Beginnings Of Creativity
 
We all struggle with trying new things, we need a lot of practice and an innate understanding that only time and experience can attain. Some of us are bursting with ideas, some good, some bad, and some we just must go out and try. If we’re doing something for the simple pleasure of doing it then that’s fine, enjoy yourself and be safe. If, on the other hand, you want to make some kind of positive effect either in other’s lives, in your own, or even both, then you’ll need to get good. So, before you can concrete yourself as part of the scenery with your ideas and input, you’ll need to take yourself to the highest league you can. It’s important to take lessons and listen to experts so that you can learn to think about what you’re doing in ways that have been shown to work. When we’re unaware of issues, flaws, aesthetic boundaries, and so on, we can’t see when we break them. Rules are made to be broken from time to time however you need to do it in a way that elevates the value rather than diminishes it. Intuitive understanding will only get us so far, at some point we must learn the ropes, so we know which ones to pull.
 
Discipline And Motivation
 
Motivation is the natural result of our interests and passions. When we care about something and enjoy thinking about something, we can result in a strong motivation to pursue the activity. A rewarding sense of achievement will arise after hard work and experimentation which serves to bolster the drive even more. Of course, there will be set-backs, failure, misunderstandings, and rejections, it might sometimes feel that despite your thousands of hours, you’re still not hitting the target. It is in these times that discipline comes into play. To be disciplined, we need to be able to manage our emotions. There will come a time when you don’t feel like doing the work you need to do.
 
Ask yourself, am I tired, am I hungry, am I upset at something, is there something more important I should be doing? If you can’t think of a rational reason and alternative activity including rest, then discipline must become your tool. Rather than forcing yourself to do something like a master and slave, a persuasion perspective will help a lot more. Remind yourself of all the things that make it worthwhile, go over your goals, look to your heroes and your inspirations, the people you admire, what would they say? Embody the bigger person and do what you know is necessary for your progress. Maybe tell a story about how the evil wizard is catching up with their plan and you need to finish the incantations, make it exciting, interesting, and fun. Just don’t quit or get lazy, that’s how we fail.
 
Making Sense Of Invention
 
Our minds are networks, we build thoughts based on concepts that reflect into one another perpetually. It’s impossible to define a word without defining the words it’s defined by and so on until all we are left with is words we can’t define unless we know. This knowing comes from the continual similar use and appropriate implementation of the word in context, so we become aware of its function. We learn the word once and then don’t need to know what it actually means in a verbal sense, we intuitively know via pictures, feelings, and relationship directions that our minds naturally build. A new word can be baffling to us until we know what it means and how to use it. Often the word need to sound appropriate for its use. In the odd circumstance when we adopt a foreign word for something, it’s only when we know what it originally meant that it makes appropriate sense to us. The same can be said for new ideas, new concepts, and new creative output. Things need to fit into place for them to be appropriate for the society it is released into. How can we build these mental maps in person to help with our creativity? We need to apply synectics. Synectics is the study of a creative process by experts with a function to improve, progress, or otherwise increase value.
 
It begins with the use of relevant analogies. Creativity is applying unlike things to each other in ways that result in like and positive things. To be able to determine a purpose and a function for a creative output, there must be a natural neural path for society to think about the creation. We need to know what to do with something, why we would do it, and it has to be a rewarding or at least easy experience to carry out. Analogies help us to see things from unique perspectives that may not directly apply to the original situation but result in relevant and like-for-like concepts that apply across boundaries. Solving problems often requires unique or unusual perspectives and analogies help us to determine what these can be.
 
The transposition of one concept into another one can help us to see things from a new perspective and understand where improvements or alterations can have genuine effects. Learning more about the attributes of the situation by applying new thinking tools via useful analogies and metaphors can empower everyone involved to make better choices about what to do next. Personal analogies help us to see something from a perspective we may not have noticed, putting ourselves in the place of something or someone with a unique advantage or responsibility. Direct analogies are about aligning the genuine experience or problem with something from life that is similar and perhaps holds unique viewpoints on the problem. Fantastical and metaphorical analogies tell stories about the problem in ways that break the conventional rules the problem is facing. This helps us to see things in a way that negates cultural boundaries and learned perspectives in favour of what is possible. Creation of value can be a purely mental process. However, when designing something more than the next step, there needs to be a lot of considered and applied processing from the creator in order to bring about the expected and earned outcome. 

