I recently saw a program on television wherein the participants discussed the degree to which present day computer technology has contributed to our economy, well-being and our ability to communicate. They pointed out the many ways that this technology was already obsolete and that further refinements will impact our future in ways we dare not imagine.
This scares me.
This advancement precipitates an increasing reliance on computer skills and "push the envelope" technology. This over-emphasis tends to wean people away from original thinking. Over the years I=ve seen many very bright people let their computers do their thinking for them. They became un-suspecting victims of somebody else's thinking. This robbed them of their individuality and innovative skills
I've been a student and practitioner of creative thinking all my life. I was a creative consultant long before the Internet was a factor. From my admittedly bias point of view, I think the time has come to champion a new technology. The next technological breakthrough should be the re-discovery of creative thinking!
* The kind of individual creativity and innovative genius that built our free enterprise system.
* The kind of uncluttered common sense creativity that is devoid of academic "isms" and "ologies".
* The kind of creativity that existed (and worked!) long before time and technology distorted its relevance and simplicity
Webster defines creative thinking as "the ability to be productive through imaginative skills". Take a moment to think about what this really says. "The ability to be productive". To be productive , according to Webster, is to "establish results, benefits and profits". And how does he suggest that we do this? He says it should be "through imaginative skills".
Notice that he makes no reference to technological skills or training. He says nothing about academic proficiency, administrative talents or scanning the Internet. He mentions only one method and that is to utilize the imagination And imagination, he reminds us, is "the forming of mental images (ideas) of things not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived".
IDEAS!
As important as modern day technological tools are, it should be realized that throughout all recorded history nothing was ever accomplished, no goal was ever reached, no need was ever met and no problem was ever solved that didn=t begin with an idea !
Ideas are the substance of the imagination. They are the effects of creative thinking. When people ignore or overlook new ideas and concepts, they risk becoming victims of another=s creative initiative regardless of their technological competence. While any activity should utilize the best technological aids available, it behooves us to be alert to the necessity for balance and make specific, conscious efforts to increase our imaginative skills. We should be constantly scanning our mental horizons for opportunities for growth and advancement and become aware of events and circumstances that can contribute productivity in "establishing results, benefits and profit....through their imaginative skills"
Your mind, which embodies this "thing" called "creativity", is the source of all ideas. It is the best computer ever devised. However mind-boggling the next generation of computers may be, that master computer between your ears is the only "mechanism" that can come up with original ideas and be responsive to the flow of these "mental images of the imagination
These images are a glimpse into the future. It is vision which is defined by Webster as, "the act or power of perceiving mental images (ideas) in the imagination". Jonathan Swift noted that, "Vision is the art of seeing the invisible". Helen Keller was quoted as having said, "Worse than being blind, is to have no vision".
Remember, the computer and all its associated technologies are merely the outward manifestation of someone=s creative thinking. Remember too,that an effect cannot, and never will, initiate any action of its own. It must forever be subservient to its primal cause and source: creativity.
It was Victor Hugo who reminded us that "there is nothing more powerful than the right idea whose time has come". That time is now!
Take time to marvel at the computer with all its wonder, with all its contributing technologies and its capacity to make such a significant contribution to our way of life. But always reserve a quiet place in your mind where you can retire from the pressures imposed by the "real world" and take time to THINK.
For more than 40 years Davis Goss has been a creative consultant with particular expertise on problem solving. His latest book "The DYNAMICS of ACHIEVEMENT" outlines the details of his unique problem solving methods that are based on proven scientific principles and as such assures positive results with predictable accuracy.
Davis Goss