In Creativity No. 2 Wins Again

The creative process fascinates me.
Improving something.
Creating a new concept.
Solving a problem.
Finding a solution.
For me that is a special “spice” in my life.

I guess it might be the challenge of coming up with an idea. Or, perhaps, it’s being a part of a team working together to do the same that is so rewarding.

Whatever.

Stanford University researchers have come up with some data that supports the idea that your “second” best idea might be your most creative.

“Fascinating,” as Spock says.

I’ve always been partial to number two. Here’s the story….

Why your best idea may be your second favorite, Dylan Walsh, Stanford University, medicalexpress.com, 13 Dec 2019.

“A realistic first idea might not be as creative as an abstract second one, new research shows.”
Michelangelo reportedly said the job of every sculptor is to discover the statue inside the stone, then work around it. Liberate the form.

But for those of us who lack such exacting creative vision, how do we know the right chisel from the wrong, the good idea from the bad? "Evaluating creativity is difficult," says Justin M. Berg, an assistant professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business who studies creativity and innovation. "A lot of research suggests that people are not very good at it, that a number of biases and challenges get in the way."

In a research paper that was recently published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Berg investigated a relatively understudied part of the creative process: the very early stage, when rough ideas are first generated. This, he noted, is when people are brainstorming in their own heads or sketching in secret; many of these ideas are never shared. But if you work in a job that involves creativity, these earliest choices about which initial idea ought to be pursued can greatly impact your creativity. Investing your time in the right idea can lead to a breakthrough.

So how good are people at knowing if an initial idea is worthy of time and energy? Not very good, it turns out, but also not terrible, which opens a path to improvement.

Your Gut is Partially Right

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Spock - Fascinating!