Intelligence, creativity and The Element

With the Christmas break behind us, it's time to get back to blogging about Sir Ken Robinson and his book, The Element.  If you're new to the blog, I'm writing about my impressions of the book as I read my way through it.  This, of course, is in preparation for Sir Ken's visit to Halifax, Nova Scotia in April 2012 as part of the Emergent Learning: Turning Tides in 21st Century Education conference.


If you missed my previous postings, you can catch up by clicking on the titles below:


Sir Ken and The Element - Beginning the Blog Journey
The Element & Education
The Element - I get it; I love it; I want it; Where is it?
The Element - Think Differently


For everyone else, let's dive into Sir Ken's thoughts on intelligence, creativity and the link between the two.


Rhonda


If you have watched Sir Ken's videos, you have probably seen him ask his audience about how they rate their intelligence and creativity.  Most of the audience will give themselves different marks for each.  Sir Ken believes we do that because most of us believe that intelligence and creativity are entirely different things, and that's a problem.

Sir Ken believes that we can't be creative without acting intelligently, and the highest form of intelligence is to think creatively.  In his words, "in seeking the Element, it is essential to understand the real nature of creativity and to have a clear understanding of how it relates to intelligence."

Do you think of intelligence as academic ability?  Sir Ken argues that perspective is too narrow, and that's why people who are smart in other ways don't believe they're smart at all.  (That idea really resonates with me because it's what kids with learning disabilities live every day!)

Sir Ken also addresses three myths around creativity.  First, only special people are creative.  Not true - we're all born with tremendous capacities for creativity, and the trick is to develop it.  Think of it like learning to read.  If you can't read, it's because you haven't learned to (or haven't learned in a way that works for you).  The same is true of creativity.

Myth two - creativity is about special activities (ie. the arts, design, etc.).  Again not true.  Science, engineering and business can also be creative.  In fact, anything that involves your intelligence can be creative.

Myth three - people are either creative or they're not.  Depressing, but thankfully not true!  Sir Ken says it's possible to become more creative in your work and in your life.  The first critical step is to understand the intimate relationship between creativity and intelligence.  As Sir Ken says, "this is one of the surest paths to finding the Element, and it involves stepping back to examine a fundamental feature of all human intelligence - our unique powers of imagination."

Tomorrow, more on Sir Ken Robinson and the role of imagination on the journey to finding the Element.