The brain is a vastly uncharted territory. As science continues to study the brain, it’s been realized that we know only the tip of the iceberg of what our brains are capable of. Recent studies are now showing that the whole “left-brain, right-brain” generalization belief system is not as accurate as we once thought.
You know the one. The left brain is for math and science, logic and analytics; it’s structured, “clean”, organized, and numerical. Whereas the right brain is the creative side – free flowing and abstract; full of art, music, ideas, messiness. While there is some truth to the right-and-left-brain notion, we are realizing this is certainly not the whole picture. But that really isn’t surprising, right? We are talking about the human brain, after all.
Today we can identify three main centers in the brain that are involved in creative thinking: the Executive Attention Network, the Imagination Network (or Default Network), and the Salience Network.
Belle Beth Cooper, in her article “The Science of Great Ideas - How to Train Your Creative Brain”, describes the three networks like this:
Green = Executive Attention Network. Red = Imagination Network
The Executive Attention Network helps us with laser focus on a particular task. It’s the one that we activate when we need to concentrate on complicated problems or pay attention to a task like reading or listening to a talk.
The Imagination Network, as you might have guessed, is used for things like imagining future scenarios and remembering things that happened in the past. This network helps us to construct mental images when we’re engaged in these activities.
The Salience Network has the important role of monitoring what’s going on around us, as well as inside our brains, and switching between the Imagination Network and Executive Attention Network for us.
You were probably told that creative types are predominantly right-brained people. The truth is, however, that when it comes to creativity, the entire brain is involved. In his article, “The Real Neuroscience of Creativity,” Scott Barry Kaufman, scientific director of the Imagination Institute, puts it like this: “The entire creative process – from preparation to incubation to illumination to verification – consists of many interacting cognitive processes (both conscious and unconscious) and emotions. Depending on the stage of the creative process, and what you’re actually attempting to create, different brain regions are recruited to handle the task.”
Kaufman also identifies the importance of distinguishing between intelligence and imagination in understanding the creative process. Simply put, he believes that intelligence is everything that allows us to learn what is, [whereas] imagination is everything that allows us to envision what could be. He then adds that creativity requires both intelligence and imagination.
Let’s take a moment to look at the definition of creativity before moving on. Oxford’s dictionary says this: “Creativity is the use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness.” By that definition, creativity has no preference to skill or trait. I can easily say that engineers are just as creative as web designers or that software developers are just as full of ingenuity as composers – they are just different kinds of creativity. But now I can take a little more of a leap and say that an accountant, for example, can have just as much creativity as a composer. Why? Well, while the job of accountant might be less creative than other jobs by nature, someone’s career choice does not determine their level of creativeness.
The human mind was made to create. No one person, no matter what their talents or skills or abilities, is devoid of creativity or greater creative potential. People possess different types of intelligence: different skills, different insights, different ways of understanding and creating. But the creative process of the brain does not discriminate between one kind of intelligence to another. In general, the creative process that any person goes through is the same, and it can actually be a learned process.
Let's wrap up and connect a few dots:
- The creative process involves the whole brain – it’s not limited to the right side as we once thought.
- Creativity spans all types of minds, talents, and traits. This means that anyone and everyone has creative potential. Creativity can even be learned, and we can train our brains to think more creatively.
- Creativity requires the use of both our intelligence and imagination. This means that we can’t just “do” (use our intelligence) and we can’t just “dream” (use our imagination) to be truly creative. We must use both!
In my opinion, science is never complete: it’s changing all the time. So, keep an open mind and know that, especially when it comes to the brain, the possibilities are endless!
Check out this article for a few practical tips on increasing creativity. Apparently walking, allowing our spaces to be a little messy, dimming the lights, working in a busy area with noise, and even being bored all lead our brains to be more creative! Also, click the link here to read a few surprising facts about creativity, and here to see the five stages of the creative process. And if you really want to get in on this subject, try giving this book on the neuroscience of creativity a read.