Creativity and Contradiction
Cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman explores creativity and contradiction in this recent article in huffingtonpost.com. “Do I contradict myself? / Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)” — Walt Whitman In the CNN.com article “The confusing legacy of Michael Jackson,” Todd Leopold discusses the perplexing combination of seemingly contradictory traits displayed by […]
Musical Improvisation, Creativity and the Brain
In this fascinating talk at TED, neuroscientist Dr. Charles Limb explores the relationship between creativity, improvisation and brain function, based on examining jazz and hip-hop musicians as they create music while undergoing an fMRI scan.
Is peak performance just a big act?
I’ve spent a good deal of my career as director of films, both commercial and documentary, and my clients have often remarked on the quality of the performances I get, whether it’s from professional actors or just regular folks. Some have asked whether I use any particular method to get people to perform at their best. I had never really […]
The Power of Practice
In his bestselling book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell repeatedly mentions the “10,000-Hour Rule,” claiming that the key to success in any field is, to a large extent a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours. Whether the correct amount is 10,000 hours or 20,000 or 5,000, the fact remains that […]
Creativity means taking out the garbage
One of the most misunderstood elements of creativity is the importance of editing. Sure, creativity is about generating ideas. But at the end of the day it’s just as much about culling though those ideas and separating what’s good from what’s not. (Composer Chris McHale discussed eloquently in a brief video posted here earlier this year.) In […]
Are you a visionary?
Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has been called a “visionary.” In this clip from Bloggingheads.tv, Robert Wright and David Kirkpatrick argue over what it actually means to be a visionary. Of particular interest is the assertion that although many may share an idea, it is only he or she who has the confidence and pluck to […]
