I like this list of eight paradoxes of creativity from creativity thinker Michael Michalko (author of Thinkertoys, among other works):
To create, a person must
- Have knowledge but forget the
knowledge;
- See unexpected connections in things but not have a
mental disorder;
- Work hard but spend time doing nothing;
- Create many ideas yet most of them are useless;
- Look at the same
thing as everyone else, yet see something different;
- Desire success
but learn how to fail;
- Be persistent but not stubborn; and,
- Listen to experts but know how to disregard them.
These remind me a lot of the insights of the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus.
What other creativity paradoxes can you add to this list?
[photo credit: RvO]