Creativity: The science behind the madness | Rainn Wilson, David Eagleman & more | Big Think

Summary

The video explores the universal nature of creativity, emphasizing that it is inherent in everyone, regardless of profession or background. Experts discuss how creativity involves multiple brain networks, including executive attention, imagination, and salience, which interact to produce novel ideas. The discussion debunks the left-brain/right-brain creativity myth, highlighting the importance of both hemispheres. It also delves into how creativity requires both intelligence and imagination, and that risk-taking, curiosity, and uncertainty are crucial for innovation. Each individual’s path to creativity is unique, often requiring changes in perspective or lifestyle to overcome creative blocks.

Takeaways

• 🎨 Creativity is universal and can be expressed in various ways, regardless of profession or background.
• 🧠 Every human is born with a 'creative license,' which is a natural ability to be creative due to the brain's structure.
• 🐿️ Humans have evolved to be creative in ways that other species cannot, due to the brain's expanded cortex and complex cognitive processes.
• 🧠 Creativity involves multiple brain networks, including the executive attention network, default mode (imagination) network, and salience network.
• 🔄 Both sides of the brain, left and right, are essential for creativity, debunking the myth that creativity is purely right-brain-driven.
• 🔎 The executive attention network helps integrate information, inhibit obvious ideas, and access remote associations necessary for creative thought.
• 💡 The imagination (default mode) network is crucial for daydreaming, setting future goals, and fostering empathy by imagining others' perspectives.
• 🎯 The salience network filters what is interesting or important, guiding attention toward creative ideas.
• 🌱 Creativity requires a balance of intelligence, imagination, and the willingness to take risks and think differently.
• 🚶‍♂️ To overcome creative blocks, it's essential to step outside of one's comfort zone, focus inward, and embrace new experiences to reignite creativity.

Q & A

What is the key point RAINN WILSON makes about creativity?

RAINN WILSON believes that creativity is for everyone and is not limited to specific professions or personalities. He emphasizes that creativity is present in how we interact with the world, no matter the field or occupation.

According to DAVID EAGLEMAN, what sets the human brain apart from other species when it comes to creativity?

DAVID EAGLEMAN explains that the human brain has a larger cortex, allowing for more space between input and output. This gives humans the ability to process stimuli, store it, and think about it before responding, unlike other animals that react more reflexively.

How does SCOTT BARRY KAUFMAN explain the relationship between creativity and the brain?

SCOTT BARRY KAUFMAN explains that creativity involves the interaction of multiple brain networks, including the executive attention network, the imagination network (default mode network), and the salience network. These networks work together to enable creative thinking by integrating information, stimulating imagination, and identifying what is most interesting in the environment.

What role does the executive attention network play in creativity according to SCOTT BARRY KAUFMAN?

The executive attention network helps people hold information in working memory, maintain strategies, and inhibit the most obvious responses. It is crucial for accessing remote associations, which is important for creative thinking and problem-solving.

What is the function of the salience network in creativity, as described by SCOTT BARRY KAUFMAN?

The salience network helps to identify the most interesting or important stimuli in the environment. It acts as a filter, tagging certain stimuli as worth further attention and passing them on to the imagination or executive attention networks for deeper processing.

Why does BEAU LOTTO believe that uncertainty is crucial to creativity?

BEAU LOTTO argues that creativity begins with not knowing and asking questions. He explains that while uncertainty can feel dangerous and uncomfortable, it is essential for seeing the world differently and generating creative insights.

How does ETHAN HAWKE describe the role of spontaneity in jazz music and creativity?

ETHAN HAWKE uses jazz music as an example to illustrate that creativity often involves a balance of spontaneity and discipline. He describes how musicians take a known melody and improvise on it, leading to unexpected and more sophisticated results than what could have been planned intellectually.

What advice does RAINN WILSON offer for overcoming creative blocks?

RAINN WILSON suggests that to overcome creative blocks, one must make drastic changes in their life, such as taking a trip or engaging in service work. He advises looking inward and focusing on personal growth rather than seeking external validation.

