Can you teach creativity?

[Zhukov]

Maybe not directly, but it seems to me that creativity is often born of richness and breadth of experience.

Someone who has traveled, read widely, met a lot of people and generally lived a lot of life is going to have a lot more to draw on than someone who has spent their life making rent, watching anime and playing video games.

You can certainly teach the skills that allow one to express creativity. And I'd say that's more than half the battle.

 

[Rattja]

Well, I am just going to drop this here, as it more or less sums it up quite nicely.

Personally I don't belive creativity is something you learn, it's forgotten. So instead of learning it, you can be reminded I guess.

 

[Cowabungaa]

First of all; define 'creativity'. Because it's a very nebulous concept related to that most complex organ that we have, our brain.

Regardless, I own several books that do teach me creative thinking at least. That nurture a mindset in which one can have creative thoughts easier than without it.

There's definitely a neuroscience [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3797545/] behind creativity, and to just simply say that "Some people 'just' don't work that way." isn't really doing the plasticity of our brains much justice.

 

[DementedSheep]

To some extent. A lot of it's just getting to right mindset, finding sources of inspiration and being able to take a half formed idea and work it into to something complete. Creativity isn't purely something you have or don't, you can get better by practising thinking outside the box and looking for solutions that aren't obvious. It also helps if you are knowledgeable in whatever it is you are trying to be creative with. You have to know what you can do before you can start creatively applying it.

 

[CaitSeith]

The problem with trying to teach creativity in school is that it can't be graded with tests like math or a foreign language. How do you evaluate objectively the creativity in a drawing? Does it loses points when it has green because green is not a creative color?

 

[RedRockRun]

No you can't teach someone to be creative. You can teach a creative person how to better express himself and hone his skill set, but creativity is either inborn or passively developed in early childhood. I can't think of any scenario where someone could be taught to think creatively. It's paradoxical even, given that creativity can be seen as thinking outside the limits of teaching and instruction. The latter is working within a pre-existing paradigm, the former constructing one's own.

 

[StormShaun]

I would say no, towards this particular question.
In my field of study, which is creative writing, I see two halves.

- The talent.
- The skill.

Naturally, writers, painters, and other creative professions need to have talent.
Sure, the amount varies. Some can simply make a good story, while others can make a single piece that last centuries. Of course, as we discussed here, sometimes, people just have little talent in this area, and more in others. A good example would be... well, myself in a reverse way. I'm in this area of profession, yet if I may put it bluntly, I completely and utterly suck at mathematics. I'm really happy others have expertise in that area.

Getting back to the subject, we have the skill. Of course, this can be taught to anyone. This falls where grammar, punctuation, and all of that dwells. No matter the country, origin, or style of living, we go through some sort of education, and naturally that includes the skill of language. The majority know the basics, and some go beyond. People who go straight into the work force, if their jobs and professions include a heavy amount of writing, they will learn to improve their skills there. Others go to such educational institutions like collage and universities. From here, I believe that the skill of writing can divert into many categories, from my position, I've learnt some that include the professional industry, yet on the majority is the creative skill, which includes words that weave a story into a neat, little web.

Basically, you can learn the skill, but talent comes naturally with the person.
Yet no matter what, you'll have a little bit of talent, it's just that there could be a limit.
Of course though, this can be brought out with exercises and a good/creative mood.

Going off-topic a little, just like what Dizzy said, I believe creativity is rather shadowed by the more logical side of the world. It is rather sad, and it makes me fear what is to come in the future. I believe we need to encourage more creativity in the world, so that the future writers may have their own creativity pulled out of them at a younger age. Mine was discovered recently in life, before that, I wanted to be a journalist, but not anymore, I have so many ideas that call to me, that I won't allow them to stay silent. So, I believe it would be great to see more younger writers.

Heck, my university is the only one in Australia (I think) with a Creative Writing degree, just because Tim Winton studied here. It reminds of a neat idea I had, here on The Escapist, we have RPs, which encourages creativity. Yes, those guys may have other jobs/professions in mind, yet it is a format that encourages good writing and ideas.

I tell you, the first school or university that has an assignment that allows a group of students to create an RP together, and do well in it. I'll give them a damn shout-out when I become an author.

 

[happyninja42]

I think you can yes. There was a program when I was young called Odyssey of the Mind, and it was about fostering creativity in kids. They did all kinds of competitions to do this, and the one I remember the most was this rapid fire word response game, where they show you a picture, and you and the other members of the team take turns coming up with a witty, creative joke/pun/observation about the picture. The team that got the most responses in the time frame, and also had the most creative responses would win. And we trained for this. At first our team wasn't too good at it, but with practice we learned how to be more creative with our responses.

So yes, I do think you can learn to be creative. Having natural talent helps make this easier sure, but knowing how to express your thoughts in a way that others can appreciate is also a skill.

 

[Hoplon]

I'd have thought so, and I'd expect it to be related to exposure to a wide range of media and experiences. The ability to create at some level exists in everyone, but it can be nurtured/taught or crushed in the same way that other traits and abilities can.

Even that is framework for creativity rather than creativity it's self. But it is certainly how I think you encourage it.

 

[Sir derp sariff]

Creativity is a result of many other things, there is this concept of AI(Artificial Intelligence) that I've wanted to discuss on(and I am not digressing here), while some are born with innate Natural Intelligence the education system teaches what those people concluded as theories to those who can't do it themselves, this gives them a particular set of skills that are applicable on a range of situations(very particular), but it's not natural its information not processing power- they don't make up the solutions based on each tiny factor that the intellectual considered(which they couldn't even see) but rather follows a 'if A then definitely B' pattern, these people I call 'people with AI' and I am digressing here- but they also believe in fairness firmly, i.e being entitled to fair treatment, I remember Zoro from one piece saying(roughly this) "They think if they will complain someone will come and save them, if this is all I can do then it just means this is my limit as a man(then he accepted defeat)"- What I am trying to say is AI ain't got nothing on the real thing, which results from a lot of things-i.e-No fear of being wrong, defining yourself on your own, having high to good amount of intelligence, having a big dream. If you can input those things into a person then they can become creative too I am sure, though we all still have our personal limits- there ain't nothing you can do about it.
(You feel me?)

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

Simply put, creativity is more art than science.

You can help some people discover or connect to their creative side with exercises or examples that you hope can inspire them to get in touch with their creative side, but it's not always a sure-fire thing.

Even so, there are many forms of expressive creativity that it is possible that non-creative individuals might find a medium that they are familiar and comfortable with and express their creativity in that manner.

 

[Denamic]

You can practice it but not teach it directly. You can get help to direct your creativity, to find effective outlets. But like with personal trainers, teachers can teach you how to train and help motivate you; you're the one that actually has to train.

 

[stormtrooper9091]

Yes you can. In fact, you must. So, sorry slackers, you have to make an effort

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

No.

"Here, be creative kids!"

You can encourage it. Something like say, individual project assignments that require completion by the end of the month could encourage creativity(sixth forms in England do this via an Extended Project Qualification, which was pretty good at helping me understand my own writing and the process as a whole), but it can't be taught.

Principally due to the fact that creativity stems from originality. Teaching it would be like ordering a person to "say something original". It just doesn't happen.

 

[maninahat]

I think it is the wrong question. What actually is creativity in real terms, and how exactly do I tell if I am more creative than the guy next door? If I create more things it might imply I'm more creative, but that's not what the word means - creativity implies imagination or innovation or resourcefulness, all of which are very hard to quantify in the first place, let alone work out if you can teach these things.

 

[Ten Foot Bunny]

I believe that everybody is born with infinite creative ability, but far too many people are taught to stifle it in themselves and in others.