Use Your Hands!

Gever Tully and The Tinkering School first came across my radar thanks to his TED Talk: 5 dangerous things you should let your kids do. He has now come into view a second time thanks to an article in today’s NY Times.

Digital Designers Rediscover Their Hands caught my eye partially due to the title, but mostly because of this opening line:

Gever Tulley has only one qualification for training software designers how to become more creative.

Of course I had to read the rest of the article!

It’s all about the hands-on experience – both how it gets people to think outside of their [in this case digital] experience, and how the interaction with materials provides an enjoyable and much needed tactile engagement with the physical world.

Trying something different – getting your brain thinking along other tangents – helps promote conditions for creative thought. And hands-on experience helps inform the learning process. Ken Robinson, James Zull and John Dewey would all be pleased.

By the way, the CAIS Brain Institute is this Tuesday and Wednesday. You can read more about it in my previous post, and of course, I’ll be writing about it later in the week.

Off the Grid redux

We are heading north to Boothbay Harbor, Maine, for a week off the grid. For my family that means no computers, which is quite unusual for us!

I leave you with Ben Zander making the closing talk at Davos 2008. He makes a few comments that relate to my previous post on choices and decisions…in particular listen for:

If you make a mistake – How Fascinating!

and

his comment on Radiating Possibility.

Let Your Creativity Soar

This post’s title comes directly from the June/July Scientific American Mind print article of the same name. (The online version is named How to Unleash Your Creativity.) Mariette DiChristina interviews three artists to spearhead a discussion of how they get their creativity soaring. The artists are Julia Cameron, poet, playwright and filmmaker; Robert Epstein, author and visiting scholar; and John Houtz, psychologist, professor and author.

As stated by others, including Sir Ken Robinson, the consensus among these folks is that “creativity is shut down in most people by early socialization.” And like Robinson, they believe that risk taking and failure are important components of creativity. Indeed, “the creative individual thinks of failure as a new opportunity.”

While Cameron, Epstein, and Houtz do not all use the same vocabulary, they often describe similar activities for stimulating their creativity, which are…

Hold that thought! Write it down, record it, do whatever is needed so you don’t forget it. Ideas come to you during sleep? No problem, just keep a pad and pen nearby. Not enough, or too many ideas in your head? Allow whatever you are thinking to topple out, unedited. Julia Cameron writes her “morning pages” on a daily basis – “three pages of longhand writing about anything.” She notes that as she writes those pages, “new ideas began to walk in.”

Try something different! At least once a week, break your routine, feed your head visuals, sounds, and text that are not your standard fare. Give your brain ideas to ponder. Cameron teaches “the artist ‘date’ or ‘outing’ [which] is to take an adventure once a week.” According to Robert Epstein, “the more diverse your knowledge, the more interesting the interconnections – so you can boost your creativity simply by learning interesting new things.”

Make yourself think! Look for problems to solve, but not just any problems. Rather, challenge yourself to solve more complex or unusual problems. John Houtz reminds us that people “have to work at it; creativity isn’t necessarily going to come naturally.”

Get out and about! Epstein says “the more interesting and diverse the things and the people around you, the more interesting your own ideas become.” Cameron adds that simply taking a “walk out the door for 20 minutes or so” will have an impact on your thinking. “When people walk, they often begin to integrate the insights and intuitions that they have had through morning pages and outings.”

Ah yes, this has happened to me multiple times when I take walks by myself. My thoughts flow freely and it is not unusual, if there is an issue I am dealing with, for me to have a conversation out loud with myself. Indeed, this is an easy way to get “off the grid”.

Houtz talks about how our personalities can impact the manner in which we stimulate our creativity. Someone who is more introspective and less outgoing might prefer quiet reflection; a more extroverted person may benefit from the hubbub of other people.

These suggestions read like a “how to” manual for fostering creativity but before you say they are silly, give them a try and then let me know what you think.

Images: pad and bicycle on beach from iStockPhoto; squiggles and stonewalls done in SketchUp by Fred Bartels

[p.s. August 9, 2008 – I stumbled upon this related Encefalus post, How to Bolster your Creativity. The author hasn't "written in english for a loooooong time", which explains any quirks in the prose.]

