Can Creativity be Cultivated?

Posted on by Endless Weekend

Well-formed adults, I believe, are critical thinkers, curious, empathetic, and have a basic knowledgebase. I expanded on what that means in How Many Fully-Formed Adults Do You know? I believe those four characteristics or skills are what the goal of a good education is all about, as in the paraphrase of Einstein to the right.

When thinking about creativity, the same question comes to mind. Can creativity be cultivated? [Clearly mine has limits as I tried to make that question/title of this post have all its words start with a C and yet a B(e) snuck in there somehow… Do you have any thoughts about how to phrase it with all Cs?]

What country do you think is the most creative? According to The Global Innovation Index, Switzerland is the most creative country: did you expect that? The top 8 countries are shown below. Do share what country you thought was the most creative, and which ones surprised you!

Infographic: The World's Most Innovative Countries | Statista You will find more infographics at Statista

To me, this is evidence that the country can make investments in different aspects from people and the culture and infrastructure, to technology and the organizations that support them to promote innovation and creativity.

On the other hand, no amount of practice would have had me swimming as well as Michael Phelps with his unique physique and circumstances.

What do you think: is creativity impacted by some “nature” capabilities, not only “nurture”? And if so, which one is the dominant factor?

46 thoughts on “Can Creativity be Cultivated?”

  1. Interesting question. For the longest time, I believed I was not a creative person, mostly because I carried with me a definition of what creativity was that negated self. Then I came to believe that in everything we do we are creating – that the act of figuring out who we are and manifesting that into what we do is a creative process. For example, as a teacher, my process was very creative. As for traditional venues, such as art, or music, I reserved all that for my 60’s. Nurture told me I was not creative, nature reveals itself in time, I’d say.

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    2. Thank you, VJ, may I ask what was the definition you eventually (and fortunately!) dropped that negated self?

      What a wondrous definition you provided for creativity! May I ask for you to please detail a little more about your process as a teacher?

      I’m delighted your nature shines through!

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      1. I defined myself as an academic, thought I didn’t have a creative bone in my body. As a teacher, challenged to meet each of my students at their point of understanding/ learning, I needed to be creative. Some would respond to words, written assignments, but others displayed greater genius when asked to portray their understanding through art, music, or other creative processes.

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  3. My career as an educator confirmed to me that perhaps ‘encouragement’ fosters creativity as much as any factor of nature or nurture. Johann Goethe once concisely stated this . . .

    “Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be.”

    Keep on encouraging 😊

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    1. What a fantastic approach as an educator, a wonderful quote, and supreme words of encouragement! Thank you x3!

      Your quote reminded me of another, by Einstein (I believe) “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” I’m delighted to know that there are educators like you!

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  4. I’m giggling about the title. Hmm, that’s a hard one to do with all c’s. Can Culture Create Creativity?

    You ask the best questions, EW! I’m caught between the micro and the macro Thinking about as countries, how are countries promoting innovation? Is it start-up funds? Being around others who are creative and innovative? Maybe in the case of the US, the American Dream belief?

    We’ve been working with Libby (the Goddess Attainable) on an art course. As an artist, I think she’d say that absolutely creativity can be cultivated – it’s in the practice. And maybe practice feeds belief?

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    1. Whoa!!! “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” describes your wonderful title! Love it!!! And, yes, I so wish I had thought of that… LOVE IT!

      And thank you, Wynne, for your generous words. There’s a full explanation of how the Global Innovation Index is calculated, and a lot of it had to do with the investments made in a culture and infrastructure that nurtures innovation. Sweden (#3), for example, has created innovations like Skype and Spotify, both breakthrough at the time. So, yes, while there’s clearly an element of nature, I believe nurture is critical in innovation, art, science, …

      Tell me more about the course?

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      1. You really are amazing at asking questions. Love the detail you provide about investments in culture and infrastructure. Hmm, you have a good point about nurture.