The Power Of Criticism
 
When we’ve worked hard for something the last thing we want to hear is that it’s not good enough, doesn’t warrant attention, and no one wants to buy it. It is a disillusionment for those with high aspirations and the confidence to get them. Listening to critics is important when we are beginners because the everyday public can be a great judge of our material. When we become experts or well-experienced at something, often it our peers that we turn to for criticism. It’s important to learn how to do things in the right way and in ways that the everyday public can appreciate. Otherwise, we’ll create something for nothing. It probably won’t do what it is supposed to in the best way, and it won’t be easily adopted by those it is meant for. We can be our harshest critic at times, but the act of confidence and a good positive attitude does require us to silence this voice. The voices of others can’t be silenced so easily, the best way to do that is to satisfy them. We must be the ultimate judge of whether they should be listened to. Advice about advice about advice will only get us in a knot. That’s where our own inner critic must come into play.
 
When we are free to create adlib without the fear of social judgement or professional criticism then we might have plenty of ideas. We may flow with inspiration and analogies that create a wide and diverse picture of what we’re thinking about. This works well for the initial phase, but when we come to decide what is going to work and what people are going to like, we have to begin to listen to the judges. The better the quality of experience we have results in a more intuitive understanding of the public mood and the peer standard. This means that the more we do, the more we listen, the more we make up our own minds, the better our work will be.
 
A process of creation with delayed criticism as a cycle is the most profitable approach when choosing ideas and processes that will fit your original purpose and the state of society. Being able to manage our emotional state during the cutting down of ideas by not being attached to dead wood and by remembering to water the flourishing garden that we’re not use to having means having a grasp on your subconscious patterns and motivations that belong in the past.
 
Divergent Evolution Of Good Ideas
 
Life on Earth has evolved into a plethora of diverse and fascinating creatures, plants, and cellular organisms. Everything is based on a fundamental principle of self-replicating contained energy manipulation chemistry. It’s been theorised that if everything needed was put together and energy applied that to get a functioning lifeform, you’d possibly need a thousand universes each filled with the right stuff to have a chance. Others say that it’s perfectly normal to have life when conditions are right because the universe itself has a body of laws that promotes its genesis. However it began, what it resulted in has been incredible. The types of creatures that have walked the Earth have changed over time, from the fossil record we have learned about the evolution of fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds, and plants. Although various species and unique animals have disappeared, the ideas behind their biology have perpetuated throughout the ages. Even diverse species can be traced back with similar traits that are shared across families. We share a lot with fish, for example. It’s just the various sizes of things and the method of taking in air that are different. The bones, the cells, the pigments, the digestive system, the respiration chemistry, it’s practically identical. A good idea is a good idea so there is every good reason to continue these traits into our advanced evolutionary state.
 
Our inventiveness and creativity follow rules in a way that is very similar to the evolution of complex life. A good idea works across frameworks. When we create something, it is usually relatable to something else. This could be simple, as in a painting, relatable to all other paintings, regardless of style or quality. A great painting may be relatable to a master or two, or simply aesthetically brilliant enough to relate to something else entirely that also is rewarding to perceive. Evolution is the result of applied trial and error over time. Every trial that isn’t an error is given the chance to perpetuate. If it is lucky enough to do so, the trait will become more widespread as its self-replicating chemistry maintains the new information. We can apply this principle to our ideas in an evolutionary fast-forward by either imagining our ideas in practice to see obvious flaws or putting them into genuine practice to see less obvious ones. We can adapt the flawed elements by reducing, reusing, and reinventing until we end up with something aesthetically appealing, functional, and deserving of other people’s time.
 
