throughout the entire course of our lives.

Body Theory

According to JOHN LOCKE the thing that makes you YOU is the non-physical stuff– your consciousness.•If personal identity requires a memory, then none of us became who we are until our first memory. Which means we all lost at least a couple of years at the beginning.

Memory Theory

Personal identity persists over time because you retain memories of yourself at different points, and each of those memories is connected to one before it.•If you can remember back to your first day of kindergarten, you maintain a memory link to that person.

Memory Chain

Today Hank is building on last week’s exploration of identity to focus on personal identity. Does it in reside in your body? Is it in the collective memories of your consciousness? There are, of course, strengths and weaknesses to both of these ideas, and that’s what we’re talking about today. Get your own Crash Course Philosophy mug from DFTBA: http://store.dftba.com/products/crashcourse-philosophy-mug The Latest from PBS Digital Studios: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1mtdjDVOoOqJzeaJAV15Tq0tZ1vKj7ZV -- All other images and video either public domain or via VideoBlocks, or Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ -- Produced in collaboration with PBS Digital Studios: http://youtube.com/pbsdigitalstudios Crash Course Philosophy is sponsored by Squarespace. http://www.squarespace.com/crashcourse -- Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet? Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashC... Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourse Tumblr - http://thecrashcourse.tumblr.com Support CrashCourse on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/crashcourse CC Kids: http://www.youtube.com/crashcoursekids

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Today Hank is building on last week’s exploration of identity to focus on personal identity. Does it in reside in your body? Is it in the collective memories of your consciousness? There are, of course, strengths and weaknesses to both of these ideas, and that’s what we’re talking about today.

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Personal Identity: Crash Course Philosophy #19

“Every artist was first an amateur”

“Creativity takes courage”

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up "

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it”

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”

These are some famous quotes by famous artists everyone should know .... 

For most people, beginning of a new year seems like the perfect time to begin work with enthusiasm and new inspirations. And yet, after a festive season ends, artists often find that getting back into an effective working regimen is an uphill struggle. That spark, which normally makes the creative process a joy is not

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5 Famous short Quotes About Art !

<ul><li>compensation</li><li>work</li><li>lifestyle</li><li>Contribution</li><li>celebration of success</li></ul>

Four pillars of a fulfilling career

<ul><li>relieve stress</li><li>Change self talk </li><li>remember to eat</li><li>Better life changing experience</li><li>makes friends relevant for your response</li><li>enjoy every moment</li></ul>

6 formula for more output less overwhelm

Taking advice from everywhere is a good idea but try to implement

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Improve, develop and enhance your personality with pro tips, training & quotes

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In order to think up new and exciting projects, Burrill lets his mind and his body wander in the world. A walk in a new neighbourhood or a weekend trip can give you a different outlook on your surroundings. “I’m constantly looking out for examples of interesting typefaces and graphic images”, says Burrill, “seeing new things helps to spark off new ideas.”

1.     Change your daily routine and look at the world through fresh eyes

When Burrill was young, he used to collect keepsakes from his family travels in scrapbooks – leaflets from museums; tickets for plays, art galleries, and historic sites; receipts from restaurants; photos of everyday landscapes and road signs. Over time he built up a collection of ephemera that continue to inspire his work. Burrill believes that “soaking up new influences is an important part of forming your creative DNA”.

2.     Document everything, take photographs, collect things and keep mementos

When Burrill began his career as an artist, he couldn’t afford a computer, so he had to find new and inventive ways to make things. “It’s much better to use what you have around you then to spend lots of money producing something” says Burrill, “it’s about being clever with what you have and seeing the benefits in the restrictions you have.” It may seem counterintuitive, but limiting yourself may give your creativity more room to flourish.

3.     Be resourceful

While social media is a great way to show off your work, it’s not the best way to stay focused and avoid distraction. Burrill checks his email just three times a day during planned, short answering sessions. This way, he stops his online activity from ruling his day, avoids procrastination and keeps his concentration. Shutting your phone off for the majority of the working day can prevent you from wasting time and help you be more creative.

4.     Keep your phone at arm’s length

After leaving art school, this became Burrill’s mantra – and still is. “Sometimes opportunities come along disguised as something else, you need to learn to look beyond the obvious”, he says. A positive attitude and openness to new projects could lead you to your next creative project.

5.     Say ‘yes’ more than ‘no’

Anthony Burrill has been exhibiting his work in galleries across the world for over 15 years, finding inspiration in the most unlikely of places. I read his book Make it Now! to discover how I too could unleash my creativity. Follow these top tips to do the same.

How to be more creative

Few major technologies emerge suddenly. They’re usually the product of gradual tinkering and experimentation, with engineers and designers puttering around for years or even decades. Things get slowly refined, and the new tech starts being used in real-world circumstances, but mostly in niche areas.Eventually, some mass-market inventor notices these niche uses and realizes huh, this tech really works now. They build it into a mainstream product — which bursts into truly mass adoption.

How New Tech Gets Adopted

The long nose of tech shows that it is under the radar, out of the mainstream for years, even decades, until the technology is refined and then mass-adopted.The X-axis is time; the Y-axis is adoption. During the long period when the technology is being refined, it’s not very widespread. Then suddenly it bursts into mass adoption.

