the fear of creativity

Is this really the company's value creativity? People say they want more creative people, ideas and creative solutions, but do they really?

Democritus The Greek philosopher (460-370 BC) announced the atomic theory, which means that the universe consists of two elements asserts. The atoms and the void in which they live and move many contemporary historians of science, philosophy of Democritus as the "father of modern science" for its breathtaking views of the world centuries ago, our understanding of the atomic structure, which is not held that the 19th century.

All his ideas were rejected by all the Greek philosophers and scientists of the time because their beliefs, as opposed to Aristotle, according to his followers was the highest authority in the universe. Her commitment to Aristotle and his theories about the universe, they feel a lot of uncertainty, imagine another way. Plato said that she liked him and his atomic theory, if he wanted all his books burned. Democritus was ignored by the intellectual community of Athens for the rest of his life.

The ancient Greeks want creative ideas? Yes to creativity famous in art, science and society. Greece declares that "the good society" and monuments, architectural creativity. However, the rejection of Democritus is just one of many historical examples of ideas that automatically rejected because of their novelty and non-compliance with existing beliefs, which were led to a general feeling of insecurity.

The story also tells how the physicists could not see established the theory of relativity by Einstein because of his views and accepted. For years, they tried to integrate their vision into the established opinion, without success. Interestingly, skeptical physicists have never accepted his theory, but eventually died and the next generation of physicists who were not injured in the past were able to accept and understand Einstein? What we learn from history is that our established vision interferes with our perception and understanding of ideas and concepts.

People want creative ideas and innovations today? Most of us respond with a strong "Yes, of course," explains that creativity is the engine of discovery in the field of art, science and industry, and is the main driver of positive change and is associated with intelligence, wisdom and goodness.

But while most people agree strongly with a positive vision of creativity, historians have discovered that the science, business, education, medical officers, military, non-profit organizations and policy-makers in all sectors declined routinely denied creative ideas as the Greeks atomic theory.

Robert Goddard, the father of modern rocket propulsion endure the ridicule of his fellow contemporary scholars that his ideas were absurd and impossible testified. The New York Times, even with an editorial by Goddard scientist who lacked even a high school rocket propulsion understanding intervened. This example is not unique. Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs, tried in vain to get Atari and HP interested in his and Steve Wozniak's personal computer. As Steve said. "So we went to Atari and said, 'Hey, we've assembled this amazing thing, even some of your parts, and what do you think of finance, or we give it to you we just want to pay our salaries. 'll Work for you, "and experts laughed and said:" 'Then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said no.' Hey, we do not do "you need t. You do not have a college yet. "

Ken Olsen, president and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., found the idea of ​​a personal computer absurd, as he says, "there is no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home". Other examples are:

• Pierrre Pachet, professor of physiology and a renowned expert said: "Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous about a fictional."

• Every big company has declined in the country Chester Carlson invented xerography. They said, "Why would anyone buy a copy machine too expensive, if it is cheap and plentiful".

Yale • Fred Smith, professor of management at the University of Fred was a "C" because the paper proposed by Fred, a Service Delivery deliver night was not a feasible idea. Fred was proposed Federal Express. In addition, all experts dedicated to the FedEx delivery in the U.S. since said that no one pays an exorbitant price for speed and reliability.

• Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Patent Office in 1899, he said. "Everything that can be invented has been invented." He called for the closure of the Patent Office, for there was no room for them.

• Western Union President William Orton refused, Bell offers to sell his struggling telephone company for $ 100,000. He said: "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to seriously as a means of communication are considered the device is inherently of no value to us is what this company could make a toy electric ..?"

• "The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would send a message that anyone pays?" Said David Sarnoff employees in response to his calls for investment in the radio in 1920.

• "TV will not be able to keep to a market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of watching a wooden box every night." (Darryl F. Zanuck, head of 20th Century Fox, 1946).

• "Airplanes are interesting toys for the fans, but no military value." (Marshal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre / French commander of Allied forces in the final months of World War I, 1918).

The Clockmaker

Frank was a watchmaker. Watch that 1000 pieces ever made. Frank is responsible and inspect each piece and think about the situation. Each clock is built a little differently each clock makes it unique and special.

One day a teacher came and taught him to look for a new path. He has learned to categorize all watch parts and components together. The elements of a dozen each in a specific order, each with a specific tag Ten of these subsets, larger in a subset, and a system consisting of ten pieces 100 100 and finally a set of system clock pulses parts, the entire 1000 are combined. It has been very effective and may be a fraction of the time previously see without much thought at all.

Do not see your system identification, classification and categorization of his descendants continued was the accepted system, watches in the world. All watches are made in the same way and everything went well. Everyone was comfortable and safe as the robot system clocks Frank, who had all agreed the only way to see profitable use continues.

One day a man decided, who had little knowledge of the Frank system to invent a new clock. Initially tried subsets of different ways to combine, but nothing seemed to work. He lets out and threw all subgroups against the wall, which collapsed in 1000 parts.

Instead of thinking how to improve the clock, the idea holds the concept of time and how many people throughout history time and how animals and birds currently understood. Suddenly he had an "explosive idea spirit" a new concept of how to measure the time. Hard work, has created a new and unique shows.

See all looked and I thought it was really a new concept. But no one would accept as a clock, and it does not look to see how a clock, I feel like a watch, sounds like a clock that is to do it from the gears and like clockwork and do not look as they should. Not to accept, if on the way they looked doing. This forced the inventor to start his own business and became the world's richest.

It is, of course, a fable. In real life, in 1968, dominated the Swiss watch industry in the world. Switzerland invented the electronic movement in his research in Neuchatel, Switzerland Institute. It was rejected by all Swiss watch manufacturer. Based on the experience with the watches, they thought that this might not be the measure of the future. After all, it was battery operated, have no effect or main spring and almost no speed. Frames Seiko, unprecedented in the watch industry, I took a look at this invention is that the Swiss manufacturer World Watch Congress rejected this year and has. The world market of the clock

Once created the people, a hypothesis about the way things are developing, a strong trend against anything they feel insecure, anxious or confused about makes its predetermined hypothesis. The novelty of the new clock is causing great uncertainty in the minds of watchmakers. This prejudice against uncertainty is activated when people are invited. New ideas to test new and interferes with the ability of participants to recognize a creative idea the insidious nature of this bias is that there is a strong social pressure to creativity and their products and a strong social desirability bias against expressing any opinion whatsoever to support creativity as something negative. The resulting state is similar to the research on racial prejudice, identifies a conflict between an explicit preference for creativity and unrecognized negative associations with creativity.

That is why we say that we are allowed strongly support creativity while systematically reject creative ideas and never. This is because creative ideas are new and different that makes us feel insecure and afraid .

Creativity in science