“Inspiration is for amateurs – the rest of us just show up and get to work.” – Painter and printmaker Chuck Close
In this GDC talk, Raph Koster explains what science tells us about creativity – what it is, and what it isn’t. Contrary to popular belief, creative work is not best arrived at by connecting with some ethereal muse, being a tortured, moody arteeest type, nor just sitting around waiting for inspiration. Creativity is also not just adding a very simple mechanic to something that already exists or re-skinning something in a new way.
Instead, the data tells us that creativity is something that can be developed, is a fairly straightforward process, and you can cause to happen when desired. I agree with him, and would also say even further: working in your field every day has connected me with some of my most interesting creative ideas – ideas that have payed me well and won awards. It was boring, everyday work that showed me what people were interested in, and then my curiosity lead me to new connections.
Favorite points from his talk:
Creativity is most well defined as mixing of traditionally unrelated things in new ways. It is not mysterious, there are proven simple habits to assist your brain to start making connections between different subjects and being more creative.
“Personal expression” is not creativity. It might be, but don’t mistake the two – they have different goals.
Ensure you get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Cognitive ability declines measurably with even small sleep shortfalls – creativity (primarily a thinking activity) provably suffers.
Classic brainstorming with no criticism generates just a few ideas per hour, but studies show allowing criticism during brainstorming generates MORE ideas per hour.
Positive attitudes and happiness are more strongly correlated with successful creative ideas than the angsty creative trope. Yes, you may have had traumatic experiences in life, but pretty much so has everyone.
Get regular exercise and take care of yourself – it has proven positive mental and creative effects. Taking a nap often solves a problem.
Creativity is often a measure of imagination. Measuring the creativity of person is often done by having a visualization exercise. More creative types ‘see’ more details of the thing they are visualizing right off.
Creative leadership is often NOT a winning formula
Creative people are usually perceived as worse leaders.
It is usually second movers/fast followers that end up defining the genres and really cashing in. They usual execute better and game styles are not well protected under IP law.
Creativity does buy you a following – which is critical in the current market where people now follow the game makers/personalities more than the game or studio itself.
Mark Rober did a fairly scientific self-run experiment where he sent 200 wallets around the country to be dropped in various cities then collect data on who returned them (if possible). He controlled for age, big cities vs small city size, gender, poor/rich, etc.
Summary: 2/3 of the wallets were returned, and of those 96% still had the money inside. He got lots of other interesting data, but I thought his summary was the most impressive:
Lately it seems like so much of what you see online is meant to stoke outrage at some group of people versus ourselves because that’s what gets shared. That begins to warp our perception that the only good people out there are those within our own group. But this data shows that across any age or gender or socio-economic background, across the whole religious spectrum through middle America and along the coast there are lots of good people everywhere.
Not only that, but they constitute a [very clear] MAJORITY. They didn’t call for some reward or Facebook likes or because they knew someone was watching. They did it because it was simply the right thing to do and I think that’s pretty cool and something worth remembering.
Things that didn’t seem to make a difference:
Gender – pretty much equal return rate after slightly method change.
Rich or poor areas – same return rate
Age – average age of person that returned the wallet was 36, which is pretty much the average age in the US. (Would be interesting to dig into the average age of persons who walk in these areas vs driving/etc. Old people probably don’t walk as much, kids under 7 probably don’t walk alone either. But I agree this is probably a fair representation.)
Religious* – 60% were returned by people who were religious vs 40% who were not. This largely matches the average city population, so he didn’t consider it statistically meaningful.
Things that did make a difference to at least some degree:
Small cities averaged better return rates than big cities
City itself – huge difference
Here’s the city results in order from best to worst:
Perfect (10/10 returns): Chicago, Salt Lake City
Good (9-7 returns): Nashua, ID, Hill City, SD, Portland, Parma, ID, Las Vegas
Middle (7-5 returned): San Francisco, Winnipeg, Washington DC, Huntsville, New London, Seattle, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Edmonton
Worst cities for return rate (4 or under): Detroit and NYC
Riffusion (Riff-fusion) is a music AI that you type in prompts and it generates music for you. It’s not going to win any awards anytime soon but it does seem to handle smooth and electronic tunes pretty well. Honestly, if I heard some of this in an elevator, I doubt I would notice.
One more step towards our automatically generated content future.
Abbot Agatho frequently admonished his disciples, saying: Never acquire for yourself anything that you might hesitate to give to your brother if he asked you for it, for thus you would be found a transgressor of God’s commandment. If anyone asks, give to him, and if anyone wants to borrow from you, do not turn away from him.
Abbot Agatho – 4th century Christian Saint and Abbot
It’s always interesting when the media covers projects that you worked on. Even more entertaining is to read the wildly incorrect sweeping generalizations that people make when commenting on news. This is a good reason you should just steer clear of comments sections and social media posts online. Instead, go to trusted, well respected, and reviewed sites with actual industry experts.
Incidentally he mispronounces the name Larrabee (as Laura-be). It is pronounced more like Lair-a-bee.
