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Good article, but straight from the big book of the very obvious. Were this the case, children would have to spend months deliberately studying how to play. A

Good article, but straight from the big book of the very obvious. Were this the case, children would have to spend months deliberately studying how to play. As the author says, deliberate study is antithetical to creativity. Creativity is spontaneous, playful, imaginative - and none of those things come from grinding. I have my best ideas usually while doing something totally unrelated.

bsder 11y ago
> Creativity is spontaneous, playful, imaginative - and none of those things come from grinding. Research shows that people who simply produce wind up producing better. So, the research disagrees with you at least somewhat. There is no creativity without production. Production, however, does not guarantee creativity.
- madaxe_again 11y ago
  That's output vs intent, however - you can be creative but not necessarily create physical things. Most artists create nothing themselves - they leave that to their artisans. Are they uncreative because they instruct rather than construct?
  - inimino 11y ago
    > Most artists create nothing themselves Sorry, who are you talking about?
    - madaxe_again 11y ago
      The vast majority of artists. You think Damien Hirst has picked up a brush in 20 years?
InclinedPlane 11y ago
It's both, and it's a fine balance. That's why high quality art is a comparative rarity. If you practice too much, you will just be an automaton. Able to make but not to express. Your work will be derivative, uninteresting. There are literally millions of artists who have fallen into this trap. If you practice too little then all your creativity will be for naught as you lack the skill and ability to translate it into an expression. Michelangelo, for example, was apprenticed when he was only 13, and by the time he made the Pieta he had been studying and working for 10 years. The important thing is to find the balance. To practice as a means to hone a skill that is at your command, rather than your master.

bsder 11y ago

> Creativity is spontaneous, playful, imaginative - and none of those things come from grinding. Research shows that people who simply produce wind up producing better. So, the research disagrees with you at least somewhat. There is no creativity without production. Production, however, does not guarantee creativity.

madaxe_again 11y ago
That's output vs intent, however - you can be creative but not necessarily create physical things. Most artists create nothing themselves - they leave that to their artisans. Are they uncreative because they instruct rather than construct?
- inimino 11y ago
  > Most artists create nothing themselves Sorry, who are you talking about?
  - madaxe_again 11y ago
    The vast majority of artists. You think Damien Hirst has picked up a brush in 20 years?

InclinedPlane 11y ago

It's both, and it's a fine balance. That's why high quality art is a comparative rarity. If you practice too much, you will just be an automaton. Able to make but not to express. Your work will be derivative, uninteresting. There are literally millions of artists who have fallen into this trap. If you practice too little then all your creativity will be for naught as you lack the skill and ability to translate it into an expression. Michelangelo, for example, was apprenticed when he was only 13, and by the time he made the Pieta he had been studying and working for 10 years. The important thing is to find the balance. To practice as a means to hone a skill that is at your command, rather than your master.