Creative Think

Pause for A Bit

Today marks the second anniversary of the Creative Think blog. I've written 300 posts and received about 2,500 comments. It's been an interesting experience and I've gotten to meet many people from all over the world.

To mark this occasion, I thought that I'd take a card from my trusty Creative Whack Pack. Here goes. It's Pause for A Bit. Let's see what it says.

Poet Doug King on the value of incubating: "Learn to pause . . . or nothing worthwhile will ever catch up to you."

Allow the Muse to whisper in your ear. How would your problem benefit if you paused in the next hour? Day? Week? Month? What might you gain or learn?

What can you back away from? What issue would benefit from a pause?

This seems like pretty good advice. So I think I'll pause for a bit and let a few worthwhile things catch up with me!

[If you're looking for some good creative thinking ideas: click here and scroll down, and there and scroll down.]

A Fun Map of Economic Equivalence

Ever since I was a kid, I've loved maps — studying them and trying to figure out the mysteries that lay behind their representations.

Then I stumbled on this map. And I thought, "What is going on here?" If you haven't seen this before, take a few moments to study it and see if you can figure out the key.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The First Right Answer: It turns out that it's an "economic production equivalence" map. The country whose name is inside of each state has a GDP that is approximately the same as the state in which it is placed.

For example, California and France have approximately the same GDP. Some of the "equations" are off by as much as 20%, but I think this map paints a fascinating picture, namely one of the US as an economic powerhouse.

I just love it when someone's able to show me something that I've seen many times before in a fresh way!

The Second Right Answer: By joining together states and countries with similar GDPs, the map creator (perhaps inadvertently) has given us a big plate of "forced connections" to stimulate our thinking. This is one of the places I go with it:

What do you get when you mix together
the cultures of the two places?
For example:
Iran + Alabama = ? (Would Bear Bryant have been the Ayatollah)
Netherlands + Pennsylvania = ?
Algeria + West Virginia = ?
Oregon + Israel = ?

Creative exercise: What connections can you make between the above states and countries?

Ever since I was a kid, I've loved maps — studying them and trying to figure out the mysteries that lay behind their representations.

Then I stumbled on this map. And I thought, "What is going on here?" If you haven't seen this before, take a few moments to study it and see if you can figure out the key.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The First Right Answer: It turns out that it's an "economic production equivalence" map. The country whose name is inside of each state has a GDP that is approximately the same as the state in which it is placed.

For example, California and France have approximately the same GDP. Some of the "equations" are off by as much as 20%, but I think this map paints a fascinating picture, namely one of the US as an economic powerhouse.

I just love it when someone's able to show me something that I've seen many times before in a fresh way!

The Second Right Answer: By joining together states and countries with similar GDPs, the map creator (perhaps inadvertently) has given us a big plate of "forced connections" to stimulate our thinking. This is one of the places I go with it:

What do you get when you mix together
the cultures of the two places?
For example:
Iran + Alabama = ? (Would Bear Bryant have been the Ayatollah)
Netherlands + Pennsylvania = ?
Algeria + West Virginia = ?
Oregon + Israel = ?

Creative exercise: What connections can you make between the above states and countries?

Ephesus and Didyma

We've spent the past four days in Ephesus and Bodrum on the southwestern Turkish Aegean coast.

Here I am in Ephesus putting the Ball of Whacks in its rightful "classical" position atop a pedestal. [Yes, I can be a goofy tourist.]

Alas, there was no mention of the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus in the Ephesus Museum (he lived in Ephesus circa 550-480 BC). But Heraclitus probably looked like the guy on the right (with his girlfriend on the left).

At the Temple of Apollo in Didyma. Medusa, who turned others to stone when they gazed at her, is herself set in stone. She is quite impressive in person (about 1.5 meters high).

Inside the Oracular Area of the Temple of Apollo (Didyma). Wendy and stretch out in front of an altar decorated with a pair of griffins. [The griffin is a legendary creature  with the body of a lion  and the head and wings of an eagle. In antiquity, the griffin was a symbol of divine power -- in this case Apollo.]

King Kong Is Where You Find Him

The Creative Whack Pack is now available as an iPhone app. Check it out HERE and boost your creativity.

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You know how it's possible to find different forms and shapes when you look at clouds? The same thing happens with rock formations. After I landed on my recent balloon trip in Cappadocia, I saw this form in the horizon.

That looks familiar, I thought. It was none other than King Kong on top of the Empire State building! What do you think?

It may not be the Virgin Mary in a tortilla, but it is pretty cool.

Cappadocian Balloon Ride

Wendy and I are in the Cappadocian region of central Turkey. The landscape here is quite amazing: it's filled with fairy chimneys, lava flows, caves, and ancient underground cities.

To better explore it, we took a hot air balloon ride this morning. (This was our second balloon trip: the first was 20 years ago in the Masai Mara in Kenya).

We lifted off right after sunrise. Here, a sister balloon rises with us. If you've ever flown in a balloon, then you know just how quiet and peaceful it is.

Thirty other balloons flew with us this morning -- and they each caught a different set of wind currents.

Flying past ancient caves.

Going over a village. An early rising farmer waves to us.

Flying over some gorgeous land features.

Looking down on pinnacles and chimneys.

Wendy and I are back on the ground after our hour-long flight. It was a great way to start the day, and a wonderful way to explore Cappadocia.

Turkish (Geometrical) Delight

Wendy and I are in Turkey for two weeks (our second visit). Those readers familiar with the Ball of Whacks know my fondness for geometrical art. Turkey, with its strong Islamic tradition, provides its visitors with many opportunities to take delight in patterns.

