Creative WHY
At the edge of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, there's this long tunnel. When they first opened it up, the engineers faced a problem: many drivers would turn on their headlights inside the tunnel, but then they'd stop to take photos of the beautiful scenery outside, only to find their batteries drained when they got back. So, the engineers decided to put up a sign at the tunnel exit saying, "Please turn off your headlights." But here's the catch - a lot of drivers use the tunnel at night. If they see the sign and turn off their lights, they might end up in danger.
Here's the question left for everyone: How should the engineers remind everyone?
Yesterday, many users gave suggestions to this engineer. Some said, "If it's nighttime, keep your lights on; if it's daytime, turn them off after leaving the tunnel." Seems like a solid answer, right? But at 80 km/h, by the time you've read all that, you've probably already crashed.
So, the engineer eventually changed the sign to a question: "Are your lights still on?"
This question creatively provided a solution. It's a clever play on words - during the day, it reminds drivers to turn off their lights, and at night, it prompts them to turn them on. This questioning approach is quite clever, and it leads us to the topic we're discussing today - what's the essence of creativity? And how can questioning spark creativity?
Asking questions can manage attention, control the pace of conversation, and create a sense of involvement. But why does asking questions lead to creativity?
Creativity is a combination of things
American neuroscientist Jonah Lehrer in his book "Imagine: How Creativity Works" said, "Imagination used to be considered a separate thing from other cognitive abilities. Recent research shows that this assumption is wrong. Creativity is a combination of many cognitive abilities. There are three forms of creativity:
- Sudden inspiration
- Gradual accumulation
- Improvisation
So, to figure out whether we need a sudden flash of insight or a gradual solution to the problems we face, that determines if we should relax with a beer, boost our energy with a Red Bull, or go straight in."
But no matter which form, creativity involves facing a problem and combining past knowledge modules in the brain. Inspirational creativity involves cross-domain combinations; gradual accumulation involves within-domain combinations; improvisation combines with situational pressures, and questioning is the best tool for combinations.
Because asking questions is like a search engine in the brain:
Google works this way - when you search for a keyword, it fetches web pages from around the world, lists them, and compiles a page for you based on importance and relevance. Every day, Google has 34% of keywords that have never been searched before, meaning when you enter a keyword that has never been searched before, you are "creating" a new web page.
The same thing happens in your brain. When you think about an important, entirely new issue, your brain is also creating, combining, and generating new connections, making you smarter, and creativity emerges from these new pathways.
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No wonder so many great companies stem from questioning:
Swiss man Henry Dunant, in 1859 while traveling in Italy, witnessed a bloody war between the Austrian and French armies. Dunant asked himself, "How can we establish a relief agency in peacetime so that volunteers can assist the wounded during times of war?" Thus, the International Red Cross was born.
When Uber started off, the main question was, "Why is it so hard to get a cab during rush hours?" Traditional taxi companies would say it's because it's peak time and the cars are limited, but the founders of Uber pondered, "Why are there so many empty cars on the road with no passengers?"
In the 1980s, Intel was primarily a memory company. Faced with Japan's low-priced memory manufacturers, Intel suffered losses for six consecutive quarters, leading many to doubt its survival. One day in 1985, Intel's President Andy Grove, feeling dejected, discussed the company's plight with Chairman and CEO Moore.
Grove asked Moore, "If we step down and a new president takes over, what do you think he would do?"
Moore hesitated briefly and replied, "He would give up memory and focus on processors."
Grove stared at Moore and said, "Why don't we do it ourselves?"
In 1986, the company rolled out a new slogan: "Intel, the microprocessor company." Intel successfully navigated through the memory crisis and staged a remarkable comeback.
No matter the situation, asking "why" could be the first step toward change. If you can identify a problem before others—even if you don't fully solve it—you could create a new company or even a new industry. That's the power of questioning: a good question is the first step toward creativity.
Lastly, here are the 3 most important questions that can lead to answers:
1. Best outcome question: What is the best possible outcome of this situation?
2. Next step question: What will you do next regarding this issue?
3. Goal-checking question: How will you know when you've achieved it?
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5 个月Very insightful post on creativity! The more you use it, the more you have. It can never be used up!