Design and Innovation with Arnold Wasserman

Arnold Wasserman is the man behind The Idea Factory. I discovered him thanks to a recent interview by Joan Badger and Ben Hazzard for their SMARTBoard Lessons Podcast.

Wasserman echoes Sir Ken Robinson in saying that we all come hard wired to be creative, and we then teach that feature right out of our children as they progress through school.

In discussing his company’s work with Singapore’s education system, Wasserman asks how we go about reintroducing our two hemispheres to one another, and concludes that we need to figure out how to use the ideas of K-6 education in the upper grades. He says:

“The brain knows how to be creative and the mind gets in its way.”

In other words, as we get older (and more “educated”) the mind encounters enough information that it begins to put a harness on the brain, stifling it from using ideas that do not mesh with the reality to which the mind has been exposed.

Wasserman references Google’s 80/20 rule as a way to nurture innovation. The rule states that employees can spend twenty percent of their time focused on their own ideas. This allows “the mind to get out of the way of the brain.”

“The Learning Journey” is a method that his company uses to “get the mind out of the way of the brain” by shakings things up. He suggests that to innovate it helps to see how innovation is working in other fields in order to understand how innovation works, in general, as opposed to within a specific field.

Wasserman’s tips to discover the principles of innovation:
First – see how it is done in other fields
Then – try to solve a problem in yet another field, completely different from your own (the proverbial “sandbox”)
Now – translate this to your field

The main reason for getting out of your comfort zone and exploring a completely different field, where you then have to solve a problem, is that “expertise is the killer of innovation.” The more you know about your own field, the more difficult it is to innovate. What is required is to “think back into the company from the minds of those outside it.”

This last bit reminds me of teaching. It is said that the best way to learn something is to have to teach it, and I agree with this concept. However, sometimes if you know a thing too well, it becomes very difficult to think back into the learning from the mind of someone who is struggling to learn that very thing. Yet more food for thought for educators on summer break.

Creating Off the Grid

Garr Reynolds writes about “going analog” during the beginning process of creating. In his June 17th post, Creativity, nature, & getting off the grid, he even shares a one-minute video of his favorite “off the grid” location, which is on the coast of Oregon.

I’ve been thinking about that for the past few days as I’ve kayaked on Long Island Sound, just out of Mamaroneck Harbor.

Otter Creek, behind our house, is a tidal creek that serpentines out to Mamaroneck Harbor:

Some of the many types of birds and water fowl that hang out on the rocks:

Long Island Sound, facing Long Island – Larchmont, New Rochelle, and eventually NYC to the right; Rye and Greenwich to the left:

Greeted by an egret upon returning to Otter Creek (yes, it’s said there used to be otters swimming in this creek):

There’s no doubt that my most creative thinking happens when I am not thinking about the topic in question. While that could be during any number of activities, it typically seems to be during recreational moments, such as kayaking or lap swimming or taking long walks. Interestingly, when I’m fully engaged in yoga, the breathing has me so focused that there is no room in my brain for any other thoughts to enter. The same is true for when I’m drawing or sketching; I am so absorbed in the process that my brain silences all other thoughts.

The June/July 2008 issue of Scientific American Mind includes a panel interview with three people who focus on creativity: John Houtz, psychologist and professor; Julia Cameron, poet, playwright and filmmaker; and Robert Epstein, former editor of Psychology Today and currently a visiting scholar. How to Unleash Your Creativity is an interesting discussion between the three of them and interviewer Mariette DiChristina, executive editor of Scientific American and Scientific American Mind.

Each of these individuals has similar approaches to stimulating their creativity, and all of them seem to get off the grid, meaning they walk away from whatever it is they are thinking about. They “take breaks and learn to use them strategically; use daydreams as sources of new ideas.”

I spend a lot of time using my computer, not only related to school but also writing and blogging, and communicating with friends and family via email, iChat or web pages. In this past year much has been written in the press about email and related technology information overload; it’s even become a big topic on the tech listservs I read.

The solution – Get Off the Grid. It’s not quite as easy as it sounds, but for those who manage to do it, I’m willing to bet all sorts of interesting ideas will pop into your head.

Advanced Drawing Class

Brian Bomeisler’s two day intensive Advanced Drawing Class focused on light, shadow, crosshatching, and sighting. I had my first experience drawing some of the classics of drawing – a still life of fruit, a bottle and flowers; and a nude. We began on a rainy Friday.

