How knowledge can stimulate creativity?

It turns out that knowledge and creativity are not rivals but friends. Moreover, their relationship is co-dependent.

What is creativity?

Creativity is often considered a skill connected with art, architecture, design, etc. Judging from this site, if we are not in the movie industry, don`t paint beautiful artworks, or do anything from scratch, we are not creative, right? Well, that`s not entirely true.

In the broader sense, creativity is the new combination of knowledge we already have. Its main function lies in discovering new ideas or modifying existing concepts. 

Creativity vs. knowledge

Where knowledge is facts and information, creativity is how we use them. 

To produce new ideas, implement effective solutions, build strategies and see things from fresh perspectives, we need to know much. 

Think of knowledge as a house construct and creativity as an architectural design for more metaphoric images. Without a profound understanding of how to build the house, you won`t be able to implement any original concept. That`s why knowledge is the basis for creative thinking skills.

Becoming more intelligent is necessary to boost creativity because it provides us with a wide range of information and connections between things we might use to make something new. Without a solid knowledge base, it is impossible to pursue a career, have a reputation as a skillful worker, or feel more confident in daily conversations. Knowledge is restricted with rules, facts, and deep research. It has a foundation of millions of people`s minds and has been time-proofed. 

On the other hand, creativity is limited only by your imagination, for there is no string attached. There is a saying that creativity is intelligence having fun, and well, that`s quite true. Without knowledge and creativity working in tandem, nothing new can appear.

Why do we need to be creative?

If we are smart, we know many facts, grasp much information, can quickly multiply 25×25, that`s great. There is but, though. Living in the Google era, everyone has information at their fingertips, but only by enhancing creativity can we transform it into new ideas and use it in a non-conventional way. 

Creativity enables non-linear thinking to see things from the other angle and make unusual decisions to solve problems. It pushes us to think out of the box, makes us curious and less judgmental, more innovative, and open to new experiences.

As a cherry on the top, creativity decreased mortality risk. According to Scientific American, being engaged in a creative process helps reduce stress, let go of negative emotions, and feel less anxiety.

How to increase creativity?

Creativity is not a talent; it is a skill that demands training and challenge. We want to highlight five tips on how to acquire knowledge and, as a result, how to improve creativity. The starting point, of course, is boosting your intelligence.

Use Nerdish

Research-based learning can advance our knowledge to a higher level ASAP. That`s why we created Nerdish. Our app provides you with cutting-edge information on everything on Earth, from technology, history, and science to everyday things, health, and art. To get information is one thing, but to know how to connect those dots requires a wide life frame, so Nerdish here provides you with those instruments. Apart from articles, we prepared quizzes to make sure new information is stuck in your head for good. If you need a magic kick, we added a tracker to measure time spent on reading.

Try new things

Suppose you are a pro in your job, like super Python-developer, accounter, or a chef at a restaurant. Surely, you are primarily interested in your field and try to keep up. However, when we do the same things, read the same journals\news channels, interact with the same people, we might find ourselves in the informational bubble so that we run over and over the same ideas all the time. To push those boundaries, we should try something new every day. Listen to podcasts instead of just music, read about Mental Health Guide in addition to your regular news update, watch “How to” videos, and try to learn something unusual, like playing an instrument, making pottery, or a foreign language. The more new things we try, the more insights of different kinds we get. And by connecting and rethinking those insights, we can create new senses.

Learn through collaboration

Working in teams helps us find the best solutions through communication and collaboration. Old but good brainstorming technique proves to be efficient in discovering creative ideas in teamwork. Working hand-to-hand can boost your creativity immensely because you are interacting with others, seeing things from their point of view. Moreover, we interact with people from different countries with diverse cultural backgrounds and life positions in our globalized world. So, teamwork is one of the best ways to stimulate creativity.

Read quality literature and watch movies

Stories, even fictional ones, are powerful instruments to stimulate creativity and innovation. They plunge us into the other reality, send us through time and space, teach us life lessons in a harmless way, give us opportunities to understand characters better, and, consequently, know about ourselves as well. Books and movies are unlimited sources of inspiration that show how creative minds think and provide us with new ideas and patterns.

Stay curious

Staying curious is the inner fuel that drives you to explore the unknown and look for new information. As we learn something about one topic, we find out about other things that we still don`t know. Consequently, our curiosity pushes us to close that gap. 

Staying curious is closely connected with open-mindedness. It allows us to learn from others` experiences, listen to different points of view, see another side of the medal (actually, many-many sides). Simply speaking, being open-minded leads us to new opportunities and solutions unseen before, which helps us stimulate creativity.

There is no place for debates over what is more important: creativity or knowledge? Both things are closely connected and important to gain success in all life aspects.