The Secret to Creativity,Intelligence Scientific Thinking英文文字文档

TheSecrettoCreativity,Intelligence&ScientificThinking|Buffer

Whenwesharedthisimageawhileback,itgotmethinking.TheTweetresultedinover1,000retweets,whichseemslikeanindicationthatitresonatedwithalotofpeople.There’sakeydifferencebetweenknowledgeandexperienceandit’sbestdescribedlikethis:

Theoriginalis,whocameupwithsuchabrilliantwaytoexpressaconceptthat’softennotthateasytograsp.

Theimagemakesaclearpoint—thatknowledgealoneisnotuseful.Whetheryouusetheterms“knowledge〞and“experience〞toexplainthedifferenceornot,theconceptitselfissound.

Lotsofgreatwriters,artistsandscientistsandbitsofknowledgefromtheworldaroundus,andmakingconnectionsbetweenthosedotstofuelcreativethinkingandnewideas.

Thisisareallyfun,inspiringtopictoreadabout,soIcollectedsomequotesandadvicefromabouttheimportanceofmakingconnectionsinyourbrain.I’veaddedemphasistotheimportantparts,butifyouhavetimeI’drecommendreadingthewholepostandevendiggingintothesourcesI’velinkedto.

Tostartwiththough,Iwanttolookatsomeresearchthatshowsintelligenceiscloselylinkedwiththephysicalconnectionsinourbrains.

Intelligenceandconnections:whyyourbrainneedstocommunicatewellwithitselfshowedthatintelligenceissomethingfoundallacrossthebrain,ratherthaninonespecificregion:

Theresearchersfoundthat,ratherthanresidinginasinglestructure,generalintelligenceisdeterminedbyanetworkofregionsacrossbothsidesofthebrain.Oneoftheresearchersexplainedthatthestudyshowed:

“Severalbrainregions,andtheconnectionsbetweenthem,werewhatwasmostimportanttogeneralintelligence,〞explainsGläscher.Thestudyalsosupportedanexistingtheoryaboutintelligencethatsaysgeneralintelligenceisbasedonthebrain’sabilitytopulltogetherandintegratevariouskindsofprocessing,suchasworkingmemory.

AtWashingtonUniversity,foundthatconnectivitywithaparticularareaoftheprefrontalcortexhasacorrelationwithaperson’sgeneralintelligence.

Thisstudyshowedthatintelligencereliedpartlyonhighfunctioningbrainareas,andpartlyontheirabilitytocommunicatewithotherareasinthebrain.

Asidefromphysicalconnectivityinthebrain,beingabletomakeconnectionsbetweencanhelpustothinkmorecreativelyandproducehigherqualitywork.

Connectionsfuelcreativity:nothingisoriginalSteveJobsisanobviouspersontoreferencewheneveryou’re,soIwasn’tsurprisedtofindthathehasspokenaboutmakingconnectionsbefore.Thisgreatquoteisfromin1996:

Creativityisjustconnectingthings.Whenyouaskcreativepeoplehowtheydidsomething,theyfeelalittleguiltybecausetheydidn’treallydoit,theyjustsawsomething.Jobswentontoexplainthatexperience(aswesawintheimageatthetopofthispost)isthesecretto:

That’sbecausetheywereabletoconnectexperiencesthey’vehadandsynthesizenewthings.Andthereasontheywereabletodothatwasthatthey’vehadmoreexperiencesortheyhavethoughtmoreabouttheirexperiencesthanotherpeople.MariaPopovaisarguablyoneofthebestexamples(and)ofwhatshecalls“.〞Thatis,connectingthingstocreatenewideas:

…inorderforustotrulycreateandcontributetotheworld,wehavetobeabletoconnectcountlessdots,tocross-pollinateideasfromawealthofdisciplines,tocombineandrecombinethesepiecesandbuildnewcastles.She’sgivenatalkonthisbefore,andmadesomegreatpoints.Beingabletoisoftenoneofofthemostimportantelements.Ireallylikedhowshepointedoutthewayouregosaffectourwillingnesstobuildonwhatothershavedonebefore:

