An Influential Lesson.

 Today while shifting forth between memories like a lunatic in a nuclear factory,which is to say my thoughts were bouncing in my head and at times exploding into a shower of fireworks.I came across something that sparked my interest on Google search(yes,from my head to the browser to Google that's how my brain works),I found that I was a fan of French revolution art;be it music ,sculpting ,painting,architecture or engraving I simply loved it.It is not for the fact that the work is invaluable or that it was from the French revolution,but more on the lines of the creativity,courage and imagination that these artist's had in order to get where they did and make a few bucks worth of paper and paint or stone  extremely valuable in today's world.

 For example:

                                                   Jacques-Louis David

                                                                    

                                                              Source: en.wikipedia.org

   Apart from being an ardent supporter of the French Revolution, he was also a dictator of the arts under the French Republic.He also had a large number of pupils making him the strongest influence in French art in the early 19 Th century  

Some of his work :

                                                       Le Serment De Horaces

                                                        Source: http://en.wikipedia.org

                                    

                                                            The Painting of Napoleon        

                                                     Source: http://en.wikipedia.org

    Heavily criticized mostly after his death,he was considered to be cold and lacking warmth.He was responsible for many people being sent to the guillotine,personally signing the death warrants of King Louis XVI  and Marie Antoinette .

  As you can see he was a pretty influential guy,and also considered to be one of the leading painters in France.Through all his all his criticism he stood his ground,playing out of the rigid styles and dynamically influencing many changes.Many of his students were honoured by the restored Bourbons following the French Revolution. 
   
  A valuable lesson to be learned by this famous painter's past is to try to change the rigid thinking we grow in,and never back down when we stumble or fall be it once twice or a million times,but instead to get up and get moving with what we feel is right.

  For we think like
          Out Of The Box Thinking

Invention Innovation And Failure...

Well I had an interesting discussion with myself(yes myself,because sometimes you see I need an expert opinion) after coming across the question 'Do all inventions and innovations turn out successful?'.This question struck me after reading an article based on the Japanese Gadgets that failed,which I find to be a parody of their current state.None the less there was a time when Japanese gadgets failed,because companies at that time were more adventurous known for their audacity in the market lead to some of these wonderful yet impractical machines.
                                                       

                                                      The Walking Toaster 

                                                    source: angusdeionallandsundry.blogspot.com

                                                                      

                                                          The Double Fan  

                                                                Source:phys.org

                                                

               

                            And many others...

  But we are not here to talk about the gadgets,no we are not,let us instead focus on the innovation done to these gadgets.Simply stated they were not practical enough,the companies though extremely innovative were not astute,leading to the downfall of their product eventually.However with every failed product they gained some invaluable knowledge,eventually leading to their success.Now when we speak of companies like Sony,Fuji electronics,Panasonic we know these are names of companies people aspire to work in,by failing in the start they have eventually risen to become giants in the industry.However in recent years it was found that these companies are now playing safe maximizing their 'profitability' by taking less 'risk', inadvertently not progressing as fast as they could have.



I think the lesson that we learn here is not just that failure is a stepping stone to success or invention and innovation come at a price that we should be willing to accept i.e failure but also not all inventions bring innovation,sometimes it's just junk.Failure is not the worst thing a person could do but instead to stop trying is.Making the best of a situation and moving on to new projects with renewed determination is is the attitude required for us to become successful in what we do.

So to conclude I would like to quote "Never back down never give up" from my favourite movie  never back down

 Also feel free to check this Blog out www.teenagewriterchronicles.blogspot.com ,its made by an aspiring writer.Quite interesting actually.

What Creates A Creative Mind?

For our second assignment we were asked to view another article : 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20071644.

  The article was on the various Australian inventions for example our most dearest Wi-Fi,The infamous black box flight recorders,The commonly used hills clothes hoists,The useful cochlear implants,Dual flush toilets,Mountbatten Braillers,Super Sopper Rollers,Ultrasound,Disposable syringes and plastic banknotes.

 After reading this article I was astounded,begging the question what makes the people who invented or innovated these things so creative,was it the environment that they grew up in? or was it some other factor that influenced them to be this creative?.

