There is a common misconception, that stems from research conducted on split-brain patients in the 1960s, suggesting that creativity and analytical thinking are confined to either the right- or left-hemispheres of the brain. This has led to expressions about people being either creative or analytical, implying a dominance of one side of the brain over the others.
Creativity research conducted since the 1980s has challenged this binary perspective, yet the outdated myth is still entrenched as a worldview and perpetuates narratives around how we work. It also fosters a subconscious bias towards the creative potential of both ourselves and others.
Research on freestyle wrappers highlights that both analytical and creative regions could be found on the right and left sides of the brain. FMRI scans conducted during the study indicated that creative regions can only be activated when the brain temporarily attenuates (switches-off or rests) the analytical processing functions.
A creative idea as defined by Alice Flaherty is “one that is both novel and useful (or influential) in a particular social setting”. In this research she focusses on the creative drive, rather than skill, an important shift from the dominant narratives towards recognising that creativity is an inherent trait in us all. She notes that individuals who experience writer’s block can become frustrated and depressed by the problem, further exacerbating the issue. Alternatively, they can overcome the mental rut by taking a break and allowing themselves to be distracted.
It seems, therefore, that when our brain is engaged in wrestling with a problem to solve, it is impossible to see things from a new perspective, or develop creative ideas, or make lateral thinking connections. Whereas taking a break allows the brain freedom to make unique, creative connections.
You may have noticed that your most creative ideas come to you when you are in the shower, on a walk and when not entrenched in cognitively demanding activities. But how many of us avoid boredom at all costs. In any break we have from work, or physical social connection, or in any moment spent alone, our attention is more often than not focused on a screen.
Spending time online or staring at a screen, can limit time spent engaging in free association. Our ‘thinking’ brains have limited chance to disconnect, and to switch on the ‘creative’ brain, denying us of potential novel, creative thinking. This may lead to lower levels of creative time and possibly a reduced sense of creative ability.
It may be time for us to consider that using our technology to distract us from a hard or cognitively demanding task is denying us creative and lateral thinking experiences. The less creative we think we are, the lower the chances are that we will give ourselves the freedom to recognise that we are by nature creative beings.
Our challenge, therefore, is to actively allow ourselves strategic periods of time away from our screens and constant distractions, and proactively rediscover our inherent creative flair.
Links to a few other articles and podcasts on being creative are available below:
