Science of Creativity Recap

Posts about shifting your state of consciousness, using your body, welcoming the presence of constraints, upping your odds of creative success, and more.

The Science of Creativity newsletter has gained a lot of new subscribers lately—welcome! Below you’ll find the fifteen posts I’ve published since the newsletter started last month. Hope you enjoy!—Annie

Creativity is an Expression of Love for the World: What a decades-long passion project can teach us about creative work. 

Seeing Things That Aren't There: How to use your innate capacity for "pareidolia" to be more creative. 

Shift Your Brain From "Spotlight" Mode Into "Lantern" Mode: It's possible to enter a more creative state of consciousness.  

To Be More Creative, Let Your Body Lead the Way: These physical experiences will nudge your brain into a more creative state. 

Freedom is Bad for Creativity: To come up with fresher, more original ideas, impose some constraints. 

 Want To Be More Creative? Seek Out "Impossible Experiences": Six ways to make ordinary life seem strange and fresh. 

How to Make Your Odds of Creative Success Go Way Up: It’s a numbers game, and other insights from the work of creativity expert Dean Simonton. 

How Remembering the Past Can Make You More Creative in the Present: Memory and imagination draw on the same mental capacities. 

The Alternative to Perfectionism: Don't worry—you don't have to give up your high standards. 

The Power of Emotional Creativity: The skills you apply to your creative work can also enhance your emotional life. 

Why You Don't Feel Like Creating Today: Researchers have a word for what you're feeling: psychological reactance. 

Why You Should Be Task-Switching More Often: It hinders straightforward productivity, but it enhances creativity. 

Can You Tell Creativity Fact from Fiction? Take this researcher-developed quiz to find out. 

The Two-Part Mindset that Made Leonardo So Creative: Research finds that both parts are necessary for creativity to flourish. 

Are You Most Creative Just Before You Fall Asleep? Exploring the intriguing science of "hypnagogia."