Friday, August 31, 2007

The War of Art

Steven Pressfield

AC required reading.

7 ±2 Chunks Willing to Acquire

According to George A. Miller, short term memory can only retain seven (plus or minus two) chunks of information at any given time. For example, upon reaching reaching a tenth chunk, one existing chunk is lost bringing the number back to nine. The key in remembering the chunks is its meaningfulness.

Meaningful information by nature is subjective. Therefore in order to retain the maximum
number of chunks in short term memory it is critical to make it personal.

Creatively assigning mnemonic devices to the short term memory chunks for later long term storage is one way to improve memory.

When acquiring a second language,
according to Krashen, subconscious acquisition is apparently more important. This is due in part to meaningful and natural interaction with the language.

For our purposes dealing with creativity, we can assume that meaningful and natural interaction with unknown information/chunks can lead to subconscious acquisition. The real question is the acquisition of what?

It is said to surround yourself with that which is either beautiful or practical. There seems to be some truth in this. If you surround yourself with anything else then we can assume you are subconsciously acquiring chunks that we may not necessarily be desirable in regards to spurring creativity and/or structure. Said nasty chunks, in theory could make their way into long term storage and further with a little more speculation—could be those dirty blockers to creativity.

How then do we filter?

Next beat - Creative Filtering Systems.

Thanks,
Matthew, MB

Beat your Mental


Thursday, August 30, 2007

5 Reasons for a Structured Concept Phase

The concept phase, the most important phase in any project, is critical in determining not only the success of the project but as well as the health of the team. A healthy team can think quick but direct, can make serendipitous connections, and have the stamina to put in the extra time when needed (this is always the exception, never the norm). Overall productivity and quality increases. As a result, the following side effects are likely to happen.

  1. A non-reactive environment
  2. Serendipitous occurances
  3. Over deliver
  4. Team can anticipate next move(s)
  5. On the spot needs analysis

This can only come from controlled repetition.

Creating this structure and discipline will have future benefits of unknown proportions. It allows for clarity, stability, and flexibility when needed. It is like a craftsman moving effortlessly through his or her process.

"Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect."
- John Pancott
and - Vince Lombardi

For more information try the following:


An Introduction to Concept Mapping for Planning and Evaluation

William M.K. Trochim
Cornell University


Beat on!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Resource Alert


Steven Nachmanovitch
Freeplay
Improvisation is key to creativity and fear is the biggest blockage
to creative freedom.

Five Fears in Buddhism
Fear of ...
loss of life
loss of livelihood
loss of reputation
unusual states of mind
speaking before an assembly
- - - - -
Look for reality behind reality

"Its OK to stand on the shoulders of giants but don't let the giants sit on your shoulders- their legs have nowhere to dangle."

"Paint as you like and die happy"
Henry Miller

Plone - open source cms

http://plone.org
ideal for project groups, communities,extra/intranets,and websites

10 Things you can do to be more creative

We all have trouble sometimes getting started or getting out of bed. Well here are a few tips on how you can get the creative fluids flowing more frequently and faster.

  1. Early morning automatic writing. First thing in the morning, get out a pen and notebook and just start writing. This tip was inspired by Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way.
  2. Do something different every day. For example if you always take the same route home from work, try a different way. Even better, try a new way home and get lost.
  3. Exercise regularly. Nothing inspires inspiration than perspiration.
  4. Get enough sleep. This is different for everyone but it is said that eight hours is a good benchmark.
  5. Surround yourself with things of inspiration such as images, magazines, objects, animals, and yes, people. Think immersion.
  6. Learn to mind map. I think creating a schematic from your mind on paper is a magical endeavor guaranteed to jog your creativity. Recently I began using FreeMind - a free mind mapping utility. It's open source, so it's free and it's Java based so its multi-platform friendly.
  7. Learn to collect your ideas. Ideas can pop up at odd times. Have a system to collect these ideas. David Allen's Getting Things Done is a great book on the subject. There are plenty of GTD evangelists out there if you want a second opinion.
  8. Find your power points. These can be places in your home that seem more conducive for creativity or it could be a coffee shop with a nice view of a lake. Whatever it is, you know it when you find.
  9. Take a class at a community college or equivalent. Challenging your mind to new things in new environments is always a way to gain some creativity points.
  10. Travel. This doesn't mean down the block. It means to slide to some place outside of your comfort zone. An unknown location (for you). Exploration is key in stirring up some of the old creative juices.
Please feel free to share your ideas on how to cultivate your creativity.

Thanks and Beat your Mental!

Matthew, MB