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Title: Creativity : Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ISBN: 0-06-092820-4 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 18 June, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.46 (13 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Demystifying Creativity
Comment: AN INTERESTING, IMPORTANT SUBJECT
When you think about it, creativity is a key driver for personal fulfillment and world events- yet most people's understanding consists merely of stereotypes, assumptions, and clichés. There is a lot to know about creativity: what it is (and how it differs from talent and brilliance), conditions that encourage its emergence, creative people's complex personality traits, and what a creative experience looks and feels like. I would not rate 'Creativity' as high as Csikszentmihalyi's 'Flow'- which is an even more important concept to understand- yet it is certainly an informative, well-written, and recommended book.
BOOK IN A NUTSHELL
Research in psychology has traditionally learned about healthy individuals by focusing on pathological cases; this study examines the other end of the continuum- looking at extraordinary people to find out what might be missing from our lives. Trends in the personal histories and habits are taken from interviews with 91 leading contributors (Noble Prize winners, world renown artists, etc.) who have created or dominated their fields. Mainstream creative people (e.g. most creative person in an office or community) and uncreative people are not really discussed in the book- although the insights gained from the interviews may be applicable. Part 3 was not as strong as the rest of the book: the in-depth illustrations of the creative process were somewhat redundant, and some sections (Ch. 12 & 13) seemed to drift into assumptions of political philosophies.
Rating: 5
Summary: "Creativity" was an important resource for understanding.
Comment: "Creativity" provided an outstanding analysis of how Creativity occurs, and how creative individuals have influenced their respective fields and domains of knowledge and arts through the analysis of over ninety creative individuals of note. This book provides an outline of the process that is useful to any person who is attempting to enhance organizational or personal creativity, and details the components of Creativity (which can influence the overall culture) and creativity (for an individual.) I read my copy twice, and found certain topics so useful, I violated my own rule of never marking in a book. This book is now heavily annotated and underlined, and has been shared with friends. Following is a very brief summary.
The components of creativity include domains, fields, and persons. A domain is defined as, "a set of symbolic rules and procedures," such as mathematics. A field "includes all the individuals who act as gatekeepers to the domain." This can be summarized as, "Creativity occurs when a person, using the symbols of a given domain such as music, engineering, business, or mathematics, has a new idea or sees a new pattern, and when this novelty is selected by the appropriate field for inclusion into the relevant domain."
The book presents an analysis of the impact of creativity by taking a systems approach with the following major components: Creative individuals, through understanding of their field, hard work, and inspiration can produce novel work. This work may or may not impact the overall field and domain, depending upon a variety of interrelated factors. For instance, a talented but relatively unknown painter in a rural area may have less chance of recognition by the field than the same painter living in Manhattan, in proximity to galleries and noted critics. Recognition and acceptance by the field is necessary for contribution to the field and domain. (such as physics, or art).
The book has an excellent, though smaller, section on enhancing personal creativity. To those who seek to be more creative, a series of suggestions on how to implement these suggestions into everyday life is presented, with the note; "Even though personal creativity may not lead to fame and fortune, it can do something that from the individual's point of view is even more important: make day-to-day experiences more vivid, more enjoyable, more rewarding. When we live creatively, boredom is banished and every moment holds the promise of a fresh discovery."
The exercise of these elements of personal creativity can be delightful. Some of them are:
"Try to surprise at least one person every day."
"Try to be surprised by something every day."
"When something strikes a spark of interest, follow it."
"If you do anything well, it becomes enjoyable."
For the rest, you will just have to buy the book.
Rating: 5
Summary: Demystifies Creativity, Humans beware...
Comment: Dostoevsky said, man needs "Mystery, Miracle, and Authority." This book demystifies the concept of creativity.
Humans want to put labels on people who put out the best ideas, but, what these people do differently than other people can mostly be attributed to habit.
Based off of the universally accepted Hierarchy of Needs by Maslow the author says in order to get to the highest level (self-actualization) where real creativity takes place it is important to not have your limited attention-span concerned with other things.
Here's a brief but effective example:
You're looking for your keys. You're looking for your keys anywhere you can POSSIBLY imagine. Underneath the cushions, in your jean pockets, in drawers, EVERYWHERE, you CAN'T find them and all you can think about is finding them. Bingo. The author argues that this type of psychic thievery is what prevents us from being creative. Since we need to take care of a baser need, we have no time to find ways to solve more enhanced problems.
This book, in the author's opinion, should be taken as a sequal to the "cult" hit FLOW. Unforunately FLOW I think became too much of a hit to be taken as seriously as it should have been. Although a chapter is devoted to FLOW and the concepts, it is necessary to know the nature of work before advancing into a scheduled routine. I recommend reading FLOW before tackling this work.
I must emphasize just how amazing Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is. He will truly be regarded as one of the greatest minds of this time and most certainly the greatest psychologist of the time. His profound knowledge in so many areas is just incredible as well as backing up everything he says with examples AND action.
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Title: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ISBN: 0060920432 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 13 March, 1991 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement With Everyday Life (Masterminds Series) by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ISBN: 0465024114 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: April, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Evolving Self by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ISBN: 0060921927 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 03 August, 1994 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ISBN: 0670031968 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 14 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Handbook of Creativity by Robert J. Sternberg ISBN: 0521576040 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 28 October, 1998 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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