First day of class and Defining creativity...

First day of class
The first day of class for creative studies is just explain to us what is this subject for and about the assignment and the flow of this class will be. For this class, we have two lecturer which is Mr.Radzi and Mr.Halim.
Mr. Radzi is such a active lecturer which he will go around while he is giving his lecturer. No doubt that, he make the lecture more attractive and interesting.
For me, this subject is purpose to blaze out our creativity and thinking as well.








The second lecture is 'Defining creativity'. Firstly, Mr. Halim give us a brief explanation on 'creativity', he explain the meaning of the word 'creativity'. Basically, creativity is about 'thinking' and it divided to two basic categories which is thinking and intelligent and thinking as a skill and the further elaboration as well. Mr.Halim also brief us about the myth of creativity.

Below are some of the explanation that I found on web.

http://www.creativityatwork.com/articlesContent/whatis.htm

By Linda Naiman - "I define creativity as the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing. Innovation is the production or implementation of an idea. If you have ideas, but don't act on them, you are imaginative but not creative."

“Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being...creativity requires passion and commitment. Out of the creative act is born symbols and myths. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness–ecstasy.”
— Rollo May, The Courage to Create

“A product is creative when it is (a) novel and (b) appropriate. A novel product is original not predictable. The bigger the concept, and the more the product stimulates further work and ideas, the more the product is creative.”
— Sternberg & Lubart, Defying the Crowd

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity

Creativity is a mental and social process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts. Creativity is fueled by the process of either conscious or unconscious insight. An alternative conception of creativeness (based on its etymology) is that it is simply the act of making something new.



http://members.optusnet.com.au/charles57/Creative/Basics/definitions.htm

"Being creative is seeing the same thing as everybody else but thinking of something different"

There are many aspects to creativity, but one definition would include the ability to take existing objects and combine them in different ways for new purposes. For example, Gutenberg took the wine press and the die/punch and produced a printing press. Thus, a simple definition of creativity is the action of combining previously uncombined elements. From art, music and invention to household chores, this is part of the nature of being creative. Another way of looking at creativity is as playing with the way things are interrelated. Creativity is the ability to generate novel and useful ideas and solutions to everyday problems and challenges.

Creativity involves the translation of our unique gifts, talents and vision into an external reality that is new and useful. We must keep in mind that creativity takes place unavoidably inside our own personal, social, and cultural boundaries.

The more we define our creativity by identifying with specific sets of values, meanings, beliefs and symbols, the more our creativity will be focused and limited; the more we define our creativity by focusing on how values, meanings, beliefs and symbols are formed, the greater the chance that our creativity will become less restricted.

In the creative process there are always two different (but interrelated) dimensions or levels of dynamics with which one can create:

• The system which may be a particular medium (e.g. oil painting or a particular musical form), or a particular process (like a problem solving agenda, or an approach to creativity like Synectics). The creative person manipulates that means to a creative end.
• The second dimension is described by the conceptual "content" which the medium describes. Again, the creative person depicts, changes, manipulates, expresses somehow the idea of that content.

There is no one definition of creativity that everyone can agree with. Creativity researchers, mostly from the field of psychology, usually claim that being creative means being novel and appropriate. Subsumed under the appropriateness criterion are qualities of fit, utility, and value.

At least three aspects of creativity have drawn much attention.

• The creative process, receiving the most attention, focuses on the mechanisms and phases involved as one partakes in a creative act.
• A second aspect of creativity is the creative person. Here, personality traits of creative people are central. The environmental atmosphere and influence are concerns of a third aspect, the creative situation.
• Lastly, the criteria or characteristics of creative products have been sought. This area is of particular importance because it is the basis of any performance assessment of real world creativity and may provide a window on the other aspects of creativity.

http://www.uwsp.edu/Education/lwilson/creativ/define.htm

Example: Creativity is like a cat chasing its tail.

In the act of creating or in solving problems in creative ways we often go round and round in endless circles wanting to pounce on an idea. Sometimes the answer or solution is right before our eyes but we can't see it. In order to find the solution, find the missing piece, solve the problem, we need to just look at something familiar in a new and different way.

That's all for this lecture.