 San Antonio, Texas Tuna, noodles and pasta sauce are not a staple in my house, but when the pantry rests dry and change runs short, pulling together random ingredients is a necessity. Making puzzles and hand sewing pillow cases out of stray, random fabrics are also not normal hobbies of mine, but when resources are low, date nights and friend get-together's can become quite eccentric. This aberrent behavior has stirred thoughts about creativity, why does it only seem to present itself when our backs are against the wall and we are left scratching for new, out of the box ideas?
I recently met a young woman working as an interior designer in a wealthy San Antonio area. Most would not consider interior design as a necessity, but in more affluent areas this type of business has a home. I asked her what it was like designing for people who don't have a budget and her response has left me thinking. "On one hand, it is every designers dream to work without a ceiling," she said, "But on the other hand, I find the creativity is missing when you take a way the budget," she immediately contrasted. Surely, when you can have your hands on anything you want, your mind does not have to contort alternative solutions outside of normal streams of thought. You can buy that $200 lamp at your classic name brand store versus even having to think about that $15 vintage treasure at your local thrift shop, a lamp bound to leave you wondering of all the dust and character built up through the many years illuminating the pages of Jane Austen novels, deliberating a curious reader's thoughts on modern day social classes and gender distinctions. But it is not until reaching a lack of resources that we would even begin to ponder, let alone discover the unique fortune found in alternative measures. I've been thinking about this idea of scarcity as the birth of creativity on a grander and perhaps more useful scale, one example being alternative energy. Fossil fuels and nuclear energy are supplying over 80% of the worlds energy needs. This source has traditionally been known as reliable in it's capabilities to be found and stored for later use. However, the obvious problem with fossil fuels is that they are non-renewable, once they are depleted, they are gone. Over a recent conversation with my engineering friend, I picked his brain about more in-depth forms of alternative energy, human-powered machines. In college, my primary vehicle was my bicycle and the countless hours I spent traveling from point A to point B, I wondered how useful that time would be if I could simultaneously generate energy to be stored up for later use, even on a minor scale, like enough power to charge my phone that day. I have continued to discuss ideas like this with engineer-minded individuals who could give more insight on the potential of such developments. I get the same answers, yes, we are tapping into renewable energy as well as researching and developing further alternative energy means, but the need to depend on such alternatives is not there yet. Yet. We haven't depleted our resources, yet. Therefore, we haven't been left scratching our heads, figuring out creative ways to come up with new, innovative energy sources. It can be easily presented that this is a natural human behavior, to start problem-solving and creating alternative solutions only after a problem is presented, but this concept has agonizing implications. An article in the KevinMD policy blog, discussing ramifications of the American health care "privilege or right" dilemma, explores just how far we would have to go to finally fix the problems existing in the U.S health care system. The writer depicts an exaggerated example of patients coming into the hospital in desperate, life-or-death situations and denied care due to lack of insurance. The patients would die, and over time, more and more patients would die leading to a drastic, problematic change in national mortality rate. The writer suggests that once this population degradation problem has presented itself, THEN the policy makers will wake up and start being more pro-active and inventive in creating an unprecedented and beneficial health care system for all people. This example, while radical, alludes to this riveting notion within human behavior that anomalous thoughts and inventive ideas deviated from our "norm," surface from the scarce, desperate circumstances and state of minds we find ourselves in. But can't creativity be stirred from a realm of ingredients and demonstrated in a variety of ways? A friend recently rebuttled this idea of creativity drawn from scarcity by sourcing his most creative moments back to times when he rested in a state of peace, which usually wouldn't be present in desperate times. In 2004, Arne Dietrich, a man who claimed to have "realized soul searching is too treacherous without a detailed map of neuroland," became a Doctor of Neuroscience, developing and teaching theories such as "The Four Types of Creativity," each corresponding to different brain activities. The cognitive and emotionally based creative forms include the Thomas Edison, the Therapeutic A-ha Moment, Newton and the Apple, and Artists and Musicians. The Therapeutic A-ha Moment is that moment after crisis, whether it be a relationship break-up, getting fired or going through bankruptcy, when a flash of insight comes and a reflection of past bad decisions stirs and deliberates emotional creativity. This happens as deliberate, emotional response in the cingulate cortex of our brain, the part processing complex feelings related to how we interact with others and our personal place in the world. So, our lack, loss, mistakes and crisis' subsequently stimulate reflective thoughts, renewed ideas and a different, perhaps better, or a more educated thought-stream. Basically, this means we might come up with unique recipes when our wallets are thin, we may discover inspirational plans for our life when we lose a job and we will probably find creative ways to better ourselves after we've made a mistake. This is the up side. Unfortunately, this also can result in the exhausted exploitation of poor decision making in the leadership of our families, businesses and public policies before better ways are ever realized. Thankfully, we have the Thomas Edison type of creativity, the kind that takes continuous and disciplined work to develop inventive ideas like the electric light bulb. The man who said, "I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that won't work," didn't wait for the world to go dark before he decided to create light. Edison cognitively and deliberately ran experiment after experiment until innovation transpired. Perhaps a healthy, disciplined dedication to unconventional and imaginative ways can keep us from hitting rock bottom before we tap into our creative dispositions.
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AuthorKatie Elizabeth: Writer, Wonderer, Wanderer. Archives
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