Friday morning, just getting started by warming up with a Vanishing Point.

A styrofoam ball to expose shadows and light.

Perspective, shadows and light with a cone, cube and ball – I was pleased with the shadows and relationship of the cube and ball. I headed home after a full day of drawing, pleased that for not having drawn in many months, as with the act of bicycle riding so much had remained with me.

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This was our first drawing on a sunny, cool Saturday morning, and I was a bit too focused on what I was drawing, so the end result is a bit forced…a bit too left brain! I headed to lunch with this on my mind, and determined to relax a bit for our afternoon drawing, which was made all the more possible by an enjoyable lunch with Dianne, another student in the class. We talked about our careers, our children, and our feelings about the class, having both taken prior workshops with Brian.

I am still amazed that I drew this picture. I didn’t think about the body form; only about defining the negative space that surrounded the body. Am tickled with the result!

Drawing on the Right

Yeehah! My grant proposal to attend this Friday’s and Saturday’s Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain workshop has been funded by my school. This will be my third DRSB workshop, having attended the Five Day Intensive Drawing Class back in August 2005, and the one day Sketching Class in February 2007. This time I’m taking the Two Day Intensive Advanced Drawing Class.

Enough about the class titles! It’s all about the brain and the hand and the eye, about getting in the flow and letting yourself go. It’s about initially trying something different and then trying to get better at it. It’s about getting out of your comfort zone. It’s about tickling the brain and getting other neuron’s firing. It’s about stimulating creativity. It’s about having fun doing something different.

Can you tell I’m excited!

Imagination & Creativity: Sir Ken Robinson

I recently listened to Ken Robinson interviewed by the IMNO (International Mentoring Network Organization). In addition to the audio interview, the site contains a list of the questions that were asked of Sir Ken. Of particular interest to me are the portions of the conversation dealing with imagination.

Sir Ken believes that imagination is the foundation of creativity; it is bringing to mind things that are not in front of you and that are not currently present. Imagination is the “process of having in your consciousness conceptions of things that aren’t present.” Based upon memories, if you can summon up the past, you are then able to conjure up the future.

If that is imagination, then what is creativity? Creativity is “applied imagination” and therefore a practical process. Creativity is “doing something with materials in a medium.” Robinson goes on to note that is it helpful and important to love both working with the tools of the medium and the medium itself.

And then, of course, there are the crucial questions to ask oneself:

• How am I creative?
• How am I intelligent?
• In what ways does my creativity show itself?

“Creativity is nourished by keeping your imagination alive (stimulated).”

Sir Ken goes on to state the importance to him of humor; learning, which consists of speaking and meeting with people; and reflection, which he does via writing. He also spoke a bit about communication and speaking skills:

• Relate to individuals even though the room may be composed of a large group. Connect with individuals; be yourself and be natural, relaxed, and conversational.
• Know your material but don’t over rehearse. You can have a set of bullet points just for yourself, as a reminder, but it is not necessary (nor is it desirable) to display them on a screen for all to see. Much better is to improvise while you talk; it is much like playing jazz, and will sound more natural. Tell stories that are relevant to your points and your audience. Aim to “engage at the personal level.”

As of the interview, which was in the middle of 2007, Robinson said he was working on a new book, The Element, which will be about how folks “achieve their best when in their element.” I eagerly await the book and the launching of his new site Sir Ken Robinson. Meanwhile, you can read more about Sir Ken at Principal Voices, including this White Paper: Creativity in the Classroom, Innovation in the Workplace.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

I have referenced Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain multiple times in past posts, and it is also noted in the Links section at the right. Thus, you may understand what prompted me to send the following email to Faculty and Staff at my school. As folks respond to my email, I will copy and paste their comments to the Comments at the end of this post, withholding names to keep the authors anonymous. Feel free to view the results of my participation in the workshop.

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Hi,

In the summer of 2005 RCDS financed, through an auxiliary grant, my participation in a five day drawing workshop, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Traveling to Soho everyday for a week, I spent hours under the expert guidance of Brian Bomeisler, immersed in learning to redraw.

