How to think, not what to think

"Creative thinking is nothing more than making connections. What I'm advocating here is less like art and more like design. Art is creative expression, whereas design solves problems."

Jesse Richardson

Vintage picture

For our creativity to lead to real innovation we need both divergent and convergent thinking styles. Books and websites about creativity(even Think Jar Collective) are often more full of content related to helping people unlock divergent thinking.  So, when we come across great advice on applying convergent critical thinking we get excited. Take 15 minutes to watch Jesse Richardson give a TEDx Brisbane talk on critical thinking and teaching how to think, not what to think.  In a creative collaboration, the critical thinking phase (convergence) is also often the time when people throw wet blankets on possible innovative solutions, so after you watch the video below also check out this article on how to ensure critical thinking doesn't derail your creative problem solving process.

Divergent thinking: A thought process used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. It is often used in conjunction with convergent thinking. Divergent thinking typically occurs in a spontaneous, free-flowing manner, such that many ideas are generated

Convergent thinking: Thinking that brings together information focussed on solving a problem

Think Jar Collective

Think Jar Collective started in 2010 and has remained as a repository of tools, insights, interviews and expert consulting to help people and organizations to problem solve better. It's a decent place to go for methods, tips, training, and inspiration around helping people and organizations learn how to foster disciplined innovation. We aim to demystify what creativity is and share the best articles, tips and techniques you can use to tackle complexity and innovate.

Think Jar Collective contributors share articles and tools, while the innovation consultancy arm of Think Jar Collective is stewarded by Ben Weinlick.

https://thinkjarcollective.com/
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Shifting perception and the invention of velcro

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The Carrot Clarinet: The creative act of linking two previously unrelated things