Below is part of a panel made from mother of pearl inlay at Topkapi Palace (Istanbul). Note the interplay of octagons and pentagons. Exquisite!

Shown below is part of a wood screen at the Rustempasa mosque (Istanbul). This one has an interplay of hexagons and quadralaterals.

Bob Dylan and Dave Matthews Band

I've gone to two outdoor rock concerts in the past week: Bob Dylan at the JAS Festival at Aspen-Snowmass, Colorado over Labor Day weekend, and Dave Matthews Band at the Greek Theater in Berkeley last night. [Photos by Alex von Oech.]

This was my second Dylan concert (the first was 43 years ago in 1965 when I was 17). Dylan gave a paradoxical performance. On the one hand, it's quite inspirational to see a real "living legend" still pumping it out to a large crowd at the age of 67. Plus, he's got a dynamite band.

On the other hand, I wasn't always sure what I was hearing. Bob doesn't bother to sing all the words anymore, and the arrangements are quite different from what I remember. For example, I listened to one song for two minutes before I realized that it was "Highway 61 Revisited." This also happened with "Visions of Johanna." But what the heck: Bob's entitled to change!

The audience loved him, though, and he gave two thundering encores ("Like a Rolling Stone" and "All Along the Watch Tower"). He's still got his harmonica chops! Lots o'fun.

If Dylan is the "living legend" from another era, Dave Matthews is the preacher of today giving his congregation everything they wanted — and more. The Greek Theater was filled with 7,000 true believers. (This was my fourth Dave Matthews concert; my son has been to 24; and I imagine that many there had been to over fifty of his concerts.) Wonderful music, showmanship, stagecraft, and a genuine bond between performers and the audience.

Nothing like a rock concert to clean your head out!

Laughing, Laughing, Laughing

What's your favorite You-Tube video? Here's mine. I first saw it about four years ago, and I love viewing it whenever I need a lift. You might try the techniques displayed here with your colleagues. At your next meeting, just get up and do as the master advises!

In April, 2004, I went to an outdoor Laughter Yoga session in Bombay (Mumbai), India. At 7 AM, I showed up at the "Gateway of India" with about fifty dedicated locals. For the next forty-five minutes, we did laughing exercises. It was quite invigorating and a great way to start the day. Shown below is the session leader (center). My wife Wendy is second from left.

I still use some of what I learned that morning.

My François Truffaut Marathon

For the past two weeks, I've watched eleven films by the delightful French director François Truffaut. Viewing Truffaut's work has been a nice antidote to today's cinematic fare of bloated and insensitive turkeys. (For my other marathons, see Kubrick, Bergman, Kurosawa, Antonioni, Russian, and Buñuel).

Truffaut (1932-1984) was at the center of film's "French New Wave" in the 1950s and 1960s. Truffaut was a proponent of "auteur" theory, which is that a film should reflect the director's personal creative vision.

Truffaut's films are generally loosely constructed narratives and focus on human relationships. Many of his films are semi-autobiographical, and show great sensitivity to women. Also, Truffaut liked to work with a small cast and crew thus giving his films an "approachable" feeling.

     

     

These are the films I watched. (I've placed a + next to my four favorites).

+The 400 Blows (Les Quatre cents coups), 1959. Starring Jean-Pierre Leaud. This was Truffaut's breakthrough film (he won best director at Cannes), and is based on his own teenage experiences and misadventures. A must-see.

Shoot the Piano Player (Tirez sur le pianiste), 1960. Charles Aznavour. Semi-farce, semi-tragedy about artists and gangsters in late 1950s Paris. Truffaut's homage to American film noir.

+Jules and Jim, 1962. Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, and Henri Serre. Based on the semi-autobiographical novel of Henri-Pierre Roche. Set in pre and post World War I France and Austria, it's the story of two friends and the woman who comes between them.

Fahrenheit 451, 1966. Oskar Werner and Julie Christie. Based on the Ray Bradbury short story about a state that burns books to encourage unformity of thinking. Truffaut's only English language film, and also his first film in color. I originally saw this in 1968 and thought it was "so-so." It has aged well, though, and on my recent viewing, I came to appreciate Truffaut's choices (i.e, it is not as heavy-handed as it might have been if done by another director such as Otto Preminger). It's fun to see the various books that are burned.

Stolen Kisses (Baiers voles), 1969; Bed and Board (Domicile conjugal), 1970; and Love on the Run (L'Amour en fuite), 1979. All starring Jean-Pierre Leaud. These three are part of what is called the "Antoine Doinel series" which covers the life of the character who first appeared in "The 400 Blows." It's fun to watch Jean-Pierre Leaud grow up! Also, nice glimpse of Paris of the late 1960s.

Wild Child (L'Enfant sauvage), 1970. Based on an 1798 incident in which a ten year old feral child is brought into society. Truffaut plays a doctor who attempts to "civilize" the youth. Feels right out of the sixties.

+Day for Night (Nuit americaine), 1973. Jacquiline Bisset. Winner of the Oscar for best foreign language film. Truffaut's inside look at how a film is made. Focuses on the foibles and interactions of cast and crew. Truffaut himself plays a director (and he's actually pretty good!). Well worth seeing.

The Story of Adele H., 1975. Isabelle Adjani (nominated for best actress Oscar). About the life of the schizophrenic daughter of Victor Hugo in the 1860s. Quirky, but interesting.

+The Man Who Loved Women, 1977. Charles Denner. Comedy about a man who is drawn to women (who are also drawn to him). Provocative insights about the dynamics of attraction and courtship.

What are your favorite Truffaut films?