Creativity is the process of identifying and generating ideas, solutions, alternatives, or possibilities for the purpose of problem solving, communicating, entertaining, or improving the quality or efficiency of everyday life. Creativity applies to the arts as well as a number of other fields and purposes.
Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, amusical composition or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a literary work or a painting).
Scholarly interest in creativity involves many definitions and concepts pertaining to a number of disciplines: psychology, cognitive science, education, philosophy(particularly philosophy of science), technology, theology, sociology, linguistics, business studies, songwriting, and economics, covering the relations between creativity and general intelligence, mental and neurological processes, personality type and creative ability, creativity and mental health; the potential for fostering creativity through education and training, especially as augmented by technology; and the application of creative resources to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning.
from Wikipedia on "Creativity" March 10,2016
Psychology today identifies creativity being used in a number of fields.
"Even those of us not in explicitly creative fields must come up with new ideas and insights in order to move ahead. How can we shake up the way we think? Creativity has been pegged to conducive environments, perfect collaborators, personality traits, serendipity, and even spiritual muses. While research psychologists are interested in increasing innovative thinking, clinical psychologists sometimes encourage patients to use artistic expression as a way to confront difficult feelings."
The importance and critical nature of creating and being creative is hardly recognized in the standard school curriculum and society today. I believe that we, as adults, need creativity in our everyday life both at home and at work, and we must encourage our children to utilize and develop their creative minds in the way they think and play. Creativity absolutely can be taught and fostered by encouraging problem solving with both strict and loose limitations. Limitations exist in every instance, and can serve as a means for fostering creativity. Limitations in themselves are problems to be solved through an alternative solution. May we allow limitations to encourage, rather than hinder, us as we embrace creativity!
