Navigating the age of creativity and design
What connects a renowned polymath like Leonardo Da Vinci, Van Gogh’s ‘The starry night’ and virtual reality headsets? They are the peak examples of innovators and flagbearers of creative ideas. Da Vinci was known for his flair of connecting the unconnected, Van Gogh’s paintings depict his unique yet believable perspective of worldly objects and virtual reality has only just begun our fascinating journey into cyberspace.
Creativity is a crucial operator of human progress and creative ideas act as portals into the world. It is a psychological and cognitive process that spans across all breakthroughs — among artists, designers, inventors, scientists and innovators. A powerful definition of creativity, succinctly put forward by Dr. Andrew Huberman in his podcast is ‘when novel combinations of things reveal something fundamental about the world that delights or surprises us’.
Though the term ‘creativity’ has been addressed from a psychological and philosophical perspective, only recent advances have demonstrated neurobiological and potential genetic candidates underlying creativity.
- Chaotic thinking is more connected than it may seem.
In order to create, we usually employ two types of thinking — divergent and convergent. While divergent thinking employs spinning a plausible connection between vaguely related objects, convergent thinking involves persistent and focused limitations to these objects’ relationship. A divergent thought explores and wanders through ideas in a sea of memories or personal experiences with suppressed judgement, while a convergent thought goes through a specific logical order in its flow. A creative individual unconsciously treads through both processes— by being realistic, yet imaginative at the same time.
2. The dopaminergic system and creativity.
Psychologist Colin DeYoung has termed dopamine as the ‘neuromodulator of exploration’, rightly so. Dopamine, being one of the most widely studied neurotransmitters, has been associated with novelty seeking, achievement striving, motivation, creativity and cognition. Dopamine in the nigrostriatal pathway contributes to bodily movements and is engaged when you’re involved in divergent thinking. The mesocortical pathway contributes to motivation, emotions and feelings of reward and is activated during convergent thinking.
3. The state of ‘flow’ enhances productivity.
From a cognitive point of view, creativity is a form of problem solving. This drives an individual into a hyperfocussed state of mind, or being ‘in the zone’ to tackle a problem at hand, mostly driven by intrinsic motivation. Driven by a positive mood, studies have shown an increase in promotion focus which inclines towards hope, aspiration and accomplishment, all contributing to enhanced creativity and productivity. This is also accompanied by one’s openness to new experiences, inspirational stimuli and learning, creating a confluent environment for new ideas.
So the next time you are caught in an imaginative sea of thoughts, allow yourself to wander and write down your ideas. Be inspired from that trip to the art museum, a walk through a field of tulips, that half marathon on your bucket list or your dog’s endless affection for you. Apart from being mindful, it is your chaotic thinking, enhanced dopamine and flow process that makes you unique in this age of creativity.
