March 14 (3/14) was Pi Day (3.14). (March 14 is also Albert Einstein's birthday!) Some celebrate by writing pi-ku -- that, is haiku (17 syllables) about pi and/or a haiku-style poem inspired by pi (3.14, or a three-syllable line, a one-syllable line and a four-syllable line). In my "Creativity + Social Change" course at the University of Connecticut, we begin class each week with a creative thinking warm-up activity. This week, we wrote pi-ku about creativity. Below are the creative outcomes from that experience.
This exercise, of capturing a key idea about creativity in just a few words, is an excellent example of the creative ability of "highlighting the essence," as described by creativity researcher E. Paul Torrance. Highlighting the essence is about identifying what is important or essential.
What's YOUR creativity in pi-ku? Share yours in the comments below!
You and I
merge
image and thoughts.
- Laurie Lukasavage
Let me see
your
creative mind.
- Laurie Lukasavage
Pam and Willy
like
to get silly.
- Chris Filek
Wandering
through
creative minds.
- Chris Filek
Free your Mind
Think
And Then Be Free
- Derek Pettinelli
If You See
Then
You Can Believe
- Derek Pettinelli
Take a Look
See
Outside the Norm
- Derek Pettinelli
From nothing
Flash -
Beauty is there.
- Robert Sireno
Something needed -
What?
Ah-ha it's there.
- Robert Sireno
Apple Pi
Tastes
Most Delicious
Hot
- Ralph Famiglietti
Pi Day is
so
cool. March 14.
- Joan Terry
Creative
work
innovation.
- April Belanger
Love and laugh
Like
Community.
- April Belanger
What is fun?
Fun!
Nothing but fun!
- Shavon Roscoe
An artist
paints
creative waves
- Shavon Roscoe
A picture
drawn
yes, from my mind
- Shavon Roscoe
creating
pie
mix, roll, bake, eat
- Catherine Capuano
Creative
me,
what next for us?
- Steven Dahlberg
Judging much?
STOP!
Yes, and ... Yes, and ...
- Steven Dahlberg
Imagine ...
Why,
what if, what else?
- Steven Dahlberg
Openness.
Think.
Imagine now.
- Steven Dahlberg
Imagine
and
connect, engage.
- Steven Dahlberg
Showing posts with label NPR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NPR. Show all posts
Friday, March 18, 2011
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Commentary: On "New Biography Focuses on Einstein's Creativity"
By Edwin Hollenbeck
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
In his narrative biography on the life of Albert Einstein, the two words that Walter Isaacson uses to describe the true success and ability for Einstein to develop his amazing theories comes down to freedom and creativity. He argues that it was not dependently the fact of Einstein’s great mind about science and mathematics that gave me such great insight into solving his greatest theories but it was the very way he perceives the universe that made him so different. But in a work of study that came several years before Isaacson’s biography, the question is begged if the traits found in Einstein were specific to his genius or if anyone could develop his or her own brain into being so wise and intuitive.
According to Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin and Einstein shared a trait of creativity. However, where Franklin excelled as an experimentalist, Einstein came up short. Isaacson explains that during a series of mental exercises Einstein was “driven by an imagination that broke from the confines of conventional wisdom” and that Einstein could “picture the underlying reality behind a mathematical equation.” These “thought experiments” were close to what the common layman might consider daydreams and delved Einstein’s mind into abstract curiosities. Einstein’s rise to fame came at a time when society was encouraging the breakage of classical bonds of conformity and celebrating figures like Picasso, Freud, and Joyce. His departure from conventional scientific methods was a welcomed jump from the stiff experiment-based science.
It wasn’t always that Einstein did not care for traditional science but that he was not very good at the typical learning methods. He thought more in visualizations than through “normal” written studies, which combined with his rebelliousness and creativity, allowed him to think of the universe as a puzzle more than a series of mathematical equations. His rebellious nature was against authority of many sorts and current limitations in scientific knowledge were no exception. His theories were so extreme and vast in topic for the time (relativity, energy, and space) it’s no wonder they captured the imagination of society.
An earlier work by Dr. Win Wenger (The Einstein Factor) suggests that Einstein was not born as a genius but trained his mind in a sense that allowed him to tap into these greater thoughts. When Einstein’s brain was autopsied there was no obvious difference between his own and a layman, but under further research it was discovered the true less obvious difference was the sheer number of neurological connections his brain encased. The higher the number of connections that your brain develops the greater an individual’s ability is to think. Through specific and not so specific types of interactions, Dr. Wenger suggests that anyone is capable of having such a genius mind if they, no pun intended, put their mind to it.
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
Talk of the Nation: Science Friday - July 6, 2007Related Readings:
LISTEN TO AUDIO: “New Biography Focuses on Einstein's Creativity”
In his new biography of Albert Einstein, author Walter Isaacson argues that it was Einstein's creativity, not his mathematical genius, that led him to his great discoveries.
- Ira Flatow, Host and Executive Producer
- Walter Isaacson, author, Einstein: His Life and Universe; president and CEO, The Aspen Institute; former managing editor, Time magazine; former chairman and CEO, CNN
Excerpt: 'Einstein' by Walter Isaacson, From Chapter 1: The Light-Beam RiderCommentary:
The Einstein Factor: Proven Techniques to Boost Your Brain's Performance!
NOVEMBER 1995 SUCCESS Pages 55-62 [reprint]
In his narrative biography on the life of Albert Einstein, the two words that Walter Isaacson uses to describe the true success and ability for Einstein to develop his amazing theories comes down to freedom and creativity. He argues that it was not dependently the fact of Einstein’s great mind about science and mathematics that gave me such great insight into solving his greatest theories but it was the very way he perceives the universe that made him so different. But in a work of study that came several years before Isaacson’s biography, the question is begged if the traits found in Einstein were specific to his genius or if anyone could develop his or her own brain into being so wise and intuitive.
According to Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin and Einstein shared a trait of creativity. However, where Franklin excelled as an experimentalist, Einstein came up short. Isaacson explains that during a series of mental exercises Einstein was “driven by an imagination that broke from the confines of conventional wisdom” and that Einstein could “picture the underlying reality behind a mathematical equation.” These “thought experiments” were close to what the common layman might consider daydreams and delved Einstein’s mind into abstract curiosities. Einstein’s rise to fame came at a time when society was encouraging the breakage of classical bonds of conformity and celebrating figures like Picasso, Freud, and Joyce. His departure from conventional scientific methods was a welcomed jump from the stiff experiment-based science.
It wasn’t always that Einstein did not care for traditional science but that he was not very good at the typical learning methods. He thought more in visualizations than through “normal” written studies, which combined with his rebelliousness and creativity, allowed him to think of the universe as a puzzle more than a series of mathematical equations. His rebellious nature was against authority of many sorts and current limitations in scientific knowledge were no exception. His theories were so extreme and vast in topic for the time (relativity, energy, and space) it’s no wonder they captured the imagination of society.
An earlier work by Dr. Win Wenger (The Einstein Factor) suggests that Einstein was not born as a genius but trained his mind in a sense that allowed him to tap into these greater thoughts. When Einstein’s brain was autopsied there was no obvious difference between his own and a layman, but under further research it was discovered the true less obvious difference was the sheer number of neurological connections his brain encased. The higher the number of connections that your brain develops the greater an individual’s ability is to think. Through specific and not so specific types of interactions, Dr. Wenger suggests that anyone is capable of having such a genius mind if they, no pun intended, put their mind to it.
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