The Long Nose Of Innovative Tech

If you wanted to predict the Next Big Thing, the Long Nose theory suggests that you don’t need to look in top-secret corporate innovation labs or in the latest scientific literature.No, you look in the world around you. You go “prospecting and mining” — and see what tools are already being eagerly used in areas that lie just outside the mainstream. Those are the technologies that are being stress-tested to the point where they’re ripe to become a mass phenomenon. And you look for something that has that element of “surprising obviousness.”

Looking For The Next Big Thing

I wrote earlier this week about the difficulty of figuring out whether a new technology is going to be a Big New Thing or remain a pipe dream of die-hard true believers. It reminded me of a great…

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Technology & The Future

The ‘Long Nose’ Theory of Tech Innovation

You may want to create an online course or write an article but find it difficult to generate ideas. If you feel stuck, the Zwicky box is a practical approach to creating many unique ideas by breaking the problem into categories, adding value to each category, and combining these values.

Boost your creativity with a systematic approach

Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky was a prolific 20th-century scientist. He wrote over three hundred articles, ten books, held fifty patents, developed jets and rocket propulsion systems, and discovered dark matter. He found over a hundred supernovae, and coined the term "supernova". He received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1973 for his work in astronomy and also received the Medal for Freedom in 1949 for his innovation. His secret sauce for his creativity, problem-solving and ideation is the Zwicky Box (or “morphological analysis”).

The man behind the Zwicky method

Zwicky stated that his method could increase the efficiency of our brains 100 times. He believed that if we could "free ourselves from our pedestrian patterns of thought and learn to think morphologically, the future could be shaped by our images." When it comes to solving problems, our brains often jump to familiar solutions. For example, if your phone is low on power, charge it. But we often stop when we have a few solutions. Only when all possible solutions are exhausted can we find diverse answers and select the best possible solution.

Increasing the efficiency of your brain x 100

<ol><li>Define your categories. Take a similar existing solution, list each part, then turn it into a category.</li><li>Add the values. If you have difficulty in creating values, try looking for inspiration from existing solutions,</li><li>Create unique combinations. Pick from each category and link the values together. Continue to create these combinations even if you don't see anything valuable at first.</li></ol> If you have a Zwicky box with five categories, and each category contains five values, you can have 3125 unique combinations. From there, you can pick one or two high quality, innovative ideas.

How to create your own Zwicky box

The Zwicky box can be applied to everyday life, for example:<ul><li>Creativity. You can use the Zwicky box from story planning to content creation.</li><li>Innovation. You can use it for market innovation, business model creation, product development, and prototyping.</li><li>Decision making. Use the Zwicky box to help with strategising, financial modelling, and daily decision making.</li><li>Brainstorming in a team. Everyone on the team can contribute to creating and filling the Zwicky box.</li></ul>

Using the Zwicky box in your everyday life

It can be hard to generate good ideas. The Zwicky box is a simple and effective way to create many unique ideas.

The Zwicky box: a powerful method for problem solving and creativity

Art isn’t a knock-knock joke, and squinting at an exhibit isn’t going to elicit a punch line. Everyone — artists and viewers alike — will have a unique experience. As in the rest of life, there will be times when you can’t relate to the artist, or even understand where they're coming from. Accept that, and move on. Don’t write off art, an entire genre, or even a particular work just because it doesn’t agree with you at the moment. As you go through life, your tastes will change.

1. Stop Trying to “Get It.”

The best way to see art is to see it alone. Don’t be swayed by your peers or even your teachers. Remember that your unique experiences leading up to the moment you encounter a work of art will shape your appreciation of it, as will all the experiences that follow. Like what you like, even if you're not sure why, or can't put the reason to words.

2. Don't Be Afraid To Like Something.

Anything within the context of art is art. It might make you roll your eyes to think about a highly paid artist flinging paint at a canvas like a toddler. But much as John Cage taught us the difference between noise and sound, seeing art that you disagree with can challenge your notions, or help you suss out your beliefs.

3. Consider More Things As Art.

Creativity is one of the many benefits of human intelligence. Our ability to make art and think critically about it separate us from dolphins and monkeys. I don’t care what you majored in, or how your figure drawings (or stick figures) always come out. Every human being has artistic ability. Trust in this.

4. Trust Your Instincts.

Once you’re comfortable with allowing yourself to feel something about art, take it to the next level. Try to go beyond considering whether art is cool or offensive, and find a personal connection to the work. Even if you're relating art to something as simple what you ate for breakfast, it’s a step in the right direction.

5. Make a Connection. 

Assuming you have the aforementioned human intelligence, then you also have artistic ability. Anything that you consider to be art will be. Walk backward through a crosswalk. Take a photo. Instagram it. Experiment. Cook an amazing meal (bonus points if you don’t look at a recipe). I guarantee you’ll feel better about art after exercising your right to create.

6. Make Your Own Art.

Most of us think that understanding art is too difficult ... But it's not that difficult.... So here are some ways by which we can understand art in a better way.... 

Human beings have been making and benefiting from art for longer than our recorded history. While contemporary art might seem exclusive or confusing, all viewers have to do is meet the artist halfway. Here are six easy steps to help you appreciate…

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