Have you ever watched a movie that was completely bizarre and felt as if you just wasted a couple hours of your time? A new study suggests that your time might have been wisely spent.
A new study published in Psychological Science suggests that exposure to something absurd actually primes our brain for finding patterns we might not have seen before, per the New York Times. The study consisted of three steps:
- Two groups of college students read two different stories: one logical and one completely nonsensical.
- All of the students were asked to study 45 strings of apparently random letters, which actually contained subtle patterns among the letters.
- The students were presented with a list of 60 strings of letters and asked to identify which ones they had seen before.
The test was measuring implicit learning, which is “knowledge gained without awareness.” Students who had been primed with the ridiculous story were twice as effective at identifying the strings they had seen before, suggesting that their brains were more successfully perceiving the subtle patterns among letters. In other words, “disorientation begets creative thinking.”
The study’s conclusion is mirrored in many famous quotes, including the following:
- "Sometimes you just have to be absurd. Nothing stifles creativity like routine rationality." – JoAnna Brandi
- “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.” - Dr. Seuss
- "Confidence in nonsense is a requirement for the creative process." – Author unknown
- "You have to systematically create confusion; it sets creativity free." – Salvador Dali
- “Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence…” Edgar Allan Poe
May you seek out the absurd today and set your creativity free!
Love it! I just read the New York TImes article on that study yesterday. Absurdity and nonsense truly does have the power to open unexpected dimensions in the inner life. (I highly recommend David Lynch movies for that.)
Thanks Yumi — I don't think I've seen any David Lynch movies; I'll check them out!
Thanks for your post about this thought provoking article!
I think many of us tend to think of creativity as an innate talent, and what's great about the study you mentioned is that it shows that anyone can become more creative just by using the right techniques and approach.
It reminds me of a study where they made one group watch a depressing movie while another group watched a comedy. Both groups were then tested for their creativity. The results showed that the group that had watched a comedy scored significantly higher on the creativity test.
It may be something that we already knew intuitively – that we're more likely to be creative when we're feeling positive – but when we're feeling down we may not think about this very helpful fact. It really helped me realize that when I'm struggling to find solutions to problems and I'm feeling down, I need to find ways to feel positive first in order to be more likely to find solutions! I can start by thinking of all the things I feel grateful for in my life for example.
Another thing that has helped me with my creativity is the fact that although it can be good to be really determined to find a solution and to think intensely about it, eventually we have to be able to let go of our need for a solution and to go and do something else so that the subconscious can work on it and give us the answer. This is how many geniuses throughout the ages worked from Archimedes to Einstein.
Finally, to think in no-limit ways is very helpful I think. It's important to think that anything is possible and to be really set one's imagination free. We may come up with really quirky ideas but we may eventually be able to turn them into workable solutions. Asking the question "what would I do if I had all the money in the world", for example, can be really helpful and actually lead to a solution that we can use!
I'm sure the ideas from the study you mentioned will also help me, and others, to develop their creativity. And I think it's a real gift to find ways to increase creativity because there really is something magical and wonderful about getting that eureka moment when we manage to find a beautiful idea.
Cheers,
Lars
Great post! I've found that a good yoga headstand helps me with creativity. I also teach some workshops on innovation to corporations. So, here's something absurd: what if I had my class participants do headstands during the workshop? I'm not sure which would help with creativity more the actual headstands or the craziness of 15 corporate middle managers doing yoga poses in a conference room.
Bliss…
Joe
Thanks Lars! Yes, I agree that anyone can become more creative, and I love the study about being more creative after watching a comedy!
Wishing you abundant creativity and eureka moments this week!
Peace and love,
Deb
Thanks Joe! Great headstand idea — what better way to gain new perspective than by going upside-down into a headstand??
If you get all your executive participants to join you in a headstand, then please post a photo!
Peace and love,
Deb