Creative Thinking

Cre•a•tive adj. 1. Having the ability or

power to create. 2. Creating: productive.

3. Characterized by originality

and expressiveness; imaginative.

(According to The American Heritage Dictionary)

Did you know that the study of creativity is a relatively recent one?

In 1913 a French mathematician called Poincare, while working on a new mathematical theory described creative thinking like this:

-Identifying the problem

-the research into it

-the period of uncertainty and maturation

-the flash of insight

-the rationalization

This idea was refined by a physiologist called Wallas in 1926 and he described the stages like this:

-preparation

-incubation

-illumination

-verification

Today Michael Ray a professor at Stanford believes the five qualities of creating are:

-intuition

-will

-joy

-strength

-compassion

However you want to describe it, we are all creative, we just need to tap into it and let it be a way of life.

How would you describe creativity?