Perhaps the reason why creativity is given short shrift in academia is because it has a light, playful energy, rather than the heavy, dense energy of facts, charts, research….and heavy books that have been sitting in dusty corners of the library for a hundred years. I got my Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and…
The ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus said, “It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows.” When you know something in your mind to be true, is there open space in your mind for another view? Not likely. When we’re certain that we “know,” we’re at risk of trouble, because we…
Principles of Getting Messy: Teaching and learning are courageous. They take us into unknown places with unknown outcomes. Being a learner (letting yourself get messy) is what encourages creative insight to happen. There’s always possibility under the surface. It’s just that you need a certain way of looking to see it. From Getting Messy: A…
During the final hearing for my Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Chicago, my advisor, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi pulled me aside and whispered to me: “NEVER use the word heart in a job talk.” My Ph.D. dissertation was on how adults learn in everyday life and I’d mentioned the heart too many times. Mihaly could tell…
Creativity allows us to prioritize the present moment over our thinking. We’re the most human when we’re being creative. And when we give something–a project, a seminar, a relationship, a dilemma–space, the next right action naturally presents itself.
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