002 Articles: Wandering in Search of Creativity
002 Articles: Wandering in Search of Creativity
http://www.cre8ng.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/20-wandering-in-search-of-creativity1.doc
COMPLETE TEXT
Wandering the World in Search of Creativity
For 73 days the summer of 2001 I wandered completely around the world in search of creative thinking, creativity and creative people, while challenging myself to be creative every day. What started out as simply a dream trip to fulfill a fantasy of a life-time:
travel around the world like
Philleas T. Boggs did in Around the World in Eighty Days;
became partially a research project.
My initial attempts at preparing this article for the 2002 edition of Moe Stein's Creativity’s Global Correspondents were more like Alan’s attempts at out writing Bill Bryson and Rick Steve, both excellent travel authors or Charles Kuralt and Peter Jenkins, both excellent authors of the human experience based on their travels throughout the world.
To read that I invite you to visit my wanderings journal website:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alan2001.
The following is based on learnings and relearnings based on my 73 days of wanderings that summer.
S.P.R.E.A.D.ng Creative Thinking
Since 1976 I have focused much to most of my efforts (personally and professionally) on the application and development of creativity: mine and others. Over the 26 years, professionally, I have slowly refined my focus to S.P.R.E.A.D.ng™ creative thinking throughout workplaces. S.P.R.E.A.D.ng ™ is the acronym I use to demonstrate to people what I believe needs to be done within workplaces to enhance, expand and enrich the creative thinking of all employees (SUPPORT, PROMOTE, RECOGNIZE, ENCOURAGE, APPLY and DEVELOP).
Overall Approach to My Wanderings
During my 73 days traveling around the world the summer of 2001, through New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, Dubai, Turkey, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, England and France; I sought to find examples of creativity everywhere I went and to interview people about their own creativity and creativity in general in their country.
Structure of My Post Review of My Wanderings
As a skeleton structure for this article I have chosen to use two lists of traits of creative people.
The first list comes from the TTCT™ (Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) and
the second comes from an on-going project I have been working on since I was a doctoral student studying with Paul Torrance in 1980.
The 20 traits from the TTCT™ represent 20 traits that are examined by the TTCT™ tests based on over 40 years of E. Paul Torrance's scientific study with subjects around the world.
The 32 traits from my, "Are You a Crayon Breaker?" exercise, come from a survey study I did of articles on the traits of creative people written from 1950 to 1980. I have used the survey as part of over 2200 professional speeches and workshops since 1981 to suggest the existence of creative thinking potential in all people and also to indicate different styles of creative thinking.
The Initial Process
During my trip I often had people I met and interviewed complete the 32 traits survey to share which they believed fit them. While we talked together I introduced them to the work and ideas of E. Paul Torrance and the 20 traits from the TTCT ™. In addition as a post trip survey I have reviewed my daily journal notes using both the list of 20 from the TTCT™ and my 32 "Crayon Breaker" exercise traits for potential understandings of what I experienced and discovered.
Yesterday I challenged you to focus on FLUENCY: the generation of many ideas
Today I am challenging you to focus on FLEXIBILITY: the generation of many different types of ideas
I have used that Creative Thinking Trait as a Creative Idea Generation Tool now for over 40 years trying to re-spark creative thinking in people.
Expanding your conscious use of FLEXIBILITY can be practiced in many ways
One is to make a list of 26 professions or occupations
Then ask yourself how might each of the professions approach solving your chosen problem.
Accountant
Baker
Chemist
Dentist
Economist
Frankfurter manufacturer
Geographer
Harvester
...
Zookeeper
Have fun choosing your 26 professions and occupations.
I would truly enjoy seeing some of your ideas
Please share them in the comments section
or send them to me at alan@cre8ng.com
Alan
http://www.cre8ng.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/20-wandering-in-search-of-creativity1.doc
COMPLETE TEXT
Wandering the World in Search of Creativity
For 73 days the summer of 2001 I wandered completely around the world in search of creative thinking, creativity and creative people, while challenging myself to be creative every day. What started out as simply a dream trip to fulfill a fantasy of a life-time:
travel around the world like
Philleas T. Boggs did in Around the World in Eighty Days;
became partially a research project.
My initial attempts at preparing this article for the 2002 edition of Moe Stein's Creativity’s Global Correspondents were more like Alan’s attempts at out writing Bill Bryson and Rick Steve, both excellent travel authors or Charles Kuralt and Peter Jenkins, both excellent authors of the human experience based on their travels throughout the world.
To read that I invite you to visit my wanderings journal website:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alan2001.
The following is based on learnings and relearnings based on my 73 days of wanderings that summer.
S.P.R.E.A.D.ng Creative Thinking
Since 1976 I have focused much to most of my efforts (personally and professionally) on the application and development of creativity: mine and others. Over the 26 years, professionally, I have slowly refined my focus to S.P.R.E.A.D.ng™ creative thinking throughout workplaces. S.P.R.E.A.D.ng ™ is the acronym I use to demonstrate to people what I believe needs to be done within workplaces to enhance, expand and enrich the creative thinking of all employees (SUPPORT, PROMOTE, RECOGNIZE, ENCOURAGE, APPLY and DEVELOP).
Overall Approach to My Wanderings
During my 73 days traveling around the world the summer of 2001, through New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, Dubai, Turkey, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, England and France; I sought to find examples of creativity everywhere I went and to interview people about their own creativity and creativity in general in their country.
Structure of My Post Review of My Wanderings
As a skeleton structure for this article I have chosen to use two lists of traits of creative people.
The first list comes from the TTCT™ (Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) and
the second comes from an on-going project I have been working on since I was a doctoral student studying with Paul Torrance in 1980.
The 20 traits from the TTCT™ represent 20 traits that are examined by the TTCT™ tests based on over 40 years of E. Paul Torrance's scientific study with subjects around the world.
The 32 traits from my, "Are You a Crayon Breaker?" exercise, come from a survey study I did of articles on the traits of creative people written from 1950 to 1980. I have used the survey as part of over 2200 professional speeches and workshops since 1981 to suggest the existence of creative thinking potential in all people and also to indicate different styles of creative thinking.
The Initial Process
During my trip I often had people I met and interviewed complete the 32 traits survey to share which they believed fit them. While we talked together I introduced them to the work and ideas of E. Paul Torrance and the 20 traits from the TTCT ™. In addition as a post trip survey I have reviewed my daily journal notes using both the list of 20 from the TTCT™ and my 32 "Crayon Breaker" exercise traits for potential understandings of what I experienced and discovered.
Yesterday I challenged you to focus on FLUENCY: the generation of many ideas
Today I am challenging you to focus on FLEXIBILITY: the generation of many different types of ideas
I have used that Creative Thinking Trait as a Creative Idea Generation Tool now for over 40 years trying to re-spark creative thinking in people.
Expanding your conscious use of FLEXIBILITY can be practiced in many ways
One is to make a list of 26 professions or occupations
Then ask yourself how might each of the professions approach solving your chosen problem.
Accountant
Baker
Chemist
Dentist
Economist
Frankfurter manufacturer
Geographer
Harvester
...
Zookeeper
Have fun choosing your 26 professions and occupations.
I would truly enjoy seeing some of your ideas
Please share them in the comments section
or send them to me at alan@cre8ng.com
Alan
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