The Myth of Genius, Structured Creativity, and The Creative Machine
Wednesday Wisdoms for August 7, 2024
Welcome to Wednesday Wisdom, our 3x3 Newsletter where I distill worldly advice for better living with 3 quotes, 3 observations, and 3 questions.
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The Myth of Genius
🤨 Quote
“Collective intelligence begins with individual creativity. But it doesn't end there. Individuals produce a greater volume and variety of novel ideas when they work alone. That means that they come up with more brilliant ideas than groups—but also more terrible ideas than groups. It takes collective judgment to find the signal in the noise.”
Adam Grant
Source: Hidden Potential
Observation 🧐
Perhaps more than in any other time in history, we are in direct sight of the growth of tightens of industry. With the technology boom of the last 50 years, we’ve seen people go from creating a businesses in their parents’ garage to running one of the top 10 companies in the world.
And so it is natural that this would lead us to believe that these people are, in many ways, geniuses.
They have found a way to not only impact the world, not only become rich, but find success at such scales that they are nearly unstoppable.
But the myth of the self-made man, or the lone genius, is just that—it is an easy caricature for us to reference but isn’t grounded in reality.
Behind each of those successful individuals are partners, investors, employees, families, confidants, role models, coaches, and numerous other people who not only influence the “geniuses” but help move a vision forward.
Yes, the grand vision may be the founder, the inventor, the “genius”, but what it takes to bring a vision to life is a shared effort of dedication, commitment, and time, filled with constant ideas that do not all funnel to the top to be made, but rather, must be made by those beneath the “genius”, daily, to move in the direction of the vision.
🤔 Question
If you were to re-examine one “genius” celebrated today, and were to read a biography of them, how much of their lives would be dedicated to luck, other individuals, or right place/right time?
“Geniuses” are human too.
Structured Creativity
🤨 Quote
“It's only by making the fundamentals of life easier that you can create the mental space needed for free thinking and creativity.”
James Clear
Source: Atomic Habits
Observation 🧐
Stories of all mediums will sometimes portray the creative as a tortured soul, the individual who can manage to shut himself up with their art and just let loose.
This is a tempting story to fall prey to, it holds a fundamental excitement we wish for at times. These unencumbered artists hold freedom from responsibility many of us long for, they hold an ability to have endless time with their craft and to just create masterpieces the world will devour.
But it is actually the structured individual, the one filled with determination and self-discipline, the one who has to structure their time for creative output, that truly get to rule.
Toni Morrison used to put her kids to bed, and then would stay up until the early morning hours writing, giving herself set timeframes for creativity.
But she was structured in this, she had her routine, and she made sure other things were taken care of so her passions could be as well.
“Writers all devise ways to approach that place where they expect to make the contact where they become the conduit, or where they engage in this mysterious process,” Morrison once said. “For me, light is the signal in the transition. It's not being in the light, it's being there before it arrives. It enables me, in some sense.”
Structure. Discipline. Creativity.
🤔 Question
How do you structure your time for creativity to properly flow?
Beneath the paywall this week we explore the wisdom of Ray Kurzweil. Click below to support and get access.