CHAPTER 7

Creativity and Mind-Mapping

Chapter Objectives

This chapter aims at examining the vital subjects of creativity and mind-mapping. It talks of the different manifestations of creativity and how they are important in our personal and academic life. The chapter aims to make readers aware of how creativity can be nurtured and used. It also discusses mind-mapping as one of the ways of expressing and developing creativity. It gives a detailed account of how mind-mapping can be seen as working with and complementing the functioning of the brain while being used effectively for organization and creativity simultaneously.

CREATIVITY

Creativity can be described as a way of thinking. It is the manner of evolving new thoughts, approaching solutions differently, or simply adapting to a different manner of living or profession. With changing perceptions, we no longer believe that creativity is inborn. It is a potential that every one of us possesses. The difference lies in whether we have been able to nurture it, develop it, or tried to give it an expression and direction. Similarly, every situation has the potential to be creatively altered or improved. What is necessary is exploring alternatives, and finding ways of doing things.

TIMES WHEN WE ARE CREATIVE

Even the most creative people are not equally creative at all times. Similarly every person does become creative at certain times. Let us look at a few situations that are conducive for creativity, which make us think differently.

Thinking up a new idea

There are many occasions when suddenly we look at a problem differently, we find a new solution, and we phrase a thought or even try out a new recipe. All these, and many more are expressions of our creativity. At times, it can be the understanding of the source of disagreement or even a child discovering how to fix a set of puzzles. We have to understand that creativity isn't the realm of profound thinking only. Batting elegantly and with improvisation in the cricket field (or even writing a business report differently) is also creativity.

Doing something spontaneous

Sometimes, in a moment of inspiration, we give a speech off-the-cuff, respond spontaneously. We may try a new route or decide to try out a new combination of clothes successfully–some-thing we never thought would jell before. All these are outlets to our personal creativity. They are moments you cannot always repeat. These are also moments when we are at our best, competent and confident.

Creativity and building relationships

Fostering a meaningful relationship too means creativity. Sometimes we change our approach to meaningfully deal with a person. We steer a relationship to a win-win situation and create a context that can be based on collaboration and cooperation. The way we establish and nurture our relationships are indicative of the quality of our underlying creativity. The way we express ourselves in our relationships, too, manifests creativity.

1. Find out five ways to:
   1. avert environmental pollution 10 years from hence.
   2. make cooking easier.
   3. solve the problem of excess population 20 years hence.
   4. lower the stress level of your friends.
   5. convince your girl friend / boy friend to come to a movie with you.
2. List down the names of three people you dislike. However find 3 qualities in each of them, that is appreciable.
3. Make a note of two situations, which make you very uncomfortable. Devise 3 things you can do in each of the situations to be more at ease.

   1. _____________	2. _____________
   a. ..........................	a. ..........................
   b. ..........................	b. ..........................
   c. ..........................	c. ..........................

WAYS IN WHICH YOU CAN BE CREATIVE

Creativity manifests itself in many ways. Different people experience it differently. Some of the ways in which creativity blossoms are:

Creativity through Visioning

One way of finding creative solutions to problems is by visioning, through which you seek the ideal, long-term solution to problems. During visioning you let yourself go, imagine what it could be like if dreams came true or if problems were solved. It often helps in providing direction, inspiration and momentum to creative projects. Questions like: What would I like to be 10 years from hence? Help us form long-term objectives and focus our efforts.″

Creativity through Exploring

This method of exploring your creativity involves questioning and challenging the core assumptions, making a radical breakthrough and coming up with new assumptions. This style of creativity works without any consideration of long-term goals, even consideration of the practical realities. The typical questions one asks in this process are: How can I break away from all the givens and establish an alternative?

It is important to remember that each of our styles of creativity is a mixture of these. All of us function in the ways mentioned above at one time or the other.

DEVELOPING YOUR CREATIVITY

While talking about the ways in which we express our creativity and the styles we adopt to be creative, the constant question that comes up is how do we develop our creativity? Does it happen automatically or is there a way by which one can practice to make it happen.