At the time, I made the case that taking such a workshop would facilitate creative thinking, which would benefit me in my role as a teacher and someone charged with helping folks to make use of technology. I also believe that participating in professional development outside of one’s area of expertise is a phenomenal way to foster personal growth.

The act of drawing is also useful in helping with recall. Robert Greenleaf (our opening speaker this past August), shares research (pg 22 of the 2005 edition of Brain Based Teaching: Making Connections for Long–Term Memory & Recall) showing that when learners create illustrations they improve their recall by up to four times more than without the use of illustrations. 

Now an article in the Business section of Sunday’s New York Times, Let Computers Compute. It’s the Age of the Right Brain., by Janet Rae-Dupree,  describes how the art of drawing, and the art of being more creative and more right brain oriented, is taking center stage at a number of companies. Those of you who have read Dan Pink’s A Whole New Mind know that this is an approach he considers crucial to succeeding in the post–Information Age.

It should come as no surprise to you that I wish everyone of us could participate in a Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain workshop. In fact, I’d love to see us have Brian come to RCDS for our opening meetings in August and guide us through the art of learning to redraw and discovering “an entirely new way to see.” I think our creative sides would feel nourished, and that, in turn, would nourish our teaching and mentoring, which in turn would nourish our students. 

Any takers?

Cheers,
Laurie

 

Imagination: Ramachandran

Phantoms in the Brain is an engaging tale of individuals who have odd and curious brain quirks, often resulting from a malfunction in their brain such as a stroke, which display in sometimes unbelievable manifestations.

Ramachandran begins with an overview of the brain’s physiology, coupled with sharing how he approaches study of the brain. He likens the work to that of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson in the pursuit of solving mysteries. As a youngster, Ramachandran was intrigued by science, concocting unusual experiments with simple tools, and with “being drawn to the exception rather than to the rule in every science” he studied. He believes that “the odd behavior of these patients can help us solve the mystery of how various parts of the brain create a useful representation of the external world and generate the illusion of a “self” that endures in space and time.”

Once explained, the experiments that Ramachandran designed sounded deceptively simple and logical. What impressed me was his imaginative insight in concocting them in the first place.

Chapter Five describes patients who have discrepancies between what they visually see, and what they believe they see. Damage to some portion of the visual cortex can result in hallucinations, and depending upon the type of damage, the hallucinations can impact specific portions of the visual field, such as the lower half or the left half. As an example, there is the story of one patient who sustained damage to his eyes and optic nerves as the result of an auto accident. Greatly, though not wholly, recovered, he had visual hallucinations in just “the lower half of his field of vision, where he was completely blind. That is, he would only see imaginary objects below a center line extending form his nose outward.”

Ramachandran goes on to describe how the patient discerns between what is real and what is an hallucination. At one point, the patient says he sees a monkey sitting on Ramachandran’s lap. The patient notes that while “it looks extremely vivid and real”, “it’s unlikely there would be a professor here with a monkey sitting in his lap so I think there probably isn’t one.” The patient goes on to state that the images “often look too good to be true. The colors are vibrant, extraordinarily vivid, and the images actually look more real that real objects, if you see what I mean.” The hallucinations tend to fade fairly soon after being “seen”, and while they usually blend in with the rest of what is actually being seen, the patient knows that they are part of his visual imagination. He enjoys the surprise of what he conjures up, and is more concerned about his partial blindness.

By the end of this chapter, which has a number of other interesting and curious vision tales, Ramachandran hypothesizes that “all these bizarre visual hallucinations are simply an exaggerated version of the processes that occur in your brain and mine every time we let our imagination run free. Somewhere in the confused welter of interconnecting forward and backward pathways is the interface between vision and imagination. … what we call perception is really the end result of a dynamic interplay between sensory signals and high-level stored information about visual images from the past.”

What starts to emerge is an explanation of imagination as a combination of that which we have visually seen, processed and stored in memory, coupled with crafting something new based upon those conceptions. Interesting questions arise…

• If we had no prior knowledge, would we be able to imagine?
• Do we consciously conjure our imagination, or is it a subconscious process, or a little of both depending upon the situation?
• When we are feeling stymied and need a nudge to get our imagination going, how do we do that under our own power?
• When we totally zone out (like I do when getting in the groove of swimming laps), how is it that thoughts can just “pop” into my head?