Creativity

Creativity

Source: crazyaboutmybaybah.com via Put A Little Umbrella on Pinterest

Creativity is the ability to create novel, unique ideas, forms, methods and interpretations. Creativity forms a part of intelligence when we measure it through psychometric tests but education is not necessarily needed for being creative. Infact, come to think of it, sometimes illiterate people can come up with the most innovative and creative ideas. Maybe it’s due to lack of any conditioning, or maybe it’s just that they compensate for a lack of education by harnessing their creative potential to the fullest.

I am not going to talk now about how to become more creative or improve your intelligence but share some nice examples of creativity that I came across recently:-

Freerice.com – Sites like this are blooming these days. I think they are simply the best. Even MTV and Woodland have a page where you can plant trees by just clicking. It’s a fact that people are lethargic. We genuinely have no time or we really have no energy to show support for something we believe in. You also don’t know how to go about it or sustain it at times. I love plants, but I really can’t go and randomly plant a tree anywhere. So when a site like Freerice comes along I feel good. The site has taken those childhood games that we played in between classes or on the commute home on the school bus – Name/Place/Animal/Thing, Countries and Capitals, Books and Authors and turned them to into triggers for charity. The rush you get! To play that sweet childhood game again, and the beauty of it, that by playing this I am actually helping World Hunger. Simple, creative idea, taking simple childhood games and turning them into a medium of charity – absolutely Brilliant!

Short Story Ideas – This is a site that helps you generate characters, scenarios, titles, first liners and even 'twist in the tales' for short stories. Perfect thing to do if you are experiencing ‘writer’s block’. Honestly, haven’t used it before but a useful site, will be using it soon to see what I come up with. I wouldn’t say it’s a very creative idea, and there are more sites like this, but definitely an idea that promotes creativity.

Yarn Bombing – This is a new thing that I learned about today only. A new type of street art in which knitted or crocheted cloth is used to make colourful installations. Yarn bombing is said to have started in Texas in 2005. You can see some pretty examples of it here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2026977/The-astonishing-cobweb-yarnbombing-took-graffiti-knitter-months.html

It is illegal but compared to graffiti less offensive as it can be removed. While I don’t endorse people playing around with public property and trespassing, yarn bombing is splendid. Maybe we should have special places to showcase street arts, or maybe we shouldn’t because the artists might then lose their motivation!

Incredible Things – Incredible Things is a website that sells really cool gadgets and other goods. In India I guess such similar sites/shops would be Chumbak or Tappu Ki Dukaan. Some days when I am really bored or looking for inspiration, I visit these sites. It really invigorates your mind.

JesseDee’s Presentations Channel – JesseDee is a marketing success story. He actually landed up a job on the basis of his slideshare presentations. I have a corporate job but really feel that if you are making a presentation, you should break all the rules. People deserve fun and stimulation and not the usual boredom/timepass/sleeptime experiences that are synonomous with presentations. JesseDee’s presentations are everything that a presentation should be. You will feel inspired and even amazed at how creatively he presents the simplest of ideas and concepts.