If we analyze the nature of creativity we find in it a mixture of intuition and logical thinking. All discoveries have been made with logical thinking acting as the base for insight to flash and make the final connection or vice-versa. It is one followed by the other, or both operating together to form a cognizable whole. It is seen as a phenomenon of ideas coming from ‘the back burner of our minds – cooking away’ beyond our conscious awareness. Sometimes we even place it there unintentionally until it matures and pops into our minds'.

This can happen at a time when the mind is relatively rested–alert but not involved in a stream of thought. The art of developing creative skills, thus, is to train the mind to produce these “spaces”, create opportunities for our intuition to act on our logic and form a whole. It is important, therefore, to create this intuitive space.

Creating the Intuitive Space

If we look into the history of inventions, we find that the most original ideas arise from the space in between our thoughts. To improve one's creativity, thus, it is important to understand these spaces. This is the phenomenon we can sometimes observe during anyone performing at his or her best. What is significant is the ease, the grace and the confidence that comes in during this state of consciousness. The act is done as if it were natural, as if there was no other way it could be done. We find it during an athlete's peak performance, a speaker giving one of the best addresses or a writer writing the most intense parts of his masterpiece – alert and active, yet loose and fluid.

FACTORS THAT BLOCK CREATIVITY

Look at the way a child plays. Carefully listen to the conversations they make. You will be amazed at the number of creative ideas that spring forth every second. Children are creative. But our adult life, our system of education and the thinking it promotes block our creativity, stops the flow. Many factors in our lives contribute to this. Some of them are:

Fear: Fear is one of the emotions that often forces us to limit ourselves. Fear of being rejected, fear of uncertainty, fear of failure and sometimes even fear of success constricts us and holds us back from moving ahead, finding new connections, exploring ourselves.

Anger and guilt: Guilt, depression or anger are emotions that blind us to the alternatives available to us. They prevent us from thinking of other possibilities, exploring all possible alternatives. At the workplace, they block us from fruitfully working together and bringing in positive vibrancy that can entirely alter the way we function and look at work.

Stress: Stress that comes from our urge for growth and expansion can be positive, but the stress that results from tension and anxiety can be damaging, can block the ‘flow’ in our thinking.

To realize your creative self, remember:

• Stress is often more psychological than real. If we enjoy the work we do, we rarely get stressed.
• Assume that all experiences can be positive and can help your personal growth.
• Envision what you want to be. Believe it, trust it.
• Allow yourself time. Innovative thinking has its own pace. Honour the seasons of creativity.

In the final analysis, it may be said that there is no one way to develop creativity. Every mind is unique. Every mind functions differently. So, the best that can be done is to observe and see. Find out what works best for you and your team and accordingly adopt the best way of working.

MIND-MAPPING: THE NETWORKING OF IDEAS

In the context of academic writing, one of the means of fostering creativity is by using mind-mapping. It can be seen as a technique to utilize our creativity to make our academic performance better. Mind-mapping can be seen as a graphic technique for representing ideas on a particular topic. Here, ideas move out from the center to the outer fringes, branching out and associating themselves with a network of other ideas. Every idea leads to a spray of associated ideas; each of these again, becomes the source of another spray of associations. This is a method primarily developed by Tony Buzan. His inquiry began from basic questions like

• How does one learn?
• What is the nature of thinking?
• What are the techniques of memorizing?
• What are the techniques of creative thinking?
• How can one read faster and more efficiently?

The Human Brain

The neural structure in the human brain is an amazing structure that looks almost like a super octopus. It is made up of branches and tentacles moving out of nodal points. Information passes through these branch-like structures called dendrites. This mechanism enables the cascading of bio-chemical information across the brain, from one cell to the other. A small brain cell can receive impulses from hundreds and thousands of connecting points every second like a vast sophisticated telephone exchange and redirect it along the appropriate path.

