Science of Creativity Recap

Eight posts covering research on the science of creativity.

ANNIE MURPHY PAUL FEB 24

1. Are You Most Creative Just Before You Fall Asleep?

“In dream states, we seem to be able to link things together that we normally wouldn’t connect,” says neuroscientist and artist Paul Seli. “It’s like there’s an artist in my brain that I get to know through hypnagogia.” 

2. The Two-Part Mindset that Made Leonardo So Creative

“Think about cultivating these two mutually-enhancing drives: a high need for certainty (I really want to figure this out!), and a low need for competence (I’m OK with feeling kind of incompetent and not-masterful in the process of figuring this out).”

3. Can You Tell Creativity Fact from Fiction?

“Researchers have identified five common beliefs that may be preventing many of us from being as creative as we could be.”

4. Why You Should Be Task-Switching More Often

“Task switching benefits creativity because it reduces cognitive fixation. Setting the task aside for a time helps break the hold of our fixation, and allows us to return to the task with fresh eyes and a fresh mind.”

5. Why You Don't Feel Like Creating Today

“Reminding ourselves of our core values—values that feel so integral to our sense of self—can help move us away from the feeling that our creative work is an imposition or an obligation.”  

6. The Power of Emotional Creativity

“The science of emotional creativity suggests that we can bring our already-existing strengths as creative people to our emotions, thus enabling more creativity—a virtuous cycle.”

7. The Alternative to Perfectionism

"Excellencism is a tendency to aim and strive toward high, yet attainable standards, in an effortful and flexible manner.”

8. How Remembering the Past Can Make You More Creative in the Present

“Like Marcel Proust and his memory-evoking madeleine, you may find that remembering the past is a doorway into a richly imagined act of creation in the present.”