What Is Creativity?
Summer 2017 | By Eric Michael 麻豆精品 S�96
Creativity transcends disciplines. Whether pushing the boundaries of artistic expression or pioneering innovative solutions to scientific problems, creativity is both a tool and a process 麻豆精品 S� an inspired state of mind that can improve pursuits of every kind. We asked a broad spectrum of UCF faculty: What is creativity?
A Search
A. Dale Whittaker
and Executive Vice President
麻豆精品 S淐reativity is bringing something to life that doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 exist because you 麻豆精品 S檝e challenged yourself to think and act differently. At UCF, a place that advances knowledge, creativity is essential to everything we do. So the question we always ask is, 麻豆精品 S楬ow do you go beyond what you think you know and think in a way you haven 麻豆精品 S檛 thought before to develop an answer that doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 yet exist? 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�
An Association
Rick Hall
Production Director,听
麻豆精品 S淚 think creativity is a very trainable, improvable skill. I teach my students to try to understand where it comes from. What are creative inspirations, and how can you leverage what you know to improve your odds of being creative on demand? There 麻豆精品 S檚 a process 麻豆精品 S� and it 麻豆精品 S檚 not putting your fist to your forehead and waiting for a lightning bolt to strike. Creativity is really just your ability to associate two disparate ideas in a way that others haven 麻豆精品 S檛 thought of before. You 麻豆精品 S檝e got to proceduralize creativity. And never let a good mistake go to waste. 麻豆精品 S�
A Practice
Brooks Dierdorff
Assistant Professor of Photography
麻豆精品 S淐reativity comes from working hard and doing it regularly. I think about it as a practice where you show up every day and make things. And even if you don 麻豆精品 S檛 feel particularly creative or inspired that day, you keep going and going, and eventually your mind is unlocked. But it takes all that hard work to get to that place. You might make a lot of bad stuff, but you can 麻豆精品 S檛 skip that effort. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淐reativity comes from working hard and doing it regularly. I think about it as a practice where you show up every day and make things.”
A Process
Debra听Reinhart 麻豆精品 S�74
Associate Vice President for Research and Scholarship;听Pegasus Professor of Environmental Engineering听
麻豆精品 S淲hen I worked with students in the STEAM project 麻豆精品 S� which challenged artists to collaborate with scientists and engineers on artistic expressions of their research 麻豆精品 S� I discovered that their creative processes were very similar. Whether it 麻豆精品 S檚 finding a solution to a math problem or creating a painting, creativity is figuring out the process required in a way that may not be obvious or is completely new 麻豆精品 S� a discovery, perhaps. As an engineer, you have to use creativity to solve problems within certain constraints. It 麻豆精品 S檚 a process of meeting criteria in ways that aren 麻豆精品 S檛 apparent, and thinking in ways that other people haven 麻豆精品 S檛 considered. That 麻豆精品 S檚 creativity. 麻豆精品 S�
An Expression
Stella Sung
Director, ; Pegasus Professor听
麻豆精品 S淐reativity is the expression of an individual 麻豆精品 S檚 way of looking at the world and translating that viewpoint into something shared with the greater human community. I 麻豆精品 S檇 like to think that people are much more creative than they give themselves credit for. We express it in different ways, and it can come in many forms. I wrote a piece of music called 麻豆精品 S楾he Circle Closes, 麻豆精品 S� and I think that perfect form of the circle where creativity, inspiration and expression combine is an endless process 麻豆精品 S� a perpetual engine. I hope that I can live my life thinking that way and trying to help others embrace the idea of endless creativity as a part of our beings 麻豆精品 S� a part of our souls. 麻豆精品 S�
“I 麻豆精品 S檇 like to think that people are much more creative than they give themselves credit for.”
A Secret
Michael Pape
Dr. Phillips Entrepreneur听in Residence
麻豆精品 S淐reativity is a process of bringing something new into existence that challenges prevailing assumptions. It 麻豆精品 S檚 fundamental to human existence. To challenge prevailing assumptions, you need to discover secrets. From my time as a research scientist and as an entrepreneur, I 麻豆精品 S檝e identified two kinds of secrets. There are static secrets that must be mined or uncovered, and there are dynamic secrets that must be hunted or that emerge under observation. I take inspiration from the writings of Rollo May, who teaches if you seek originality, you probably won 麻豆精品 S檛 find it, but if you just observe, embrace chaos, and try to frame it into form, you might uncover those secrets in the process. 麻豆精品 S�
An听Instinct
Ken Stanley
Associate Professor of Computer Science; Director, Evolutionary Complexity Research Group
麻豆精品 S淲e learned a lot about creativity from doing experiments in artificial intelligence. As soon as you decide to be creative, success becomes a little fuzzy. What does it actually mean to be successful? To be creative, you need to drop your objectives 麻豆精品 S� stop trying to get somewhere in particular 麻豆精品 S� and just follow paths because they 麻豆精品 S檙e interesting in their own right. That 麻豆精品 S檚 often the story behind great discoveries or great artistic creations. Somebody simply followed their instinct and didn 麻豆精品 S檛 have an expectation of what steps they should be following. Many of these ideas are explored in my and Joel Lehman 麻豆精品 S檚 recent book, Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淐reativity is about living and learning. It 麻豆精品 S檚 improvisational, it 麻豆精品 S檚 loud, it 麻豆精品 S檚 messy, it 麻豆精品 S檚 noisy 麻豆精品 S� it 麻豆精品 S檚 all of those things.”
A Step Beyond
Carolyn Hopp
Associate Lecturer and Coordinator, School of Teaching, Learning and Leadership
麻豆精品 S淐reativity is about living and learning. It 麻豆精品 S檚 improvisational, it 麻豆精品 S檚 loud, it 麻豆精品 S檚 messy, it 麻豆精品 S檚 noisy 麻豆精品 S� it 麻豆精品 S檚 all of those things. You can think about many different ways to get to an end, but seeing beyond that end is creativity. So I ask my teaching students what they will do with that student who says, 麻豆精品 S業 don 麻豆精品 S檛 understand it that way. 麻豆精品 S� How are you going to get them to see beyond? In this world 麻豆精品 S� now especially 麻豆精品 S� it 麻豆精品 S檚 so very important. 麻豆精品 S