Every time you think a thought, the bio-chemical resistance along the way that carries the thought is reduced. The more you think a particular thought therefore, the easier it is for the brain to think the thought. A pattern is thus created and the brain re-creates the pattern. Learning puts it in the form of a familiar pattern, hence, is much more easily remembered and assimilated.

The Brain and the Gestalt

We have seen that the brain always creates and recreates patterns. Naturally, therefore, it always tends to look for patterns and completion. If we see five pieces of wood, laying close to one another our brain will invariably perceive a pattern and make a complete picture of disjointed wood pieces. Similarly, we perceive patterns in floating clouds and when someone begins a story and leaves it incomplete, our mind completes it and produces a well-designed whole. This is otherwise called the brain's capacity to perceive wholes and perceive in patterns. This, put very simply, is the mind's potential for Gestalt.

Radiant thinking

We have seen that our brain works through associations. Often a smell, a taste or a sight acts as a triggering factor and starts a chain of associations or connections. Every stimulus entering the brain is like a central sphere that radiates millions of hooks that have other associations connected with them. This process is otherwise called ‘radiant thinking’ – the inherent process of the brain's functioning where thoughts move or radiate from one or many given centers and proceed from one association to the next.

Mind map is the external manifestation of this internal process. It radiates or branches out from a center to different points and each point becomes, in turn, a sub-center of association. This can proceed infinitely, branching away or towards a common center.

The role of images and colours in remembering

The brain can be divided into two hemispheres—the left and the right. The left hemisphere is largely logical and it controls functions like the learning of words, logic, numbers, linearity, analysis and lists. The right hemisphere is more emotional. It helps in the perception of rhythm, pictures, imagination, colours and dimensions. In most people we have either the left or the right side of the brain more developed. Successful people often combine both for effective learning. They use the total brain – the logical as well as the imaginative faculty – evolve a learning strategy that draws from both and combines them effectively.

The most common mistake made when presenting material is that it is made monotonous with similar looking lists and lines. It hardly triggers the brain's creativity or does anything to aid association or memory. Simple tricks sometimes make learning and remembering much easier and pleasurable.

Colour variation or highlights of important points in different colors aids memory. Sometimes, different kinds of colour backgrounds are used to show the different aspects of the material being presented. Primarily, this helps the brain make and retain associations and note variations.

Using images for experiments have shown that the brain's capacity to store images is infinite. Any material linked to images, thus, has more chance of being retained. It breaks down the brain's resistance to learning and creates a pattern for the brain to rely on. Difficult words are thus better learnt if they can be broken down and each part associated with an image. It has also been seen that children who have been categorized as having less IQ learn better with images. (This also proves that our learning methods as well as IQ tests rely on only one kind of learning i.e., learning through words, numbers and logic). In all this, the fact that finally emerges is that imagination, pictures, colours and images are as important learning tools as words and numbers are. And one has to be able to creatively use these faculties for effective learning,

MIND-MAPPING AND THE LEARNING PROCESS

Mind-mapping, as we have seen, is an extremely powerful technique that can synthesize the various capacities of the brain and powerfully harmonize it to form a coherent whole, stimulate creative thinking. The spray of associations can radiate from various centers, and each can go on to become a center for another spray of associations. The associations can be documented through images, words, varied colours and even varying lines of thickness.

There is another advantage the mind-mapping technique has over the others. If you have forgotten a point or feel that there is more that can be added, just leave blanks. Your brain's natural tendency to fill up gaps will eventually supply the missing point. This is otherwise called the gestalt of the brain.

Some Guiding Principles in Making a Mind-Map

1. Use a central image.
2. Use images wherever possible
3. Use colours to separate one level of mental association from the other
4. Increase the line width to show main points and sub-points.
5. Underline, highlight, encircle or use any other means to highlight.
6. Use arrows or dotted lines when you want to make connections across the branches.
7. Use one key-word per line.
8. Write the key-words on lines.
9. Always ensure that the line length is equal to the word length.

Given in Figure 7.1 the picture of a typical mind-map.

