Is a creative brain inherited or acquired?
67Create a legacy for your community
How would you rate your own level of creativity? I often hear comments like "I'm just not that creative," or "I wish I had her talent," or "I can't draw a straight line." My own sister once told me that she had grown up thinking that I was the one who got all the creativity in the family. (Never mind that she plays at least half a dozen instruments, sings, sews most of her own clothes, and at fifty she took up painting and stunned me with her beautiful, artistic style!) Your idea of your own creativity may have more to do with some outside criteria which is impossible to meet. As an author on imagination and creativity, I have long been interested in how people perceive their own abilities, and how that perception may limit a person's exploration of all they could actually do.
Perhaps our country's sad lack of funding for the arts in schools has contributed to our perception of ourselves as "uncreative."
Studies on whether or not creativity can actually be hereditary show ambiguous results. There are some famous families in which at least two members made notable contributions. Charles Darwin's father, Erasmus Darwin, was considered to be moderately creative. The Bach family may be the most vivid example of creativity running in families. Eight generations of musicians, from 1550 to 1800, are recorded. Then there are the Brontes, a family of novelists. Thomas Huxley was a notable scientist who had three grandsons, each distinguishing himself in his field. These observations do not really lead us to a scientific conclusion, however.
The environment which fosters creativity is much easier to assess. I remember my father giving me a little wooden easel, a spiral drawing pad, and charcoal sticks for drawing, on my tenth birthday. My parents understood that I had a powerful need to expressively create. Growing up in Oklahoma in the sixties there were not a lot of options for art training, but I found many avenues and was often left to myself to focus on the latest art project I had cooked up. This is a habit that has never lapsed. Nurturing creativity in children is a very powerful avenue for self-discovery. This is why I am such a strong supporter of volunteer and community art organizations. Our school system has left a big hole in this extremely important area of self-development.
Engaging yourself in some form of community art project can have many benefits, including that all-important continuing brain development. When community members develop art programs, and fund them so all can join in, a community legacy or inheritance is created.
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well not really...
Good point, Gareth; one that I've considered many times.
If we promoted creativity in school, alongside mathematics and English (which are strictly based on right, and wrong, answers) wouldn't students feel encouraged to break the rules and "be creative" in all aspects?
The real question to me isn't "Should we teach creativity in schools", but rather "Should we schools just for creativity?"
"So here’s the question, if we encouraged creativity wouldn’t that mean more freedom and wouldn’t that go against all the rules, wouldn’t schools have a hard time trying to make us fit into our little boxes and conform?"
Wouldn't it be more reasonable to ask, where did the purpose of creativity come from? People can create such artistic things, with little knowledge in the subject. I person I met who was a recovered heroin addict of 15 years had started writing poetry, gets published quite regulary. With little education, and a mental disability from a head collision, he has creatively explained points.
I asked him to explain how it was to be him, and what felt different. He describe with the word 'sand'. And that he feels his head fills up with it, as he thinks. He can creatively outlet himself even when his patterns of thinking are distressed. So does this mean when our intunity is suppressed, we express ourselves creatively? The man had no hereditary creative instinct or interest before. Particular stories of great artists say of hard past life's, the family trend of hereditary could simple be neurotic behaviour in family life. I come from a family of two beaten women, both leading to slightly obscure children.
Just because problematic behaviour might look deceitful doesn't mean we should encourage it. Maybe more thoughtful behaviour would go towards giving children some life lessons, we might as well go straight to where art classes are leading. To the younger, less wise, more cocky adults of the future that are left to their own dimise by overworked and neurotic parents from a young age or just grow up inbetween marital disputes.
Whatever is going on, I know that I'm creative. I had a typical childhood as my friends (divorce/remarry/divorce), and I see strong reoccuring patterns in oppresive behaviour and creativity. The bird of humanity in a cage signifies this view quite well. But just because society glorifies creativity, we embrace it as human nature, and protect it like a limb, just so we feel we have it like others. Even though we debate if it is actually inheritited. The paradox people create for themselves is overwhelming, creative thinking is dumbed by the media, the creative thinkers redraw the same sad faces, they sing the same love songs. But get nowhere. We stand still and dumb while technology progresses and allows us to just follow wind.
I think it is a bit of both, although I think it is eventually left to the individual whether they actually take action or not. Nice hub.
I think creative brain is inherited, we can polish our creative skills (improve them) but cannot make ourselves creative. Nice thought provoking hub!
All schools have to do is to incorporate creativity in problem solving and approaches to learning. Creativity generalizes across the board, and there needs to be a lot more after school activities fostering creative expression, too.
I tend to think the creative brain is inherited. From a very early age, I had a strong interest in music, art, and writing. I began teaching myself to play piano at age 8 and then taught myself to play guitar at age 13. Art has always been part of my life as well. When I was 5, I decided that I was going to be an artist when I grew up and would spend my whole school day at "the painting station" as they called it. During my years in grade school, elementary, and high school, I won numerous creative writing awards. I felt weird with my family. None of them ever expressed the desire to be creative. I found out I was adopted about 4 years ago and got to meet my biological mother. When I got to know her, I found that she was a very talented writer. Then I met my great uncle Kurt, my grandmother's brother. He was a wonderful singer and played guitar flawlessly. When I met my grandfather, I met his brother as well. Great Uncle Larry. Upon visiting him, I discovered he was an artist. Making art being his job. My adoptive family discouraged my interest in anything creative, but I guess I just can't help it.
Gareth Pritchard Level 4 Commenter 4 years ago
Interesting hub, interesting subject and I have a question that nobody really has to answer but it might be interesting if people do.
So here’s the question, if we encouraged creativity wouldn’t that mean more freedom and wouldn’t that go against all the rules, wouldn’t schools have a hard time trying to make us fit into our little boxes and conform?
That’s probably more than one question but hey do I have to conform?