How does WENDY SUZUKI explain the importance of brain hemispheres in creativity?

WENDY SUZUKI explains that creativity involves the use of both the left and right hemispheres of the brain, rather than being limited to one side. She emphasizes the importance of crosstalk between different parts of the brain for broad functions like creativity.

According to SCOTT BARRY KAUFMAN, what makes creativity applicable across different fields?

SCOTT BARRY KAUFMAN states that creativity applies across various fields, whether in science or art, because it draws on the interaction of multiple brain networks. The same fundamental processes—executive attention, imagination, and salience—are involved in creative thinking, regardless of the field.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 The Universality of Creativity

RAINN WILSON argues that creativity is accessible to everyone, regardless of profession or personality. He emphasizes that even seemingly mundane tasks contain artistry. ANTHONY BRANDT and DAVID EAGLEMAN further discuss the unique cognitive processes that foster creativity in humans, contrasting this with other species. They highlight how the human brain takes in ideas, processes them, and generates new concepts, likening it to a 'food processor' for ideas. SCOTT BARRY KAUFMAN dispels the myth of left-brain and right-brain dominance in creativity, explaining that creativity involves multiple brain networks working together, including the executive attention, imagination (default mode), and salience networks.

05:01

🧠 The Expanded Human Cortex and Its Role in Creativity

DAVID EAGLEMAN discusses how the expanded human cortex allows for more complex processing of stimuli, enabling creativity. Unlike animals that react reflexively, humans can process inputs, store them, and produce considered outputs. He explains the role of the prefrontal cortex in allowing humans to simulate 'what-if' scenarios, which contributes to our ability to imagine and create. This brain development has fueled an exponential rise in human creativity, as nearly 8 billion people contribute to the collective creative output of the species. BRANDT and KAUFMAN further emphasize the importance of risk-taking and balancing intelligence and imagination in creative processes.

10:04

🎷 Jazz as a Metaphor for Spontaneous Creativity

ETHAN HAWKE uses jazz music, particularly John Coltrane's improvisation, to illustrate the interplay of spontaneity, discipline, and intelligence in creativity. He argues that true creativity cannot be entirely planned and involves opening up to the subconscious. RAINN WILSON adds that creativity, regardless of medium, is most powerful when it is a pure expression of self. DAVID EAGLEMAN and BEAU LOTTO also weigh in, suggesting that creativity stems from building on what has come before, absorbing cultural influences, and embracing uncertainty—posing questions and exploring the unknown rather than relying on assumptions.

Keywords

💡Creativity

Creativity is the use of imagination or original ideas to create something; it is the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, and patterns to create meaningful new ideas, forms, and interpretations. In the video, Rainn Wilson emphasizes that creativity is for everyone, suggesting that everyone has the capacity to be creative in their own unique way, regardless of their profession or perceived personality traits.

💡Brain Networks

Brain networks refer to interconnected systems of neurons in the brain that work together to perform specific functions. Scott Barry Kaufman mentions that creativity involves the interaction of many different brain networks, relying on both the left and right sides of the brain, which challenges the common left brain-right brain myth about creativity.

💡Executive Attention Network

The executive attention network is a brain network that enables the integration of information, working memory, and the maintenance of strategies. It is also involved in inhibiting obvious responses, which is crucial for creativity as it allows individuals to access remote associations rather than the most immediate obvious thoughts. KAUFMAN explains that this network is essential for creativity as it helps in inhibiting the obvious and accessing more creative ideas.

💡Default Mode Network

The default mode network, also referred to as the imagination network by KAUFMAN, is active when our focus of attention is inward, such as when we daydream or think about future goals. It plays a vital role in creativity by allowing us to imagine scenarios, empathize with others, and take different perspectives, which are all crucial for generating new ideas.