…somethingweallunderstandonadeepintuitivelevel,butourcreativeegossortofdon’treallywanttoaccept:Andthatistheideathatcreativityiscombinatorial,thatnothingisentirelyoriginal,thateverythingbuildsonwhatcamebefore…MyfavoritepartofthistalkisPopova’sLEGOanalogy,whereshelikensthedotsofknowledgewehavetoLEGObuildingblocks:

Themoreofthesebuildingblockswehave,andthemorediversetheirshapesandcolors,themoreinterestingourcastleswillbecome.AuthorAustinKleonissomeonewhoimmediatelycomestomindwheneverthetopicofconnectionsandremixingartcomesup.Kleonistheauthorof,abookaboutusingtheworkofotherstoinspireandinformyourown.

Itstartsofflikethis:

Everyartistgetsaskedthequestion,“Wheredoyougetyourideas?〞Thehonestartistanswers,“Istealthem.〞Kleonisinspiringbecausehe’ssoupfrontabouthowtheworkofotherpeoplehasbecomepartofhisownwork.He’salsokeenonthephraseIquotedfromMariaPopovaabove,that“nothingisoriginal〞:

Everynewideaisjustamashuporaremixofoneormorepreviousideas.Ifyou’relookingforadviceoncreatingmoreconnectionsbetweentheknowledgeyouhave(andcollectingevenmoreknowledge),Kleon’sbookisagreatplacetostart.Heofferssuggestslike:

carryanotebookeverywherereadalotkeepaHowscientificthinkingisallaboutmakingconnectionsWhenitcomestothefieldofscience,makingconnectionsbetweenthosedotsofknowledgeseemstobejustasimportant.In,CambridgeUniversityprofessorW.I.B.Beveridgewrotethatsuccessfulscientists“haveoftenbeenpeoplewithwideinterests,〞whichledtotheiroriginality:

Originalityoftenconsistsinlinkingupideaswhoseconnectionwasnotpreviouslysuspected.Healsosuggestedthat,inordertoaddtotheirknowledge(sotheywouldhavemoredotswhenitcametimetoconnectthem,later):

Mostscientistsconsiderthatitisamoreserioushandicaptoinvestigateaprobleminignoranceofwhatisalreadyknownaboutit.Lastly,sciencewriterDorianSagan:

Naturenomoreobeystheterritorialdivisionsofscientificacademicdisciplinesthandocontinentsappearfromspacetobecoloredtoreflectthenationaldivisionsoftheirhumaninhabitants.Forme,thegreatscientificsatoris,epiphanies,eurekas,andaha!momentsarecharacterizedbytheirabilitytoconnect.StartmakingconnectionsandgettingcreativeI’llleaveyouwithsomesuggestionsforimprovingyourownabilitytomakeconnections.

1.Addtoyourknowledge–thepowerofAfterall,themoreknowledgeyouhave,themoreconnectionsyoucanmake.Startbyreadingmore,readingmorewidely,andexploringnewopportunitiesforgatheringknowledge(forinstance,trysomenewexperiences—travel,gotomeetupsortakeupanewhobby).

AsresearcherDr.Duezelexplainedwhenitcomestoexperiencingnewthings:

“Onlycompletelynewthingscausestrongactivityinthemidbrainarea.〞Sotryingsomethingnewandforcingagentlebrainoverload.

2.Keeptrackofeverything–especiallyintheshowerAsAustinKleonsuggests,takeanotebook(oryourphone)withyoueverywhereandtakenotes.Don’texpectyourbraintoremembereverything—giveitahandbynotingdownimportantconceptsorideasyoucomeacross.Asyoudothis,youmayrememberpreviousnotesthatrelate(hey,you’remakingconnectionsalready!)—makeanoteofthoseaswell.

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