How creative can you get?

Instead of wasting my time coming up with yet another excuse for my absence from the blog, just thought I’d get down to brass tacks.

Working in software, there are a multitude of trainings that you are ‘nominated’ to attend and trust me you wouldn’t hear the end of it if you did miss one. This was that time of the quarter (or whatever) and as usual I was ‘nominated’ to attend a training, but this did spark my interest because the topic of the training was - “Creative Thinking - Thinking out of the box”

Trainings like these are usually chosen in terms of their relevance to work and I was under the usual impression that I could expect to take away something that would help me in problem-solving (which is pretty much what every training promises :)).

Looking back at the training, the key points that I can take back for work would be

1. Using mind maps - I currently use them for personal introspection. Its a great tool to aid systematic thinking. You can check out freemind here
2. Challenging assumptions (yours and other people’s ;)) - Even before the training, I had started my work on this, thanks to my husband, Richard Dawkins and The Selfish Gene
3. Edward De Bono’s Six Thinking hats - Well, this is something that every one should check out. Not only does this help in meetings where there is just too much speaking out of turn, but also with your own looping thoughts. I’ll try to do a later post about this.

While all the above would help me at work (which is what I was sent for), it was an interesting exercise that helped me rediscover the inherent wild imagination that we all have - the one that helped us imagine in vivid colour and stark detail the wishing chair, the magic faraway tree and the many exciting adventures of the Famous five and the Secret seven. Yes, Enid Blyton was my favourite as a child.

I should say that for me at least - imagination is not lost, it remains (I visualize processes and threads and stacks and registers - I would not be able to work if I am unable to see it in my head - no good at abstraction - at all! ) , but as adults, we apply logic even before a bizarre thought starts forming. While it may seem of no practical use to have crazy wild wonky thoughts, its extremely liberating.

So the exercise was for us (my team) as explorers to recount in detail our discovery of a conch shell the size of a cathedral. The moment we lifted the inhibition to think like adults, we came up with some ludicrous stuff like coconut ghosts asking questions that required answers from The Selfish Gene, flying horned lizards spewing acid fire, a benevolent octopus playing Beethoveen Symphony no.5, a boost-drinking foolhardy snake and the like. I think for most people with kids, this may seem run of the mill. For me, on the other hand, it was refreshingly bracing!

Picture credit: http://universe-beauty.com/

Tags: crazy, creative, Mind Map, out-of-the-box, Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, wild, wonky