💡Salience Network

The salience network is associated with determining what is most interesting or important in our environment. Before conscious thought or imagination, this network tags things as interesting, feeding them into either the imagination network or the executive attention network. This subconscious process is key to creativity as it helps decide what captures our attention and could potentially lead to creative thought.

💡Cognitive Software

Cognitive software refers to the mental processes and algorithms that the brain uses to interpret information, learn, and solve problems. DAVID EAGLEMAN discusses the 'cognitive software' that allows for creativity, suggesting that the human brain's unique structure and processing capabilities are what enable the generation of new ideas.

💡Risk-taking

Risk-taking is the willingness to take on challenges and embrace the unknown, often associated with innovation and creativity. ANTHONY BRANDT talks about the importance of risk-taking in creativity, mentioning that his creative heroes are all incredible risk-takers, implying that to introduce something new, one must be willing to take risks.

💡Imagination

Imagination is the faculty or action of forming new ideas or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses. It is a key component of creativity, as it allows individuals to envision possibilities and scenarios that do not currently exist. HAWKE discusses the beauty of jazz music, which relies heavily on imagination and spontaneity.

💡Uncertainty

Uncertainty refers to the state of being unsure or the condition of being unknown or not known. BEAU LOTTO emphasizes that creativity often begins with uncertainty, questioning, and not knowing, which pushes individuals to explore new ideas and perspectives that might not have been considered otherwise.

💡Discipline

Discipline is the practice of training oneself to follow a code of conduct, rules, or a standard, especially in order to achieve a particular goal. HAWKE mentions that creativity at its best involves using discipline to open up the subconscious, suggesting that discipline is a necessary counterpart to imagination and spontaneity in the creative process.

💡Cognitive Percolation

Cognitive percolation refers to the process by which inputs can come into the brain and be processed, thought about, and potentially lead to creative outputs. EAGLEMAN explains that the human brain's evolution has allowed for more space between input and output, leading to a greater capacity for cognitive percolation and creativity.

Highlights

Creativity is for everyone, regardless of profession.

All humans are born with a creative license.

Human brains are unique in their ability to be creative compared to other species.

Creativity involves a complex interaction of brain networks.

The left and right brain both contribute to creativity.

The brain is divided into two hemispheres, each with paired structures.

Language is primarily located in the left side of the brain.

Creativity benefits from crosstalk between all parts of the brain.

The executive attention network is crucial for creativity.

The default mode network, or imagination network, is active during daydreaming and perspective-taking.

The salience network tags environmental stimuli as interesting or not.

Creativity requires the interaction of the executive attention, imagination, and salience networks.

The human cortex's expansion allowed for more complex processing between input and output.

The prefrontal cortex enables simulating 'what if' scenarios.

Creativity involves risk-taking and tolerating uncertainty.

Creativity requires both intelligence and imagination.

Jazz music exemplifies spontaneity mixed with discipline and intelligence.

Creativity is a pure expression of oneself, resonating with authenticity.

What we create is influenced by our cultural and historical context.

Uncertainty is the starting point for creativity.

Creative acts cover a spectrum from the familiar to the unconventional.

There's no one-size-fits-all approach to enhancing creativity.

To overcome creative blocks, consider making significant life changes.

Transcripts

RAINN WILSON: Creativity is absolutely for everyone.

I firmly believe this.

I think if you're the driest accountant with the plastic pocket pen protector it's in how

you interact with the world.

There's artistry in everything that we do.

ANTHONY BRANDT: The fact of the matter is we all are born with a creative license.

We have this software running in our brains.

DAVID EAGLEMAN: What is it that's special about the human brain that allows creativity

to happen?

Because when you look at us compared to all the other species on the earth we have very

similar brains.

I mean obviously we're cousins with our nearest neighbors and all throughout the animal kingdom,

it's a continuous family tree, but we're running around the planet doing something unbelievable.

You don't have squirrels going to the moon or dogs inventing the Internet or cows doing

theater plays for one another or any of the gajillion things that we do.

What is below all of that?

What is the basic cognitive software that's running in the human brain that takes ideas

in and smushes them up and crunches them.