Figure 7.1 Mind-map of ‘creativity’

Note-Taking and Mind-Mapping

Note-taking, as we have seen before, is the process of receiving other people's ideas from speeches or books and organizing them into a structure that reflects their thoughts. While note-taking, it is inevitable that note-takers' thoughts too become a part of the note. The points which he/she thinks are important, or the structure that she lends to the material that is to be transferred become very much a part of the final note that is made.

The linear pattern generally followed during note-taking does not allow one to make associations between points and sub-points, and they do not really take help from the association-making power of the brain. Also, it does not utilize the brains pattern-making capacity or its image-retaining ability.

Interestingly, if put in the form of a mind-map, the process of note-taking can be made creative and it can perform much more efficiently by taking help from the unutilized parts of the brain. The following steps can be taken to prepare a mind-map of the material you have for note-taking.

1. Very quickly browse through the entire material to have a general feel of how it is organized.
2. Mentally, make an overview of the major headings, results and conclusions. Also, think of the illustrations and graphics you might want to present. This will give a general idea of the central image, the main branches and sub-branches.
3. Now, it will be easy for you to fill out the mind-map. See where you would like to include the images, diagrams and establish the links. See if you would like to use codes and show the associated points. Use more than two colours to highlight the main-points. Use images wherever possible. It will trigger the association-making capacity in your brain.
4. Review the whole process again. Make sure that all the main points have been included. If you have left out any, complete it at a later stage.

Mind-mapping also helps in taking notes from lectures. Lectures are not always very structured. While lecturing, different points recur in different ways at different points and they also get associated in multiple ways. The circular structure of the mind map helps greatly in documenting the main points. One can add points easily by extending a branch and linking it up with other points. Remember that it is sufficient if you can simply put an image or a word condensing the thought. The gestalt of your brain will automatically provide the details of the information when you need to fill it out.

Mind-Mapping for Essays

An essay is a kind of note-making exercise where you have to first identify the essential topics of concern and then go on to explore the related elements.

1. Begin your mind-map with a central image or an idea representing the essay.
2. Decide on the basic ordering in terms of divisions and sub-divisions.
3. Allow your mind to move freely, documenting all the ideas that come. Keep in mind the basic ordering principles and the levels to which the ideas belong. At this stage, you'll need to be analytical, decide the hierarchy and arrangement of ideas.
4. Use different colours to show the different hierarchical structures. You could even use different thickness of lines for different levels. Use codes or symbols if you want certain points to be linked in the writing. Draw arrows to show the flow. Move back and forth from one point to the other. Let the whole of your brain have its full play.
5. If you face any problems in making associations or if you have a ‘block’, leave blank lines and continue working. Your brain's natural capacity to form a whole will give you material and ideas to fill the gaps.
6. Review the map for any other information and missing links.
7. Begin the writing of the first draft of the essay. A well-ordered mind-map would give you an ordered structure of the main and sub-points. Study the links, consider the points and proceed with the main and sub-points.
8. At the end, review the essay while analyzing the mind-map. Give the finishing touches, ensure that you have sign posted the different points well. Check your use of linkers, and check for general coherence.
9. Reconsider your conclusion, review, modify and expand it, if necessary.

Mind-Mapping for Examinations

Answering the examination paper effectively has always remained a problem for students. Recollecting all the relevant points, putting them in order and then managing time – all these remain problems eternally for students to solve. Using mind-mapping during examinations can solve these problems to a large extent. Follow the steps given below to make effective mind-maps during examinations.

1. Read through the question paper thoroughly, choosing the questions you want to answer. Note down any point that occurs the your mind immediately.
2. Decide the order in which you want to answer them and the amount of time you want to spend on each of them.
3. Start making your mind-map. Note down all the relevant points that occur to you. Make the main points and sub-points related to each.
4. Give your brain full freedom to move to and fro, noting down all the points and associations that occur to you.
5. Try to organize, re-organize making references and cross-references.
6. Start elaborating your points—a paragraph or two for each of the branches. By now, you have all your main points as well as the sub-points. You should be able to assess how much time you will need to elaborate each.
7. Stick to your time limit and organize every answer systematically and well.