The Grand Plan
 
Unless you have billions of years and a lot of luck from no-where in particular, we need to have a plan. A loose set of ideas that produce a virtual end result you can be happy with. The planning stage requires your expertise, your understood criticism, your desires and motivations, and the whims of the society the creativity is for. You need to know what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how you’re going to progress in real-time. Planning is the creation of a flow chart of instructions that you can use as a guideline and a memory aid to ensure you reach your goal. The preparation is in the creation of models and practicing techniques until you can commit to something permanent. A lot of what we create these days is not permanent, we can edit, alter, change, discontinue, and so on. There are some things that break free from this cycle of renewal and trend to become static and perennial items transcending the seasons. To become like this, we need to be able to stay the same indefinitely. So planning is ultimately essential to ensure we can become a contender for this prestige marketing position.
 
Standing out and becoming a valuable item on the social scene as an invention requires an up-to-date understanding of the scene. A realistic approach will appreciate the cutting-edge design and techniques that people employ to do what you want to do for yourself. Of course, we can’t always go out and buy the best stuff or learn from the best places, but we can always make the most of where we are and utilise what is available to the best of our ability. A thousand free articles and videos can probably cover the same information as an expensive course, it’s just you have to go out and find them for yourself and know what to ignore. There are a lot of novices preaching authority out there.
 
The Novice Genius
 
Why is it that we see beginner’s luck? How does a person with no prior experience waltz in and achieve something that others have spent hours trying to achieve? This sort of thing happens all the time when we look deep into social situations. It’s because a fresh perspective is often needed to see a truly creative solution. When we become experts and experienced, we learn techniques, patterns of behaviour, and polite routines that ensure everything works well. Once we become locked into our methods, we can sometimes fail to see problems or solutions others can.
 
If we’re used to the issue and don’t consider it to be one or if the state-of-the-art equipment no longer requires as much attention and care in certain areas but more in others, we might be unable to see the solution straight away. A newcomer might be much more inclined to intuitively fix the problem by trying to use the invention in a way that suits them. They might suggest an alteration or ask why something is there when it is redundant. This means that we shouldn’t discount a novice or a layperson who might have something to say. It’s important to get as many perspectives as we can and if someone is given the chance to prove their point to you, it doesn’t matter who they are. Their input had value regardless of their background.
 
On a personal level, it can also mean that your original idea is sound even if you didn’t have the expertise to carry it out properly. Sometimes the reason we fail is because we didn’t foresee the issues at play, and we didn’t properly predict how others would behave in your given situation. Being able to work through these pitfalls requires the learning and the experience that makes the process more intuitive. It doesn’t mean we should give up on our dreams or dismiss our ideas as naïve fantasies. If the value was there from the start, then the learning and training will only serve to solidify the concept and help it to be more effective.
 
So don’t be afraid to start something if you haven’t already and if you are passionate about it, you’ll take it far. Make sure you think about the process and the details of the outcome as part of a wider social network, and it will no-doubt apply to people in ways you couldn’t have foreseen. We’re all a bit creative, especially when we’re not trying to be. 
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​The birthplace of civilisation, the Middle East is famous for holding some of the earliest examples of cities, architecture, and civil society. Iraq, Iran, Syria, Greece, and Turkey all boast huge national legacies that reach back to prehistory with only material remains to show the truth. One such material has recently been shown to have originally been a kind of red lipstick. Body painting is clearly not a new thing, with the Romans defining an entire culture as the painted people, or the Picts, however evidence of lipstick is rare indeed. Was it for men, was it for women, was it for children? We probably will never know, although if we can go by historical evidence, we know both genders of all ages have enjoyed using colour to highlight their good looks throughout the ages.
 
The peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports has recently released an article that explains how a vial of ingredients discovered in Iran has been determined to be a form of lipstick. The Bronze Age was around 5000-3000 years ago from the present day and is noted for the onset of bronze technology that replaced the harder but less malleable stone. The chemical process of combining melted tin and melted copper together to form this stronger and shiny alloy gave toolmakers a distinct advantage in harder-wearing and more universal implements. The military and the artists both found many new ways to utilise this useful metal mixture. A new age of thinking had begun with people choosing to experiment with mixing and making from raw ingredients, the understanding of the world had grown significantly since the days of sticks and stones. So, it’s not surprising really that some people were experimenting with colours and paints.
 
A joint effort from science teams based in Tehran and Italy has identified a mixture of colours and base materials that seem to have been made for the lips. The item was found back in 2001 when a Bronze Age graveyard was flooded by the swollen Halil River in Iran’s South-eastern Kerman province. A trove of artefacts was uncovered by the natural event and were quickly rescued by archaeologists for safe-keeping and inspection. The small vial of material was handed over to the Archaeological Museum of Jiroft, who were able to date the object to around 1900 BC. The green Chlorite vial is in superb condition and shows superior craftsmanship. The sleek design and pencil like shape is so far unrepresented in the main body of literature however the shape strongly resembles cosmetic items of the modern day. An image from the Turin Papyrus 55001 shows an Egyptian woman holding a vial very similar to the one found while painting her lips.
 
The contents of the vial were also tested to determine what they are made of. It was found that the main elements of the container were ground crystal, including galena, hematite, quartz, braunite, and anglesite. The lead-based galena would not be permitted in anything for the body today. The hematite comprised the majority of the mixture, lending the deep red colour. The other minerals were given to provide sheen and durability. It's not known if the vial was made for men, women, or both, however the fashion of wearing red paint on the lips seems to be something that will never be replaced. 

Something to read and put on the table - Face Paint: The Story of Makeup Hardcover by Lisa Eldridge

​I don’t remember how The Wind In The Willows starts, middles, and ends, but I do remember Toad of Toad Hall in his Motorcar. Poop Poop! The rest of the animals standing aside as the green gentleman rumbles by, leaping over bumps in the road. A thing of the past, within a generation the petrol or gasoline powered vehicle itself will be a day out at the vintage show. Imagine in thirty years going to see a Ford Focus and taking a photo…They don’t have the same level of intrigue as they did when the technology was new, that’s for sure.
 
Automotive enthusiasts and history hysterions can gawp and drool at this latest snap that’s available to someone lucky enough to get the highest bid. The first car to break the 100mph speed in the entire United States, the 1904 Napier Samson is an icon and a benchmark for everything fast and new. The engineering marvel that put that much power into a hunk of moving metal is a leap forward in human invention, proving that chemical fuel could indeed be made to propel machines over land and sea. Better than a horse, or so they say, the mess from an automobile goes up rather than down.  
 
The birthplace of the speed record, Florida is seeing the proud return of the very machine that broke it all those years ago. The 1904 Napier Samson L48 has returned to the state to be put on display and eventually sold. Let’s hope it goes to a good home. The car was presented to waiting crowds at Daytona Beach yesterday, with another couple of weeks to go before the big and expensive (for one lucky bidder) day. The car is valued at around a million dollars, which is not much for some but way out of reach for me. How about you?
 
Made in Britain, when the United Kingdom was an industrial power, the Napier Samson L48 took to the racetrack in Florida at the height of the early racing era. Drivers from the world over would take their best builds to the course and pit them against the other machines in one derby of constant thrills. In 1905, British mechanic Arthur MacDonald took his Napier Samson to 104.651 mph, the fastest anyone had ever driven before. No-doubt, many cars didn’t make it, some being smashed, some breaking down. The fact we still have the Napier means a lot to the people who are descended from its makers. You could even make it to the Bonhams Cars Auction in Amelia Island, Florida on the 29th of February and place a bid. 

​For people like me, perhaps we'd better take a look at the original version of Wind In The Willows with Illustrations by Arthur Rackham
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Love cats? Are cats the cutest and cleverest companions? Perfect for the animal lover in your life, and that means you too! Enjoy this small selection of cat themed gifts waiting for you in the Angel Cats Zazzle Store. To be updated so keep coming back!