It's like a food processor that's constantly spitting out new ideas.

SCOTT BARRY KAUFMAN: So, many of you might have heard of the left brain right brain myth

about creativity, that the left brain is not related to creativity much at all because

it's really boring and logical and super serious and analytical, and that the right brain is

where all the artistic beauty comes out and it's very poetic.

Well, the reality is that creativity involves an interaction of lots of different brain

networks that rely on both the left side and the right side of the brain.

WENDY SUZUKI: It really is the most creative people are using both sides of the brain together.

So, this is an important concept that the brain is subdivided into two major hemispheres.

We have two of each structure, almost all the structures of our brain are paired.

So, the idea is well one side of the brain is for certain things and the other side of

the brain is important for other things and the one thing we can say for sure is yes language

is on the left side of the brain.

But for creativity it actually makes more sense to me that with a function so broad

as that you would benefit from having the most crosstalk possible between all parts

of your brain, in fact that's what the neuroscience is showing.

KAUFMAN: When you have lots of different parts of the brain that are communicating with each

other to solve a certain task then it's called a brain network.

And you find that creativity draws on multiple interacting brain networks.

In particular it draws on three brain networks that seem to be absolutely essential to creativity

across whatever field it is, whether it's science or its art.

One of those brain networks that is important is what's called the executive attention network.

And the executive attention network allows you to integrate lots of information in your

head at one time, hold stuff in your working memory, maintain strategies that you're currently

working on at one time so you don't forget what your strategy is or forget what you already

did and then redo it.

The executive attention network it's also helpful for inhibiting the obvious responses

or the first things that comes to your mind.

And so, creativity is important to access remote associations so the executive attention

network is going to be helpful to inhibit the most immediate obvious things that come

to mind.

People who are very good improv artists, for instance, the first thing that comes to their

mind is usually not the most creative so they tend to like wait for the second or third

thing and that's one of the improv activities.

So, the second major brain network that's important is the default mode network, but

I like to call it the imagination network because it's highly active every time we turn

our attention our focus of attention inward and we focus on our daydreams, we focus on

our future goals, on whenever we're trying to take the perspective of someone else.

So, it's very important for having compassion for someone else because it allows us to imagine

what someone else is thinking or feeling and so that's the imagination brain network.

And then the third major brain network that's important for creativity that I think is a

very underrated brain network it's called the salience brain network.

And that's associated with what is most salient in our environment?

What is most interesting to us?

Before we think through consciously about a creative activity and even before we activate

our imagination there's a process before both of that where we have a subconscious process

where the salient brain network tags things as interesting or not interesting in our environment

and it either feeds it to our imagination network or to our executive attention network

to pay attention to.

Creativity involves the interaction of all three, it's when we're captivated by the moment,

we're mindful, but we're also imaginative and we're also motivated and passionate to

engage in the creative activity.

EAGLEMAN: What's special about the human brain is that during the evolution of the cortex

got a lot more space between input and output.

So, other animals have these much closer together so when they get some stimulus they make essentially

a reflexive response.

In humans as the cortex expanded there's a lot more room there which means that inputs

can come in and sort of percolate around and get stored and get thought about and then

maybe you make an output or maybe you don't.

And there's one other thing that happened with the expansion of the cortex, which is

that we got a much bigger prefrontal cortex, that's the part right behind the forehead,

and that is what allows us to simulate what if's, to separate ourselves from our location

in space and time and think about possibilities.

What if I did that?

What if I had done that?

What if I could do that?

And so, we do this all of the time and the amazing part is now there are almost 8 billion

brains running around the planet and as a result creativity, I mean the creativity of

our species has gone up in this mad, amazing way because there's so much raw material to

draw on and there are so many of us that are constantly saying what if this, what if that?

BRANDT: When I look at my heroes in composition they are all incredible risk-takers.

And it's a constant reminder that you can introduce something new to the world and be

certain of the results.

And so, tolerating the risks, living with the risk, even enjoying it is, again, part

of being a creative person.

