| A very successful advertising executive once said, | | | | ideas, the wine press and the coin punch. The coin |
| "The creative person wants to be a know-it-all". He | | | | punch was used to leave an image on a small metallic |
| wants to know about all kinds of things" ancient history, | | | | surface such as a silver or gold coin. The wine press |
| 19th century mathematics, current-manufacturing | | | | was used to apply force over a large area to |
| techniques, flower arrangement and hog futures. That's | | | | squeeze the juice such as grapes. One day, |
| because he will never know when this information | | | | Gutenberg hit upon the idea and asked himself, "What |
| might come together to form a new idea. It may | | | | if I took some coin punches and put them under the |
| happen ten minutes later or ten years down the road. | | | | force of the wine press . Would they leave an image |
| But he has faith that it will happen". | | | | on paper?" He did just that and lo and behold, he had |
| Knowledge is indeed the wellspring of new ideas. | | | | invented the printing press and the movable type. |
| However, knowledge won't make a person creative. | | | | Grace Hopper, a Navy Admiral also had such an |
| We've all known people who knew lots of facts and | | | | Eureka moment. Tasked with explaining the concept |
| information and nothing creative ever comes out of | | | | of a "nanosecond" to some non-technical computer |
| them. Their knowledge just sat in their heads because | | | | users. (A nanosecond is a billionth of a second, and it's |
| they didn't think about what they knew in any new | | | | the basic time interval of a super-computer's internal |
| ways. The real key to being creative lies in what you | | | | clock). She had to find a way to explain a |
| do with what lies in your brain, all the facts, information | | | | nano-second and decided that she could explain it as a |
| and knowledge which you've garnered through the | | | | space problem rather than a time problem. She pulled |
| years. | | | | out a piece of string 30 centimeters long (11.8 inches) |
| Creative thinking is a way of thought, an attitude that | | | | and told everyone one that it was the time taken for |
| you adopt to search for ideas and work with your | | | | light to travel from one end of the string to the other. |
| knowledge and experience. How they all come | | | | The examples above illustrates a creative mind's |
| together, be mixed around and manipulated like fresh | | | | power to transform one thing into another. By changing |
| clay to be molded into ideas. With this perspective, you | | | | the way we look at things and playing around with our |
| try various approaches, first one, then another, often | | | | knowledge or what we do know. We can make |
| not getting anywhere. You persist, you use crazy, | | | | ordinary knowledge and make it an extraordinary idea, |
| outlandish and impractical ideas as stepping-stones to | | | | and the unusual, commonplace. In this way, wine |
| practical new ideas. You constantly break the rules | | | | presses squeeze out information and a string is |
| and explore for ideas in unusual outside places. By | | | | transformed into a nanosecond. |
| adopting a creative outlook you open yourself up both | | | | Just as it takes a wild imagination to come up with |
| to new possibilities and to change. | | | | new ideas, people who participate in memory |
| Are you a creative person? Why not take a test to | | | | competitions have been known to use unconventional |
| see if you have what it takes to solve a problem, with | | | | associations to remember long chains of numbers or |
| some imagination. Think of all kinds of crazy ideas to | | | | list of things. Such memory training techniques can also |
| solve the following problem; | | | | be used by students to enhance their study skills and |
| An eccentric old king wants to give his crown to one | | | | improve their grades, sometimes dramatically. Memory |
| of his two sons. He decides to hold a race and the | | | | training is also known to not only improve memory, but |
| one who owns the slower horse will become the king. | | | | also to accelerate learning |
| The sons, each fearing that the other will cheat by | | | | Discovery is all about looking at the same thing, or |
| having his horse run less fast than it is capable, ask the | | | | what others view as the same, and thinking of |
| court jester for his advice. With only two words, the | | | | something very different. So if you are ever stuck with |
| jester tells them how to make sure that he race will be | | | | a problem, try to see it in a different light. You might |
| fair. What are these two words? | | | | just come up with something that no one has ever |
| The answer is at the end of this article. | | | | thought of. |
| There is a man by the name of Johann Gutenberg. | | | | Answer To Creative Test Above |
| Gutenberg combined two previously unconnected | | | | Switch horses. |