The Creative Process (in a nutshell)
Below is an excerpt from this often referenced book on creativity. I will
explore further on why we fall for brainstorming techniques instead
of the synthesis of ideas. According to Csikszentmihalyi, the creative
process has traditionally been described as taking five steps.
1. Immersion
The first is a period of preparation, becoming immersed - consciously
or not - in a set of problematic issues that are interesting and arouse
curiosity.
2. Incubation
The second phase of the creative process is a period of incubation,
during which ideas churn around below the threshold of consciousness.
It is during this time that unusual connections are likely to be
made. When we intend to solve a problem consciously, we process
information in a linear, logical fashion. But when ideas call to each
other on their own, without leading them down a straight and narrow
path, unexpected combinations may come into being.
3. Insight
The third component of the creative process is insight, sometimes
called the “Aha!” moment, the instant when Archimedes cried “Eureka!”
as he stepped into the bath, when the pieces of the puzzle fall together.
4. Evaluation
The fourth component is evaluation, when the person must decide
whether the insight is valuable and worth pursuing. This is often
the emotionally trying part of the process, when one feels the most
uncertain and insecure. This is also when the internalized criteria of
the domain, and the internalized opinion of the field, usually become
prominent. Is this idea really novel or is it obvious? It is a period of selfcriticism and soul-searching.
5. Elaboration
The fifth and last component of the process is elaboration. It is
probably the one that takes the most time and involves the hardest
work. This is what Edison was referring to when he said creativity
consists of 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.
But this classical framework leading from preparation to elaboration
gives a severely distorted picture of the creative process if it is taken
too literally.
A person who makes a creative contribution never just slogs through to
the long last stage of elaboration. This part of the process is constantly
interrupted by periods of incubation and is punctuated by small
epiphanies. Many fresh insights emerge as the person is putting the
finishing touches on the initial insight.
In real life, there may be several insights interspersed with periods of
incubation, evaluation and elaboration. Thus the creative process is
less linear than recursive. How many iterations it goes through, how
many loops are involved, how many insights are needed, depends on
the depth and breadth of the issues dealt with. Sometimes incubation
lasts for years; sometimes it takes a few hours. Sometimes the creative
idea includes one deep insight and innumerable small ones.1
From Creativity – Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention,
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
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