KAUFMAN: Creativity requires both intelligence and imagination.

Creativity requires our ability to know what has come before so we can stand on the shoulders

of giants, it also requires the ability to have great foresight and vision to imagine

the world the way that it could be and when we combined the two I think that makes us

much more likely we'll have creativity.

ETHAN HAWKE: The beauty of jazz music is that there's no plan.

There's a plan, there's an architecture.

Let's take something obvious like my favorite things, John Coltrane is my favorite things.

If people know one jazz thing often they'll know that one.

And he takes this famous song and they all start riffing on it and the musicians start

riffing on it and they find a new melody inside it and it changes and it changes and then

mysteriously comes back around again.

And spontaneity mixed with discipline and intelligence it evolves into something you

cannot plan that is more sophisticated and more interesting than something the intellectual

mind can plan.

When you're really being creative at your best you've used your discipline to open up

your subconscious.

WILSON: If it's a pure expression of yourself no matter what it is or what medium, it's

going to shine.

It's going to resonate.

You could look inside of yourself and you can have a canvas and you can paint a dot

in it, but if that's where your creative purpose is taking you then it needs to be that dot.

EAGLEMAN: We are vessels of our own space and time so the particular things we create

have to do with what we have absorbed.

So, if you compare 19th century Japanese music to 19th century French music to 19th century

Kenyon music and so on, you'll see these are extremely different but it's not that a composer

over here couldn't have done what a composer over here was doing, it's simply that it wouldn't

have stuck in their culture, it would have been strange and wouldn't make sense.

Why?

Because what we're doing is building on the foundations of what has come before us.

HAWKE: In a way you're channeling yourself and you're channeling your own questions and

your own seeking, which is deeply connected to your own.

We all have it.

We all have an essence, a center that is us.

We have it the day we're born and when you can access it then you can access the subconscious

and that's going to be more powerful and more true than anything your intellectual mind

has to say.

BEAU LOTTO: Because nothing interesting begins with knowing, it begins with not knowing.

Uncertainty is such a difficult dangerous thing that evolution has created a brain that

tries to avoid it all together to the extent that we have things like conformational bias.

Well, we'll start looking for evidence to confirm what we assume to be true already,

that we would rather hold onto assumptions that we know don't work because that is safer

we think than questioning them and stepping to a place that we don't actually know.

We do almost everything to avoid uncertainty and yet the irony is that that's the only

place we can go if we're ever going to see it differently.

And that's why creativity, seeing differently, always begins in the same way it begins with

a question, it begins with not knowing, it begins with a why, it begins with a what if.

EAGLEMAN: What good creators do is they cover the spectrum, this is as true of individuals

as it is for companies, they cover the spectrum where they're doing some things that are sort

of nearby and some things that are wackier and wackier and this is how they feel out

the border of the possible, this is how they figure out what's going to stick with their

society.

Because the thing about any sort of creative act is that you never know what's going to

stick, what will actually make a difference in your society.

SUZUKI: Then the question is, well, how do I up my creativity?

That's what everybody is interested in.

EAGLEMAN: The key is that humans are really different from one another and for one person

taking a hot shower might work and for another person a cold shower, one person works well

in the morning and another person at night, for one writer they should go and sit in the

coffee shop where it's loud and another writer it works better for them to sit alone in their

quiet office and write.

So, I suspect there's no single piece of advice that's going to apply to everyone.

WILSON: When people have ""creative blocks"", and I know my share of friends do as well

if they're at some stuck point they're not sure what to do with their lives or their

writing or their photography or their filmmaking or whatever it is that they're doing I think

the best advice is you have to change your life up completely, to go on a trip, go spend

a year being of service, be willing to take some major drastic action to get you out of

your comfort zone and go inside not outside.

I think our society is all about focusing on the externals, oh these people like me,

I'm successful because of these people, they view me as being good and we need to take

that vision and instead of expanding it outwards we need to look inside ourselves.