It is similarly helpful to prepare mind-maps before finally settling down to write a report or a project.

The gap between thinking and putting the words on paper is a process that is always troublesome and time-consuming. Mind-mapping is one technique that can do this efficiently. It allows one to sketch out the main ideas and quickly see how they relate to one another. It separates thinking from writing and when it is time to start writing, the ideas are already structured with clear focus and direction.

Very often in today's world, we stand at crossroads, confused over which career to choose, what decision to take, etc. Using mind-maps at such times can be of immense help. It can give you a better insight of yourself, your needs, desires and aims. It can also show you how you can analyze yourself. A mind-map well done can be a complete reflection of your personality. So quickly draw a colorful mind-map that captures your personality. It might give you vital clues about your strengths, weaknesses, your aptitude and dominant traits. The mind map format can also be very effectively used to conduct a brain storming session. Collate ideas and put them together.

MIND-MAPPING: SOME DO'S AND DON'T'S

Do's

• Begin from the centre. Naturally the brain focuses on the center first, not the left hand top.
• Break stereotypes: Use butcher paper, colour pencils and pictures, however absurd.
• Think fast: Keep working
• Use symbols and key words. The brain works in bursts of 5–7 minutes. You should be able to capture the thoughts.
• Make the surroundings pleasant. It generates better ideas.
• Stand up and work. It energizes you.

Don't's

• Don't try to dismiss any idea, even if it appears irrelevant. Noting it down somewhere will help the brain relax and proceed.
• Don't stop very often to think. If nothing occurs, keep making empty lines. Your brains gestalt will fill it up later.
• Don't try very hard to organize when you are mapping. Note down all the ideas first; organization can come later.

Craftsmanship, then and now.

The advance of the age of machinery has not been all advantageous. In fact against all that the machine has given us, there is one serious disadvantage – the decline in craftsmanship. In days gone by, a furniture maker would use with care and pride the tools which, over a period of time, had become almost a part of him, and a chair took shape before his eyes. It was work not only of his hands but also of his mind, and expressed something of himself; no other chair, even one made by his own hands, would be similar. So it was with all craftsmen; everything they made was their own work, the result of their skill in the use of their tools, and they could look on it with pardonable pride.

What is the position today? In large factories of the machine age, rows of men are engaged in producing not a whole article, but merely one part of that article. The individual workman does not even have the satisfaction of feeling that this part is the work of his own hands, because it is made by a complicated machine. All he has to do is to feed the raw material into the machine, press a lever, and put the finished part on a moving belt, which will convey it to the assembly lines. Thus the modern worker is denied the joy of creation; his work is reduced to a monotonous repetition of automatic movements that are carried out almost without the use of his conscious mind.

SUMMARY

• Creativity today has been redefined as the capacity to grow to one's fullest potential, and survive in a highly competitive environment or even efficiently function in one's day-to-day activities.
• Fears, anger, guilt, stress, are all impediments to the flow of creativity.
• One can develop one's intuitive capability by learning to create blank spaces between thoughts. Original intuitive ideas manifest themselves in these spaces.
• Teams/institutions/organizations with a high-integrity relationship are fertile grounds where creative ideas can generate and flourish.
• Mind-mapping, a replication of the brain's working process, is an effective tool for note making, essay writing and project writing.
• Mind-mapping makes use of colours, images and patterns, which utilize not only the left brain, but also the right brain, thus tapping one's creative potential.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. What is creativity composed of? Give instances of situations when we are creative.
2. Does creativity play an important role in determining our relationships around us? Explain.
3. Can one develop creativity? Expand.
4. What are the factors that block creativity?
5. The mind-mapping technique closely resembles the brain's information processing system. Explain.
6. Do you think that the traditional ways of teaching and learning do not compliment the brains natural learning or information-retaining system? Giver reasons for your answer.
7. What are the functions of the right brain and the left brain? State how the technique of mind-mapping can use both effectively and make different types of academic-writing better.