August 16, 2000

The Science of Creativity

Leonardo's Genius  

Many people yearn to be more creative. This explains the popularity of Michael J. Gelb's book, How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day. How can we learn to think like this great artist and inventor?

In his book, Michael J. Gelb says we can all unlock the genius inside us. His principles of success include curiosity and a commitment to test knowledge through experience. What better role model for such behaviors than Leonardo da Vinci?

Although da Vinci may be best known as the painter of La Gioconda (Mona Lisa), he also contributed a great deal to science. He believed he could learn the secrets of the natural world by observing it closely.

For example, he would pick a question he wanted an answer to, such as, "How do birds fly?" Then, he would record all of his observations and sketches in a journal he carried everywhere. His thoughts about the flight of birds led him to experiment with different flying machines for humans.

Many of da Vinci's ideas, such as helicopters and submarines, were way ahead of his time. Some of them didn't turn into realities until centuries later!

Da Vinci wanted his paintings to reflect the natural world as much as possible. To that end, he studied human anatomy and light and shadow. His studies allowed him to add accuracy and three-dimensionality to his work. Before da Vinci's time (1452-1510), paintings looked more flat and cartoonlike.

  • The Boston Museum of Science has a special online exhibition about da Vinci. Go there to practice looking through da Vinci's eyes.

  • Would you believe that some people think the Mona Lisa is actual a self-portrait of da Vinci in disguise? Decide for yourself.

Mona Lisa

Helicopter

 
Boost Your Creativity  

How can we become more like Leonardo da Vinci? How can we awaken our minds to the world around us and think of fresh approaches to situations we face daily?

One way is to keep creativity journals. We can use these for diary entries, sketches, paintings, doodles, thoughts, inspirational quotes, and writing exercises.

Julia Cameron and Mark Bryan wrote a book called The Artist's Way to help people tap their creativity. The authors suggest writing "morning pages" each morning when you wake up. These are three pages of stream-of-consciousness writing. If writing three pages seems overwhelming, start small, with maybe a half-page to a page of your rants and raves.

These pages are not meant to be edited, so don't labor over grammar or penmanship. They are not meant to be great literature. The process is a way to dump nagging thoughts and feelings—the "baggage" of everyday life—to make room for creativity to emerge.

Stream-of-consciousness writing provides a great way to access your creativity. In her books about the writing process, author Natalie Goldberg suggests picking random topics and doing 10 minutes of stream-of-consciousness writing for each one. Her rule is that you should never lift your pen from the page.

Here are some basic guidelines to this form of writing. Write the first thing that pops into your head, and go from there, without stopping to cross out mistakes or to think about your next sentence. As soon as you think it, write it, as if there were an unbroken flow of energy traveling from your brain to the hand that holds your pen. That flow is called creativity.

 

Games and puzzles are great creativity boosters. See how imaginative you can be with the games below.

Play a word game.

One way of being creative is by seeing ordinary objects with fresh eyes.

Four Tips for Better Creativity

  1. Each month, read a magazine about a subject you are not familiar with.

  2. In his book about Leonardo da Vinci, Gelb says the artist liked to think about things in as many different ways as possible. If your favorite song was a painting, what would it look like? Paint it.

  3. Listening to music may lead to new ideas. Visit a music store and listen to different musical styles to see what works best for you.

  4. Visit an art supply store and buy some materials you've never used before. Experiment with them at home.

 
Creativity Is Good for You  

CloudHave you ever been stumped by a problem that you couldn't solve, no matter how much you tried? Sometimes the best approach is to forget about it for awhile. Our best ideas can come to us in the shower, or in the relaxed state right before sleep, or even in dreams.

Before you go to bed, tell yourself that you are going to wake up with an answer to your problem. Keep some paper beside the bed so that you can write down your dreams and thoughts as soon as you awaken. Your subconscious mind may be able to solve a problem that your conscious mind cannot.

Exercise is another great way of clearing your mind so that creative solutions can flow more freely. Exercise results in increased blood flow to the brain and the release of "feel good" endorphins into the bloodstream, all of which help you feel and think better.

  • Students can watch how blood flow increases during exercise in the Biology Explorer activity, Fitness and the Heart.

Gazing

 


 

Learn More

  • Creative people often think in metaphors (comparisons of objects or events that are essentially unalike). Read about poets who used metaphors in their writing in the Riverdeep Today article, "They Struggled to Be Heard."

 

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