Perhaps you have seen the fantastic series Chernobyl. One of my favorite parts was the ending when Valery Legasov gives this amazing speech. His summary on the cause of the Chernobyl disaster? Lies.
This scene is a clear reference to the Soviet reformer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s amazing “Live Not by Lies“. It was published the day he was arrested and exiled in 1974. In it he exhorts his fellow Soviet citizens to no longer cooperate with the Soviet regime’s lies. It’s a very quick read and definitely worth it.
When violence [the various bloody Socialist Revolutions] bursts onto the peaceful human condition, its face is flush with self-assurance, it displays on its banner and proclaims: “I am Violence! Make way, step aside, I will crush you!” But violence ages swiftly, a few years pass—and it is no longer sure of itself. To prop itself up, to appear decent, it will without fail call forth its ally—Lies. For violence has nothing to cover itself with but lies, and lies can only persist through violence.
And therein we find, neglected by us, the simplest, the most accessible key to our liberation: a personal nonparticipation in lies! Even if all is covered by lies, even if all is under their rule, let us resist in the smallest way: Let their rule hold not through me!
Solzhentsyn
In just 50 years, Solzhentsyn saw how Socialist revolutionaries went from utopian idealism of collective support and ownership by the workers into one of the worst police states in history. One that killed millions of its own citizens. It was a regime that carefully crafted and brutally imposed lies. After the revolutions, the regime quickly changed narratives, erased (canceled) their own revolutionary leaders/party members, and carefully controlled the reporting of every story.
Yet Solzhentsyn was right. Despite a regime that had unlimited control to silence any dissenting voice, in just 14 short years the entire Soviet regime collapsed. Lenin’s grand experiment of Socialism barely lasted 65 years (1923 – 1988). Brought down in large part by a policy of lies.
So what does it mean to live by truth instead?
Truth used to be a simple concept that has been engrained in everything from the court systems to the scientific method. For centuries, all thought was based on the notion one found truth through careful investigation, experimentation, and repeatable work. Truth is universal – others can do that same experiments, investigation, and come to the same answers regardless of who did them, where, or when.
In the US over the last 5 years or so, there is a growing problem with echo chambers and false news. Instead of truth, echo chambers and fake news simply reflect what we want to hear and feeds emotional outrage instead of thought.
How does this slow progression happen? Instead of actually believing that truth is universal – something that can and will stand on it’s own no matter what is thrown at it – we now have come up with the idea of telling ‘our truth‘. ‘Our truth’ is philosophically little more than opinion and all too often collapses in the face of any real science, examination, or facts. This position about truth lets us avoid thinking critically about our own position nor engage in the charitable and necessary hard work of dialoging and debating our viewpoints with opponents so that real truth can be found by all. This notion of proving and debating what we believe is true is the core of scientific discovery and any democracy. Without that, we live under the oppression of whomever is most willing to enforce their views. History shows us this happens both with progressive (Russian/Chinese/North Korean socialist revolutions) and conservative (Fascist) movements.
Solzhentsyn points out what happens next with this kind of thinking. Violence. We now are going down that road with growing US domestic terrorism. Instead of simply fixing corruption or prosecuting bad actors, we have juvenile calls to throw away the notion of truth and replace it with…well, violence. Once relegated to compound dwelling militants, we now see activists of many stripes openly encouraging people to use violence to impose their ideas on others WITHOUT public debate or discourse. Ironically, it is increasingly being seen in left-leaning quarters that previously called themselves progressive and enlightened. Fringe groups like Antifa call themselves anti-fascists while threatening violence and following exactly the kind of views that actual Fascists believe.
Example: this congressional hearing where representative Nancy Mace grills activist Alejandra Caraballo on her Twitter posts. It is a perfect example of what we are increasingly seeing today from activists who are promoting the same ‘self-assured’ violence Solzhentsyn talks about.
The Consequencies of Lies
Many now choose to believe lies even when those lies fly in the face of science – such as proven environmental or biological science. But reality doesn’t care about your opinion – it exists outside ourselves. If you choose not to wear your seatbelt because you don’t believe in them – the physics of a car crash will correct you. If you choose to ignore vaccinations, changing environmental conditions, or deny your chromosomal makeup – your viruses, storms and your biology will exert themselves no matter what you want to believe is true.
Some lies only hurt ourselves or do injuries to another’s reputation. Chernobyl shows, however, even seemingly simple lies can also cause disastrous consequences. The Soviet Union showed that millions can die and even with complete control and absolute power, it could not stand for more than 65 years based on violence and lies. What began as a utopian experiment became one of the most brutal and murderous forms of government in all of human history – because of lies.
Yet, each of these horrors also showed us that truth always wins. In the end, you are not fighting ‘them’ – you are fighting the truth.
When the truth offends, we lie and lie until we can no longer remember it is even there. But it is still there. Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid.
For the Christian, this is nothing new. Christians went from being a tiny, fringe oppressed group in the Roman empire to completely conquering it in just 300 years – without a single battle. They did this simply by living the Truth. What is the real Truth? It’s the Truth that has lasted longer than every country, government, culture, company, and civilization since it entered the world. It’s the teachings of and relationship with Christ. Unlike the notion of ‘our truth’, Jesus promises us that living as He taught and living daily with Him is real Truth – Truth that is the same today, yesterday, and always. Truth that has overthrown and outlasted the most powerful rulers and kingdoms in the world. If you wish to live in universal and eternal truth, then live by the author of Truth.
