This way to the creative renaissance ➡️
A new paradigm wants to be born. Willing midwives required.
In my last essay, I asked “is human creativity fading away?” The answer was a resounding “yes”.
This was about creativity in the broadest sense; not just artistic creativity. Creativity as the human capacity for generating useful and interesting novelty. Creativity as a force that, in some fundamental way, unites the theoretical physicist with the photographer, the entrepreneur with the jazz pianist, the poet with the software developer, and the gardener with the chef.
Here’s a recap on what I covered in the last essay:
Creative thinking test scores are in long-term decline.
Culture, despite vibrance and experimentation at the edges, has flattened.
Science has stagnated too.
I described how children are overstimulated, with fewer opportunities to play than ever. I argued that the disappearance of meaningful counter-culture is both a symptom of creative decline and a reality that keeps our thinking stale. And, drawing on Iain McGilchrist’s ideas, I lamented the left-brain-dominant mode of consciousness that’s brought us here.
As Matt Klein - Head of Foresight at Reddit - recently observed, “our facilities for riskiness and imagination have atrophied.” Our outer and inner landscapes have been slowly sapped of colour. And with AI promising to do ever more thinking on our behalf, our collective creative powers could get weaker still - when we don’t work the imagination muscle, the brain diverts its energy elsewhere.
This decline of human creativity is profoundly troubling, and the impact goes deeper than undermining productivity, impeding technological progress, or eroding the arts. In the words of Paul Levy: “Unexpressed creativity… is poison to the human psyche.” And poisoned psyches don’t generally vote for (or implement) policies that make the world a healthier place to live.
How might we arrest this decline? How might we channel the human instinct for exploration and adventure in the most regenerative ways? How might we reframe creativity as a fundamental and essential force in all areas of human endeavour? How might we change the way we live, the way we teach, and the way we work?
These are big, urgent questions. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I do believe a creative renaissance is possible. I sense a new paradigm wants to be born. Maybe you can feel it too. And if it doesn’t start at your desk, in your home, and at your organisation… then where?
Whether you’re a cyberneticist, a strategist, or a sculptor, there are timeless principles for fostering creative thought, increasingly supported by the latest science. These principles are especially relevant for teachers and parents too.
In my forthcoming essays, I’ll explore some of these principles, starting with play.
After play, we’ll have a closer look at the value of chaos, quiet, connecting with nature, and altering your consciousness.
It’ll be a fun ride, I promise.
Need ideas that hit different?
Today’s issue of Weirdness Wins is sponsored by Ideas On Acid.
Ideas On Acid is a forthcoming card deck by ME!
It’s a complete creative thinking toolkit for adventurous minds like yours.
Because sometimes you need to take your brain to another dimension. And break convention.
Interested?