 Sometimes like the invention of Wi-Fi,new inventions are created by making mistakes,sometimes like ultrasound  the manner of which it could be used was not thought of yet. 

 But more often than not sometimes ideas lay dormant in the back of our head,waiting just for the right time to pop out.These ideas could be there for months and months all together and we wouldn't know unless a situation provokes our brain to push it out giving us a eureka moment,bringing everything that we had thought of earlier together.
 What are these moments that push our ideas forward,you ask? 
     The answer is no one knows,it could be at any time and any place taking us by surprise. that is why we      have to be ready for it at all times.

 The environmental factors like society and culture play a key factor in these types of inventions,if the society is supportive of these inventions then only they come into bloom and only then would they be innovated 
upon. 

 As mentioned earlier in my post about how schools kill creativity.Schools also play a key factor,their encouragement and support is required to help give birth to creative minds.

  To answer my initial question I think that it's a combination of all these factors put together that create an   inventive,innovative and creative mind.because breaking out of boundaries that's how we do.

 I hope I have given you something to gnaw,prod and itch your brain for, because out of the box thinking,that's how we think. 

Invention and Innovation....

 We were asked to view this article in class,without even thinking I pull out my phone unlock it open the browser and type in the link :

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/tech/article/the-pc-is-dead-long-live-the-tablet/ 

 Turns out it's an article about tablets and personal computers(surprise! surprise!)to be more specific it was about Tablets VS Personal Computers.

Source:techweekeurope.co.uk

 According to this site and a report the sale of tablets will account for 70% of the gadgets sold  by the year 2013,it also says People at work places would probably be bringing their own devices as the technology in the company is inferior to the technology used at homes which would not be true 15 years ago.

 Tablets have not only just come into our lives to make them more convenient,as time flies we find that tablets have become an important part of our life helping keep track of things on the go,making themselves an intricate part of our lives.The process of innovation here startles me completely the fact that more and more features of a regular sized PC keep turning up in the tablets we use now-a-days.The late Steve Jobs Co-founder of apple may not have invented the tablet(in fact the first tablet was patented in 1888 by Elisha Gray)but he did innovate on it giving it new features that no one thought it could have,many may argue that Apple's products do tend to be expensive but the innovation of it's late Co-founder is undeniable.

  Innovation has come to such an extent that we ourselves have what would be considered expensive technology at an affordable price,in fact it's so affordable we have so much of it that we consider the technology in our offices,schools,universities to be obsolete.Some of us even bring our own devices due to the frustration caused by using the technology in these places.

 Hence speaking out for everyone with this kind of frustration invention is important i.e. creating something new with a new idea ,however keeping ourselves updated is even more important,with various innovations people expect more from their devices.

So to conclude I would say keeping invention and innovation interlocked is how we progress and make sure we are up to date on what we do.

                                 

Creativity - Part 2 (words not associated)

Thinking of five words that we do not associate to creativity is quite difficult especially for me(with me being such an optimist and all).However deep down we all know what we don't think creativity is,so here are a few words on that topic:

Words Not Associated To Creativity:

                                         1) Mainstream Thinking

                                                         

                                                        

                                                           Source: janetpoole.com

  Honestly I find the idea of replicating the same thing again and again to be quite repulsive.Don't get me wrong mainstream thinking is necessary in order to innovate,but using the same topic over and over again,the same state of mind continuously over and over until we die is quite sad.If we did this we would seize to shine fading into the background,becoming irrelevant like a shadow in a dark room.I believe that every job requires us to break mainstream thinking,even a manager would have to do this,adapting himself to the situation at hand.Mainstream thinking can be avoided by bringing new options to the table and breaking out of the box,bringing us a step closer to becoming a creative person.