        Libby’s course is going to have 8 tips about how to make meaningful art – she has a great process for helping to get us out of our own way. As you know, there are a lot of details to conquer. May we all be creative in doing so… 🙂

        Sending my best to you, EW!! ❤ ❤ ❤

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  5. While I think everything we do is made up of both nature and nurture, I think creativity is more nature. Some people have the spatial talent that allows them to think outside the box, and present it. I also think there are all sorts of creativity, and if given the nurture, we could all figure out what our individual creative path is

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      1. Anytime someone thinks outside of the box they’re being creative, so an athlete coming up with a play is as creative as someone whose work hangs in a gallery. I might be creative aboit organizing something. It’s taking what’s there and figuring out how to use it more efficiently or prettier or just different

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  6. I am not surprised by the most innovative countries! I’m fascinated by history and one of topics I most enjoy musing on is the European Renaissance. Take a moment to think about England, France, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Netherlands, etc. and see if you can think of a commonality…

    They all experience cold, harsh winters.This means two things: in the era before grocery stores, locals were required to plan ahead in order to survive, and several months of the year were spent largely indoors reading and tinkering. I would hypothesize that lineages originating from countries with harsh winters have an inborn creative “nature” because that was required for survival.

    Singapore is a warmer-weather outlier, but exceptionally advanced in terms of innovation, which is borne of the culture, suggestubg that creativity can be nurtured. Most countries with warm weather year-round, on the other hand, have constant, easy access to food, shelter, and other needs. Innovation is not, and never was, a matter of life-of-death for them, so evolution favored strength in agility in those regions, over creativity and intellect. Again, that’s not to say that creativity can’t be learned.

    Finally, The USA is a melting pot of brave and innovative folks who felt out-of-place in their countries of origin and sought a better life. That’s true of my ancestors who arrived from England the 1640, and just as true of my dear friends who immigrated here within the last decade.

    Great topic, EW! I think nature and nurture play their part–I believe we have a natural propensity in one direction or the other based on heritage, but also that we are each unique and we can override that programming with practice, if we so choose.

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    1. What a fascinating line of thought: thank you so much for sharing! Geography definitely has a huge impact on countries, on civilizations, on so many aspects of our life! I often heard that city-states in Greece would have been less likely if the geography was less “isolated”, like Mesopotamia? Jared Diamond presented a whole thesis on it!

      Help me understand Poland that ranks 38, under Portugal, Spain, Italy, Malta, and many other warm-weather countries?

      Also, do you think that we can always override programming? There’s an old saying “Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man”… Think there’s any truth in it?

      Thank yo7 so much for the wonderfully thought-provoking comment!

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      1. Ah, yes, great point, EW! The Eurasian trade routes facilitated exposure to all kinds new items and ideas, and I bet the novelty stoked the creativity of many who experienced the feel of silk, the scent or frankincense, or the taste of cinnamon for the first time.

        The geography idea was just an observation, so I admittedly haven’t thought too much of the exceptions. Let’s try to puzzle it out now, though. I know that Italy is known for it’s craftsmanship today. Portugal, Spain, and Italy were all on the Silk Road circa 130 BCE-1453 CE. While their motivation was not surviving winter, innovation and creativity during those 1600 years (over approximately 60 generations) was a means of generating income and supporting one’s family. Rather than tinkering due to boredom, perhaps skills were being home to make a sale to merchants traveling the trade routes. Due to the longevity of the Silk Road, the artesian culture may have become ingrained, by either nature (survival of those able to support themselves), nurture (development of valuable skills), or a combination.

        Ooh, great question! I think that, generally speaking, those first seven years of our life have a disproportionate influence on our character, habits, skills, and interests. However, I know many exceptions–people who overcome a terrible childhood, or who succumbed to bad influences despite a loving and supportive childhood–so it’s hard to know just how much truth there is in the statement.

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  7. maybe shorten the title to: “Cultivated Creativity?”

    what i’m noticing– from the photo– is that “100=most innovative,” and yet the top country (switzerland) ranks at 64.6%. clearly, if creativity can be cultivated, there is much room for improvement!

    as to the einstein quote, while i agree that education is important in the development of cognitive skills, i also believe that an individual’s family can have a huge impact on cognitive development (good or bad). i also believe that despite being a “well-formed adult,” some of us simply don’t want to think more than is necessary (perhaps the reason the top ranked country is at 64.6%?).

    thanks for making me think about something other than fantasy football! 🙂

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    1. There’s much to be said for simplicity, thank you for showing me how to simplify! If only I had you by my side more often!

      That’s an absolutely fantastic observation! Yes, huge room for improvement! Thank you for highlighting it!

      Help me understand what you mean by “some of us simply don’t want to think more than is necessary”?

