Dr. Tomasz Kopec – I am sure everyone has had an ‘aha’ moment. It is when something becomes obvious and we know this is the best way forward or the best solution to a problem. These moments often happen suddenly, when we least expect them, like when driving, walking, showering, or daydreaming, not thinking about anything in particular. They often happen to me just before falling asleep or when I wake up in the morning. You may remember the story of Archimedes who had his ‘eureka’ moment while relaxing in a hot bath. He ran naked across the city to share his solution with the king. You can see a short story about Archimedes here.
On the other hand, many people say that the harder they try the less likely it is they will come up with a new, fresh idea. They might be, for example, in a meeting at work and want to impress others by suggesting something particularly clever, but they just can’t seem to come up with an idea. Stress does not help either, and most people cannot think cleverly when in the middle of an argument with a colleague at work.
What Is Creativity?
According to the Oxford Dictionary, creativity is the ability to use skill and imagination to produce something new or to produce art; the act of doing this. I would suggest simplifying it a bit and say that creativity is when we invent something new by connecting many elements of reality together in one piece. These elements could be shapes, colours, notes, thoughts, words, ideas, needs, feelings, beliefs, etc.
Say, if we connect
✓ a need – ‘to pour a liquid into a hardly accessible container,’
✓ a shape – ‘funnel,’
✓ a material – ‘silicon,’
✓ a colour – ‘green,’ and
✓ a ‘mechanism of folding,’
we can create a cool looking mini collapsible silicone funnel like the one you see below.
This is the essence of a creative idea. It forms by merging a few already existing elements of reality in a new way. They become connected and then together they become something new.
Where & How New Connections Happen
The fact is that the brain shapes the way we perceive reality. You can watch a TED talk below if you need an explanation of this statement.