If you’ve watched the television series 24, you must have marveled at the creativity that went into producing this show. The 9/11 incidents most likely inspired much of the story line, but what’s more impressive is how the writers of the series manipulate technology to track down terrorists. That factor alone makes 24 an attention grabber. Chapter Six: Unleash the Power of Memory Boost with Creative Thinking for Enhanced Cognitive Abilities.
The GPS methods, computer software, and gadgets featured in the show make you wonder if technological advances could one day rule our lives and take over our thinking. Each riveting episode of 24 is an excellent example of creative minds in action.
What is Creative Thinking?
Perhaps it’s better to give examples, instead of define it. Like a mirror, these examples will reflect the essence of creative thinking. How about some modern day examples?
Before you get discouraged, it does not mean that just because you’re not an inventor or producer like the people above does not mean that you’re not creative. Creative, after all, is a very subjective word, and is not the monopoly of artists and other people engaged in artistic and musical endeavors. So what do creative thinkers have in common?
“…so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, their very breath is cut off…They must create, must pour creativity. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency they are not really alive unless they are creating.” (words of Pearl Buck, well known writer)
Note that “something of meaning” in the above quotation by Buck can mean anything – and it is the individual who decides what that something of meaning is in his life. For example, getting a closed-minded computer-allergic senior to try his hand at email by showing him ways how email can be much more efficient than manual letter-writing is an exercise in creativity. Putting headers and footers and clip art to e-books because a ghost writer believes his clients would “flip” over the finished product is another exercise in creativity. A mother who finally convinces her child to take swimming lessons by putting on a movie about graceful dolphins is also another creative act.
Ordinary mortals like you and me can be creative. Mind experts note over 60 definitions of creativity. It’s beyond this e-book’s scope to list them all. The most basic meaning we can find is that which defines creativity (or creativeness) as a mental process that generates new and useful ideas and relationships between those ideas. Creative thinking may seem simple enough, as exhibited by the mother, the ghost writer and the email instructor cited above, but it really is a complex process. Discover Effective Memory Enhancement Strategies in Chapter Six: Unleashing Creativity for Sharper Thinking. Chapter Six: Elevate Memory and Cognitive Abilities with Creative Thinking Techniques for Lasting Improvement.
Creative Thinking Techniques
Creative thinking techniques aim to stimulate the mind for original ideas, often by combining existing ideas to generate more. That’s the theoretical part. In the practical realm of things, it is more difficult to find ideas that will click or germinate. The process however does not stop at giving rise to ideas. These ideas have to be used to bring about a solution to a problem.
One common (and sometimes overused) technique is traditional brainstorming. In traditional brainstorming, when people work together in the same space, they may run out of fresh ideas. Working in the same environment and sharing common goals often leads to repetitive ideas. One writer explained, “In traditional brainstorming, we repeat the same ideas due to the same stimuli.”
We need to take the next step up by engaging in advanced brainstorming. For this to be effective, we need to apply some creative thinking techniques of which there are many. We will explore some techniques, but our focus isn’t to judge the usefulness of resulting ideas. Our concern here is for people to be able to come up with new ideas. Whether they are useful or not can be decided at a later date. Creative thinking techniques vary from one proponent to the next. These techniques offer fresh stimuli and promote thinking “outside the box,” a term favored by corporate leaders. In Chapter Six, harness the potential of creative thinking to supercharge memory and cognitive performance.
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