      And there’s much work in fantasy football, glad I gave you an opportunity for a break 🏈

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      1. before answering the question you posed, i just want to say i can be a bit of a fact-nerd. naturally, i felt the need to do a little research on the Global Innovation Index, clicked on the Statista link that you provided, and read your linked blog post. i also tried to read a few scientific-based abstracts on “cultivated creativity”– hah!, told ya, HUGE NERD. anyway, after all that reading, what struck me as funny was when i followed the link you provided on Statista, and the stats for “grocery delivery makes it to the mainstream,” caught my eye: there, at the very bottom of that chart, stood switzerland! how can they rate first in innovation when they can’t grasp the sheer genius of grocery home delivery? boggles. the. mind.

        but anyway, what i meant by “some of us simply don’t want to think more than is necessary,” is often referred to as the path of least resistance. if johnny is gonna cure global warming, and suzie is gonna cure world hunger, i’m gonna sit here and read a good book (or google the Global Innovation Index).

        thanks for the fun discussion!

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      2. One of my all time favorite quotes, possibly my all time favorite quote is Einstein’s “
        “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day.”

        So when you honor me to the extent that something I said sparked the desire to look into a rabbit hole (i.e., “research”), I can truly say that you honor me.

        I love trivia myself, and rely on grocery delivery, so I’m delighted to learn something new, though I didn’t find the stats you mentioned: share a link?

        And I’m delighted to make your acquaintance, kindred spirit!

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  8. I was trying to think of titles with just “C” words but see others got in first. I agree with VJ about the mindset and thinking about creativity. It does depend how we define creativity; and taking the widest meanings. I also wondered about the Countries labelled as the most creative – are some aspects of creativity weighted more than others and how do we measure it. But I fear that maybe I’m getting away from creativity, although I’m definitely being curious 🙂

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      1. I used to think creativity was only related to being an artist … painting, sculpting etc. Now I think its those things, but anything where we make things from scratch … cooking, baking, knitting, sewing etc. But also designers and possibly engineers who design and make things … new fashions, cars, engines, architects who design new homes. But I would extend it further … if we use our imagination and are inspired … writers, story tellers, musicians … but even the more mundane … writing a lesson plan, thinking up new ways to explain something, adapting activities for class. Students expressing themselves in their own way, coming up with their own arguments.
        Having waffled through that lot, at its widest, I think we’re all creative – we seek patterns, but sometimes we also come up with novelty. Even if its how we put the food on the plate (presentation), how we put flowers in a vase or even how we dress. Any time we express ourselves we can be creative. I think we, people generally, are more creative than we give ourselves credit for, we just need to be open to the experience and as we start to express ourselves, our awareness of our creativity will grow.

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      2. To be fair, it was #13, which is hugely respectable. But given all the amazing technology companies based there, given that some of the oldest companies (over 1000 years old!) are based there, given how it’s one of the safest counties in the world, I was curious what your thoughts were on that?

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  10. Thanks for sharing the creativity index. I’m not surprised Switzerland is at the top. Such a wonderful country we can all learn from – and really, that part of the world. Creativity most certainly can be cultivated, so long as the culture is there and the individual mindset is encouraged.

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  11. I suspect creativity is distributed among us just as height, intelligence, and virtually everything else about humans. If one takes that as a given, then the remaining question is how to develop whatever capacity we have, large or small.

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  12. Great question. When I was younger I’d have said that I wasn’t creative because I couldn’t paint. But once I learned creativity is more than skill with a paintbrush I realized I am crazy creative. My point is that how you define something often impacts how you apply it to yourself. Is that an example of how I was nurtured to limit my definition or is it an example of my nature to think beyond what is told to me? No answer, but that’s where this post has taken my thinking.

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    1. I love the new layers you see in things (as if you needed more proof of your creativity!) — it’s sort of like that old story about if you define agility only by the ability to climb trees, then fish fail, but that doesn’t make them any less agile in the water…

      And interesting note you’ve made about how we can be nurtured to limit ourselves and our creativity…

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  15. Fun topic and tidbit of stats. I suppose I would’ve guessed Japan would have been up there with all their tech genius. Thanks for teaching us something new, EW.

    Oh, and to your question about a fully alliterative title? Easy: Can Creativity Ce Cultivated. 😉

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