  I have realized that coming up with words not associated to creativity was quite difficult for me, so I have decided to release these words in parts.hope you enjoyed this post and keep updated many more are to come.
                                                           

                                                       

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

 We recently watched a video of Sir Ken Robinson where he talks about the fact that schools kill creativity

                                                                     Sir Ken Robinson
                                                               Source: discoverthegift.com

 The link is mentioned below:
Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

  I found this particular video extremely interesting because of the path he takes while addressing this situation speaking of how the education system tries to force us to use only part of ourselves and makes us fear making mistakes by treating mistakes as the worst thing that could be done in school.I also agree when he says that all children are talented but we raise them in such a way that we squander their talent,because their minds are not saddled with basic facts,they tend to say what they want in the way they understand it and not in the way society does.he also quotes Picasso saying "Every child is an artist.The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up".Another fact to which I agree upon is that the education system all over the world is similar,placing their subjects in hierarchical order the first being science (like engineering,medicine etc.) the second being commerce (management,economics etc.) and the last being arts ( music,arts,dance etc.),where even in arts there is a hierarchy with music and art being the first which was then followed by dance etc..I feel that schools need to realize the fact that all types of education is important some people who love to dance may get discouraged because of this system,many talented children are forced to quit doing what they love in arts because the result is always decided career wise, parents saying "Oh,you will never become a painter/musician/dancer" has led to the disappearance of an artist and an arrival of a scientist.I am not saying that science is not important but that all subjects should be treated equally.Giving children an option to choose is very important preparing them for life and enabling them do what they want.

  I do realize that this post may be a little out of topic in this blog but I strongly feel that this matter does need addressing,I was lucky enough to have a family that supports me but how many children are there that do not.like Sir Kent Robinson I agree that we have to educate for children for the rest of their lives but how can we do that when we have no idea what the world would be like in five years.I hoped this post has made an impact on viewers of  this blog and given you all something think about.

Creativity- Part 1(words associated to creativity)

 As usual like almost everything else in this blog (maybe in life too?but let's not get distracted.)  it all started with a question.Our lecturer asked us to write down ten words,five of which were words we thought were associated to creativity and five which were not.This question took us time and made us think (well most of us, some of us got it instantly).Talking my own sweet time I tried to think of the words that I thought were associated to creativity,and needless to say I came up with a few:

Words Associated To Creativity:

 

                                                 1)INNOVATION

                                                                 

                                                                 Source:bu.edu

 Basically what it implies is the improvement of ideas that have been thought of.I think it's an important part of our creativity because all ideas that are brilliant cannot always be new(With seven billion people on planet earth what are the chances of our idea being unique anyway).I believe that ideas that people have already come up with can be improved upon in such a way that it becomes completely different and revolutionary.

                                                  2)NEW IDEAS

                                                                     
                                                         Source: realizedworth.com
                                                                   
                                                               

   Even with innovation being really important I also know that creating new ideas is what keeps the brain moving and creative.I believe a creative mind can make new ideas, a new idea would mean something different for everyone,something new to do,something to innovate on.This in turn keeps the brain working and creative juices flowing.

                                                        3)BOLDNESS

                                                                               
                                                                   
                                                              Source:motivationalmemo.com
                                                             
 By boldness I mean the lack of fear of judgement by people and the ability to show proudly what we have created. In terms of association to creativity I feel that boldness is mandatory for a creative person.With only new ideas and innovation and no boldness how is one supposed to speak for one's self,defend one's work and show it off to the world.

             

                                                     4)PASSION

                                                                 

                                                              Source:yourstory.in

    Passion one of the most important words associated to creativity.Without passion the things we do everyday become dull and boring turning them from what they are to mandatory tasks.People find their passion in different places some with music,some with art,some with numbers,some with writing and so on...the list is too numerous to count.It need not always have to be a job but if a person has passion,he has the ability to think creatively on about it.driving us forward and making us succeed with passion we will never be bored in what we do.

                                     5)OUT OF THE BOX THINKING 

                                                               
                                                                                     
                                                                    Source:123rf.com

   As a fervent believer of out of the box thinking it makes it an absolute necessity for me to mention this point.Out of the box thinking is a new way of looking at things obtaining not one but many new perspectives and alternatives,nothing is impossible with out of the box thinking.Creativity thrives in this mindset it's how everything comes together,how everything makes sense.It's how we test ourselves,expand our minds,break theories apart and compile them together again.

  I hope this was entertaining as well as informative.Everyone has their own version of what they think creativity is...some may agree and other may disagree with the points that I have put forward but this is my version of what I think creativity is.