Creativity, Divergent Thinking and Play

ROLE PLAY

THINK WITH YOUR HANDS

ENCOURAGE WILD IDEAS

Divergent thinking is a creative process that involves trying to think of as many possible solutions as you can. It is the opposite of convergent thinking, which usually involves a thought process that follows some set of rules or logic (in which case there may only be 1 or few correct answers). In contrast to convergent thinking, divergent thinking is usually more spontaneous and free-flow; individuals try to keep their mind open to any possibilities that present themselves. The more possibilities they come up with, the better their divergent thinking.

30 Circles Test in Creativity

The goal is to incorporate each circle into a drawing within the 60 seconds. It doesn’t matter how exactly you do it: you could have 30 drawings with 1 circle each, or 6 drawings with 5 circles each, or anything in between. It is all up to you!

And don’t worry if you don’t finish, most people don’t. At the end of it count up how many circles you completed.

Another idea: The only limit is your imagination. Other common practices include thinking of how many different uses you can come up with for:

• A shoe.
• Duct tape.
• Paperclip.

“Creativity is a lot like looking at the world through a kaleidoscope. You look at a set of elements, the same elements everyone else sees, but then reassemble those floating bits and pieces into an enticing new possibility.”- Rosemary Canter

 To watch Tim Brown talk about creativity and play, check out this TedTalk