Live not by lies. Let the rule of lies hold not through me.
Oregon is one of only 2 states that still has a 50’s era laws banning customers from pumping their own gas. This has been changing though. Several counties in sparsely populated areas of eastern Oregon have been allow you to pump your own gas for the last few years. During recent heat waves, snow storms, and COVID – residents have been increasingly able to pump their own gas.
You can’t go 5 minutes on the internet or grocery story news stand aisle without some ‘expert’ telling you how to be happy. Getting enough sleep! Doing what you want! Have great sex, eat the right foods, etc. I found Arthur C. Brooks – who happens to be a happiness professor at Harvard. Here’s some scientific findings on happiness. As it turns out, most of this is not new wisdom…
Neurophysiology tells us that dopamine highs we get from acquiring new things (big achievements, a fancy car, taking a big trip, possessions, big promotions, winning the lottery, etc) only last a short time. Then it quickly goes away and we must go looking for more. Studies show the real formula for happiness looks like the below. The better way to be happy, the easier way, is if you focus on reducing the denominator and being happy by wanting less. This part of the equation is almost completely in your control – but requires wisdom to know what things we really need vs just want. (PS: Jesus taught this and millennium of monks, Christians and other faiths know this to be true).
Gratitude is an important part of being happy. A lot of folks just live in their limbic systems (your emotions/feelings) and largely go wherever their emotions lead them (ex: desire, fear, laziness, etc) Instead, start engaging your frontal cortex and choose to be grateful by making the decision to focus on things you are grateful for. Taking ownership of your emotions with your frontal cortex (thinking) in gratitude is guaranteed to make you happier.
Purpose and happiness comes from answering these 2 questions. If you don’t have an answer for those questions, you WILL suffer existential crisis and dread. (PS: What is the meaning of life?)
Why am I alive?
What would I be willing to die for?
You hit your happiness bottom at age 45 (across all cultures) then it increasesfrom that point on – unless you have untreated mental health or addictions issues. A little after 50 years old most people finally realize that we can and often do lose those things we thought were important to have for happiness. We also learn that those loses ultimately don’t matter because even then the pain doesn’t last forever either. Finally, it is a very good reason to seek help for mental health and addiction issues as early as possible because they will hold you back your whole life.
Sitting around making memories by constantly instagraming your life is the backwards mental time travel that robs you of your life. When doing that, you are mentally living in the future looking back., From that imagined future, you are pretending you are living now as if it was the past (I’m taking pictures now so I can remember this time later). The problem? You just missed your life. NOW is the only part of your life you have. If you’re like many people that spend 30-50% of your time thinking about the future, you are largely missing your life now. (PS The mindfulness practice of living in the now is exactly mirrored in Jesus teaching)
Your ability to innovate, think quickly, and solve problems in knowledge jobs peaks in your 30’s. The wisdom curve, however starts in your 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s and comes from leading, teaching, sharing, and recognizing what things really mean.
The Harvard Study of Adult Development is probably one of the longest studies done over 75 years of the same people. Some came from the poorest parts of society, while others were Harvard members. What turned out to make them happiest and live longest was not their cholesterol numbers, success, money, nor fame.
The findings? The quality and satisfaction of their relationships is the most important index of longer life, happiness, and health than any other marker. Loneliness was one of the highest indicators of later physical and mental health issues. Even if the relationships had difficulties and bickering – the most important key attribute is that they knew when the chips were down they could count on their partner.
If you want to live longer and happier, it might be time to re-kindle a stagnating relationship or building new healthy relationships. Holding grudges, unforgiveness, or not kindling loving relationships is just as damaging to you as heart disease. Surprisingly, these are the very things that Jesus taught us.
I had not seen Fr Chad Ripperger’s videos before, but I think he’s spot on in his observations about trends we see going on in the world. What’s interesting is that his observations are independently backed up by many scientific studies about happiness, social media, and news reporting.
This shouldn’t be shocking that science is slowly confirming many of the very core beliefs that Jesus and the Catholic Church have taught about what brings us happiness and fulfilling lives. Contrary to Hollywood’s incorrect take on religion as anti-science, Catholics believe religion and science are not in conflict but in unity for centuries. Certainly longer than most every current country on earth. Some of the most famous scientific discoveries such as physics (Newton), genetics (Gregory Mendel), and even the Big Bang (co-discoverer Fr. Georges Lemaître) were theists or religious who never saw a conflict with their faith – quite the contrary in almost all cases.
So when it comes to human behaviors and social trends, it should be no surprise that the teachings of Christ tell us how we should and shouldn’t act as well. What things bring division, hatred, destruction, and evil – and which bring joy, peace, and relationship. Give his talk a listen. Even if you don’t believe in God or don’t like the words ‘spiritual warfare’ – you should see that the core ideas and teaching are still correct whatever words you’d like to use.
