What does Malcolm Gladwell, James Altucher and I have in common? I am not sure yet, but read on. By the end of this piece, we might get some ideas.
A few days ago, I came across two pieces of enjoyable reading materials. Both somehow converged on the following tool/suggestion for measuring creativity and training the idea muscle. My idea muscle suggested that I would share this tip and get some community support for it; to benefit myself and be beneficial. So let’s bring an idea/question/object and brainstorm uses/improvements/answers etc. What do you think? (I think I pulled my idea muscle already!).
Malcolm Gladwell writes in the fantastic Outliers about the divergence test. He writes:
“Write down as many difference uses that you can think of the following objects:
- a brick
- a blanket
This is an example of what’s called a “divergence test”. It requires you to use your imagination and take your mind in many different directions as possible. With a divergence test, obviously there isn’t a single right answer. What the test giver is looking for are the number and the uniqueness of your responses. And what the test is measuring isn’t analytical intelligence but something profoundly different - something much closer to creativity.” P86 - 87
In How to be THE LUCKIEST GUY ON THE PLANET in 4 Easy Steps, James Altucher writes on the mental aspect of attracting luck (step 3) and says:
“ Every day I write down ideas. I write down so many ideas that it hurts my head to come up with one more. Then I try to write down five more. The other day I tried to write 100 alternatives kids can do other than go to college. I wrote down eight, which I wrote about here. I couldn’t come up with anymore. Then the next day I came up with another 40. It definitely stretched my head… The “idea muscle” atrophies within days if you don’t use it. Just like walking. If you don’t use your legs for a week, they atrophy. You need to exercise the idea muscle. It takes about 3-6 months to build up once it atrophies. Trust me on this.”
