What Are The Benefits And Limitations Of Applying Scientific Principles To Creativity?

When studying creativity as a scientific subject, the idea is to create data that shows patterns and predictabilities we can draw on for ourselves. This is not an easy thing to do because the creative process is often subjective and emotional. Truly creative people who naturally gravitate towards creative pursuits without outside motivation often do so because it is emotionally rewarding. They enjoy the process and the outcome as well as have an affiliation for new and interesting ideas. This is where our first scientific stumbling-block manifests because emotions create subjective experience rather than objective facts. A qualitative approach is the only appropriate way to assess emotions and any attempt to quantify the answers for scientific purposes risks losing vital nuances within the data, forcing certain attitudes and conclusions without considering the differences within.  

 

Our emotions are thought to be an archaic information system, designed by evolution to present conscious experiences we can act upon from non-verbal information. Our verbal minds give us another layer of thought that overlays the emotional information and these work together. Animals without language are much more reliant on their emotions to put their mind’s ideas into conscious thought. Because of this background to the purpose of emotion, it can be effectively stated that emotions act as mind-body responses to stimuli in the mind and in the world that promotes action. Emotions therefore provide the motivation to carry out activity and creative pursuits can be included in this. It is the interaction between our linguistic or flow-chart-based mind and our chaotic and non-localised subconscious mind that results in intelligent creativity.  

 

The kind of things we are drawn to create can be determined by our mood. To be creative requires a mood, or a prolonged emotional state, and the emotional trigger for the mood is often associated with the enjoyment and excitement of bringing the imagination to life. Moods and emotions are subjective because the information about them we can express is determined by many surrounding factors and influences that span across several social dimensions. The kind of action response our moods and emotions motivate are dependent on many factors also, with various individuals and cultures experiencing things and events with different mentalities and learning. This makes the initial process of creating something new difficult to manage in a scientific way. Understanding the psychological processes that bring about creativity can also help to prepare environments and settings for the optimum creative output.  

 

Emotions don’t just govern how and what we create, and when, they are integral to the uptake of the new idea or product by the world at large. Creativity in scientific terms is important because innovation and adaptation are necessary for social and economic growth. This means that when we create something for the world to use that improves lives and makes things more enjoyable, easier, or more valuable, the idea may not be accepted for uncertain and unpredictable emotional reasons. Because emotions are subjective and related to previous experiences and personality differences, we can’t control the emotional response, or the amount of desire people express towards what we have made. What we can do is use data and insights that help us to choose presentation and methods that encourage desire and acceptance. Used in combination with value and interest, this can ensure the creative output is given the best chance to make a positive difference. However, when using data to drive our choices we can lose out on individual selling points and unique attributes that are not represented on the large number models.  

 

Creativity is notoriously difficult to predict. We cannot tell from a person’s main attributes whether they are creatively inclined or are naturally inventive and experimenting. There are patterns in society that can help us understand creative social settings however the individuals involved are as varied as the contents of any municipal building. It’s also difficult to predict the outcome of creative exploration, this is because the process involves the abstract and loosely connected subconscious mind. Not only is this unavailable to the conscious mind, it also can’t be explored with tools. One method of shortening the odds of what people create is to offer a subconscious priming. Primed creativity occurs when subconscious influences are offered that lead a creative person down one path or another. This can be accidental or purposeful, self-initiated, or initiated by an outside entity. Scientific processes rely on predictability and an understanding of the complete process. This means that the priming of creative thinking must be considered when determining the environment.  

 

The objective study of a subjective phenomenon must be able to handle the divergent thinking which results from data gathering. In most scientific arenas we are expected to think convergently, with all members agreeing on one answer for any given problem. Innovation requires new ideas and novel concepts which means convergent thinking can’t produce the result we need. When thoughts do converge, it is in the attribution of purpose. Perhaps we need a bridge or a best-selling novel. We can agree on the principle we are aiming at, the way we get there is not so clear-cut. Divergent thinking is tricky ground for scientific assessment because the quantification of the data loses coherency with the human influence. We can’t plan and replicate the divergent thinking that spans from one moment in time to another. We can only plan for it and replicate the environment in which it happens.  

 

Data driven creativity is nothing new. Before we can create something, we must understand the materials we have in a way that related to the purpose we can envisage. An appreciation for the way the world works is also vital as moving parts and predictable responses are all part of the creation of new processes and tools. Even with artistic creativity, the artist knows how their tools work and what they want to result in upon use. Artists also understand what their audience is looking for and can create for this ideal. Because creativity involves creating something new from things we already have, it often requires some form of interdisciplinary knowledge. The science of the situation is of natural importance because it is how we predict and appreciate the physical real-world effects of our work. The other subjects we need to appreciate are dependent on the field in which we are creating for and the fields in which our motivations and materials come from.  

 

When data is abundant, it can be limiting in the way it defines what should be divergent thinking. By creating convergent ideas in places where creativity allows change, data can become limiting and persuasively design friendly. Sometimes we must ignore the data when it means opening the scope of what’s possible or experimental within the process of producing the desired and convergent ideas. Creativity by nature applies unusual or uncommon ideas to known phenomena to allow a new purpose, an easier process, or a stronger ability within the original design. This means that the tried and tested results can’t provide the expression we need. The creative element is not something we can always go to previous experience for.  

 

There is a part of the creative process with intuition and spontaneity taking the lead. Apart from primed creativity, mentioned earlier, the results of these lightbulb moments are seemingly random and related to the infinite resource of experience and memory that people carry. If something is in the mind or has recently made a strong impression, this is likely to manifest somehow in the expression. The subconscious mind is the source of our instant ideas, preformed and only a verbalisation away from being explained to oneself. This part of the mind does not work in the same way as our scientifically trained and linear thought processes the conscious mind is known for. We can’t ask the subconscious to provide the working, and if we did, it’d not make a lot of sense to us. It’s like a dream that’s playing out all the time behind the waking mind.  

 

In large scale information gathering, we can create databases of intuitive and instant ideas that appear. We can take the results of this hidden process and look for patterns. It has been shown that people who have unusual ideas more often are also more likely to experience poor mental health. Serious mental health problems are thankfully rare however minor issues like an uncontrollable depressive mood, or a sense of underlying nervousness can be managed with help. When the individual is prone to uncommon thoughts then there is a stronger chance of them having challenging or unwanted thoughts. These can create difficult internal environments that can become instigators or inhibitors of creativity. Another link that can be shown is that people who have unusual or uncommon ideas are usually more intelligent. We know that expensive sports cars go wrong in the engine more often than standard family ones. Perhaps it’s the same for the brain.  

 

When solving a real-world problem, a scientific approach to creativity can be highly useful. Data-driven responses to data-driven problems often make the most sense. However, sometimes people have clever ideas that ignore the data and find new ways of doing something that solves the problem in a novel way. This artful creativity is done by using non-scientific thinking to result in a scientific response. Hunches, intuition, and experimental changes can always be applied, however sometimes someone can look through all of that and see a brand-new answer as if it was there already. This is the kind of creativity that is motivated by emotion and care, principles that are notably difficult to scientifically explore. 

 You can find out more about this fascinating subject with this book: Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation