BECOMING MORE CREATIVE HOW TO INVENT AND INNOVATE?

1. BECOMING MORE CREATIVE HOW TO INVENT AND INNOVATE? by Chiu-Cheng Chang, Ph.D. FSA, FCIA, FAIRC, FSII, CLU, ChFC, MAAA Professor, Graduate Institute of Management CHANG GUNG UNIVERSITY TAO-YUAN, TAIWAN Tel: 886-3-211-8508 Fax: 886-3-211-8500 e-mail: chiucheng@mail.cgu.edu.tw

2. WHY ASIANS ARE LESS CREATIVE THAN WESTERNERS ? • 過分強調IQ而忽略創造力 • 重視外在動機而忽略內在動機 • 強調知識來自權威的傳授，而忽略意義的主動建構 • 強調競爭表現、單打獨鬥，忽略團隊合作、知識分享

3. WHY ASIANS ARE LESS CREATIVE THAN WESTERNERS ? • 強調考試結果，忽略學習過程 • 重視紙筆測驗、記憶背誦，忽略真實評價、多元表現 • 支持乖男巧女、標準答案，排斥好奇求變、獨立思考 • 重視創造知識的傳授，忽略創造歷程的體驗及個人經驗與發現

4. WHY ASIANS ARE LESS CREATIVE THAN WESTERNERS ? • 強調努力認真，忽略樂在其中 • 重視言教要求，忽略潛移默化 • 重視學科本位，忽略課程整合

5. WHY CHINESE ARE LESS CREATIVE THAN WESTERNERS? • 儒家思想 • 權力距離遙遠的垂直結構 • 集體主義 • 老人統治

6. WHY CHINESE ARE LESS CREATIVE THAN WESTERNERS? • “天才最可靠的特徵之一，是非常討厭只吸收知識，而強求從實踐中學習。” • “高度創意的人執迷於從最原點學習起。他們罔顧標準方法的傾向似乎既倔強且危險。” • “高度創意的人相信從研究中學習。” • “天才總是不斷地在找尋問題。”

7. WHY CHINESE ARE LESS CREATIVE THAN WESTERNERS? • “許多大科學家及哲學家有相似的孤獨個性且在感情上與他人的態度及感覺相分離。” • “孤獨是培育天才的學校。” • “罹患中度狂熱症時所具有的思想能量與利器可能是創造力之來源。” • “具創造力的人擁有某些個性型態(configurations)及個性需求(needs)上的特徵 。”

8. WHY CHINESE ARE LESS CREATIVE THAN WESTERNERS? • “高度創意的人終其一生永遠保有像小孩子一樣的好奇心。” • “最偉大的科學家既是催生者(deliverers)，也是消滅者(destroyers)。” • “天才展現像患有偏執狂之執迷與狂熱。” • “天才擁有自我驅策的能力來解放其心智以免重蹈陳舊的傳統軌跡。”

9. WHY CHINESE ARE LESS CREATIVE THAN WESTERNERS? • “天才傾聽他們自己的沉思並抗拒傳統的思維。當靈感來臨時，他們工作，當有洞視領悟時，他們雀躍而其他人仍然沿著陳舊的路辛苦的走著。” • “天才把問題拋在一邊，讓它在潛意識中孵化，然後毫無警告，燈亮了，而整套答案就浮現出來。” • “天才把傑作留給我們，當作是潛意識所創造出來的遺產。”

10. 中國的科學研究成果何以不如經濟成長耀眼？ NATURE期刊之答案 • According to Ray Wu of Cornell, there are only 500 productive biologists in China but the number in the U.S. of Chinese descent is over 3,000. • The total number of productive biologists in the U.S. is over 40,000 • The number of high-impact papers published by Chinese scientists is less than 4% that of the U.S. • This is related to inadequate and short-term nature of its funding forcing researchers to work on projects that are likely to produce quick results.

11. 中國的科學研究成果何以不如經濟成長耀眼？ NATURE期刊之答案 • “Small grants, big review; medium grants, small review; big grants, no review.” • The system for evaluating and selecting research proposals and distribution of funds has been spoiled by human factors and influencies. • Chinese education system does not encourage students to think critically and creatively. • Chinese research lacks novelty and creativity.

12. 中國的科學研究成果何以不如經濟成長耀眼？ NATURE期刊之答案 • According to M.M. Poo of U.C. Berkeley, the Confucian tradition of respecting customs and hierarchy has cast a long shadow over modern China. • Authoritarian rule and political conformity have hampered the creation of an environment that fosters individual creativity. • Deference to authority and to existing paradigms is a major barrier to scientific breakthrough. • Research programs often follow closely existing lines of research in the West using similar paradigms and leading to competitive disadvantages.

13. 中國的科學研究成果何以不如經濟成長耀眼？ NATURE期刊之答案 • Critical scientific exchange is virtually non-existent in China, especially in public. • Open and frank dialogue is urgently needed to make scientific conferences in China not just friendly gatherings but intellectual events that stimulate ideas. • Lack of “essential tension’ that drives scientists to put their heart and mind into solving scientific problems. • Lack of an intellectual environment where “adversity breeds creativity” is critical for scientific discovery and technological innovation.

14. 中國的科學研究成果何以不如經濟成長耀眼？ NATURE期刊之答案 • Scientific research is under direct government control. • Scientific administrators at all levels have enormous power; they control resources and give instructions rather than provide services. • Chinese government has taken care of the entire life of a scientist, regardless of their performance. • The result has been the absence of pressure and a lack of incentive to excel. • Premature “promotions” of researchers to administrators.

15. 如何發掘華人學生的創造力? • 從學生多元成就，發掘創意 • 重視具有華文特色的創造歷程評量 • 強調生活風格的評量 • 強調創意文化的評估 • 重視守門人的影響

16. 如何培育華人學生的創造力呢? • 積極建立創造力的價值與態度 • 形塑創造的生活風格 • 以多元智慧為架構培育創造力 • 採取匯合取向或科際整合取向培育創造力

17. 如何培育華人學生的創造力呢? • 陶融創意文化，培養團隊創造力 • 妥善選擇創意守門人 • 包容、尊重與支持多元團體與個別差異 • 強調創意歷程與樂在其中的體驗

18. 如何培育華人學生的創造力呢? • 將創造力融入各科教學與課程統整 • 創造力相關技巧與特定領域創造技巧並重 • 同時重視多元與真實、個別與團體、歷程與產品 的評量 • 謹記「上行下效」比「掌控管教」更有效

19. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT CREATIVITY? • Creative Processes • Creative Persons • Creative Products • Creative Places (Domains, Fields, and Contexts)

20. CREATIVE PROCESSES • Not something that occurs in an instant with a single flash of insight • They are similar to procreation requiring a long gestation period after the initial conception of an idea • They are similar to evolution in which surviving products are determined through natural selection

21. CREATIVE PROCESSES • They involve an active search for gaps in existing knowledge, problem finding, or a breakthrough • They may initiate from a general drive toward self-organization through reduction of chaos • They may involve transformations of external world and internal representation, redefinition of problems, applying recurring themes and recognizing patterns and images

22. CREATIVE PROCESSES • They require tension • Tension from conflict between staying with tradition and breaking new ground • Tension from choosing among different paths to a solution or different products • Tension from battle between unorganized chaos and the drive to higher order

23. CREATIVE PROCESSES • Some believe creativity occurs only in special individuals at rare moments • Othersbelieve creative processes can be trained and improved • Creativity is achieved only when the right combination of particular problems, skills, individual, and social milieu comes together

24. CREATIVE PERSONS • Cognitive characteristics • Personality and motivational qualities • Special events or experiences during one's development

25. COGNITIVE CHARACTERISTICS • People are creative within particular domains of endeavor (domain specificity) • Creative people use existing knowledge as a base to create new ideas • Creative people are alert to novelty and finding gaps in domain knowledge

26. COGNITIVE CHARACTERISTICS • Can be grouped into three sets • Traits • Abilities • Processing styles

27. TRAITS • Relatively high intelligence • Originality • Articulateness and verbal fluency • A good imagination

28. ABILITIES • To think metaphorically • Flexibility and skill in making decisions • Independence of judgment • Coping well with novelty

29. ABILITIES • Logical thinking skills • Internal visualization • To escape perceptual sets and entrenchment in particular ways of thinking • Finding order in chaos

30. PROCESSING STYLES • Using wide categories and images of wide scope • A preference for nonverbal communication • Building new structures rather than using existing structures • Questioning norms and assumptions in their domain (asking "Why?") • Being alert to novelty and gaps in knowledge • Using existing knowledge as a base for new ideas

31. PERSONALITY AND MOTIVATIONAL QUALITIES • A willingness to confront hostility and take intellectual risks • Perseverance •  A proclivity to curiosity and inquisitiveness • Being open to new experiences and growth • A driving absorption • Discipline and commitment to one's work

32. PERSONALITY AND MOTIVATIONAL QUALITIES • High intrinsic motivation • Being task-focused • A certain freedom of spirit that rejects limits imposed by others • A high degree of self-organization such that they set their own rules rather than follow those set by others • A need for competence in meeting optimal challenges • Though often withdrawn, reflective, and internally preoccupied, they could have impact on people surrounding them

33. PERSONALITY AND MOTIVATIONAL QUALITIES • Tolerance for ambiguity • A broad range of interests • A tendency to play with ideas • Valuing originality and creativity • Unconventionality in behavior • Experiencing deep emotions

34. PERSONALITY AND MOTIVATIONAL QUALITIES • Intuitiveness • Seeking interesting situations • Opportunism • Some degree of conflict between self-criticism and self-confidence • A conflict or paradox between socially withdrawn and socially integrated tendencies • A need to maintain distance from peers, an avoidance of interpersonal contact, and resistance to societal demands

35. PERSONALITY AND MOTIVATIONAL QUALITIES • Have a drive for accomplishment and recognition • A need to form alliances • Desire attention, praise, and support • Display honesty and courageousness • Are charismatic and emotionally expressive • Are generally ethical, empathetic, and sensitive to the needs of others

36. SPECIAL EVENTS OR EXPERIENCES DURING ONE'S DEVELOPMENT • Being a firstborn • Having survived the loss of one or both parents early in life • Experiencing unusual situations • Being reared in a diversified, enriching, and stimulating home environment • Being exposed to a wide range of ideas • Being happier with books than with people while little

37. SPECIAL EVENTS OR EXPERIENCES DURING ONE'S DEVELOPMENT • Liking school and doing well • Developing and maintaining excellent work habits • Learning outside of class for a large part of their "education" • Having many hobbies • Being omnivorous readers • Forming distinct  and closely knit peer groups

38. SPECIAL EVENTS OR EXPERIENCES DURING ONE'S DEVELOPMENT • Having a future career image and definite role models, mentors, and paragons while in training • Exerting sustained effort and enjoying enduring reputations • Have contributions that demonstrate precocity and longevity • Publish early and get good jobs at initial stages • Overall, demonstrate voluminous productivity

39. CREATIVE PRODUCTS • Solutions to problems • Responses on creativity tests • Explanations for phenomena • Technological inventions and artifacts • Novel ideas • New styles, designs, or paradigms

40. CREATIVE PRODUCTS • They are novel, not imitations, nor are they mass-produced • They are powerful and generalizable • Exhibit parsimony • Cause irreversible changes in the human environment • May involve unusual sensory images or transformations • Are valuable or useful to the society

41. CREATIVE PRODUCTS • Show sensitivity to gaps in existing knowledge • Cross disciplinary and within-discipline boundaries so that they are difficult to categorize • Be  surprising • Be correct • They may be difficult, initially vague, or ill-defined • They involve coherent syntheses of broad areas

42. CREATIVE PLACES (DOMAINS,FIELDS,AND CONTEXTS) • Three ways affecting creativity • General contributions and resources available within the field • Special effects a particular field may have on its domain and the nature of the creative expressions that result • Containing specific characteristics that either promote or inhibit creativity

43. GENERAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND RESOURCES • Wealth • An audience's attention • Educational and employment opportunities • Background knowledge • Styles and paradigms • Cues for insights • Roles, norms, precedents, and good teachers

44. SPECIAL FIELD EFFECTS • Fields provide peers to evaluate and confirm creativity in their domains • Stimulation and sustenance of creative processes • Preservation and selection of ideas • Fields also affect the motivation of individuals working within them • A field's internal organizational attractiveness and easiness of evaluation • A field can improve its likelihood of creativity

45. THE MOST IMPORTANT SECRETS FOR BECOMING MORE CREATIVE • Be positive • Be enthusiastic • Be confident

46. THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL CREATIVITY PRINCIPLES • Reverse • Transfer • Combine • Change direction • Extension/expansion/generalization • Refinement/reduction

47. FIVE TIPS TO INVENTION AND INNOVATION • Be positive, enthusiastic, and confident • Searching for demands • Avoid reinventing the wheels • Reverse, transfer, combine, change direction, extend, refine • Just try it, just do it