Week of March 1, 1999To start off with, The Infinite Mind visits with Rocco Dispirito, chef and owner of the Union Pacific Restaurant in New York. He explains the creative process behind his favorite dish and talks about the changing role of the chef and his own role as chef and proprietor.
Sometimes, he says, the elements of a dish will come together almost out of nowhere. At other times, creativity might mean a new twist on something he's seen before. Sometimes it's more organic, at other times many little steps are involved. The goal is to create exciting food, food with tension in it, that is innovative but not only appealing to gourmets or "foodies."
Union Pacific Restaurant is located at 111 East 22nd Street in New York City. The phone number there is 212-995-8500.
Next, Dr. Goodwin interviews Dean Simonton, a professor of psychology at the University of California-Davis, and Alan Robinson, a professor at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Simonton has studied creativity in people generally acknowledged as geniuses, while Dr. Robinson is an expert on corporate creativity.
Both guests start by defining creativity. Dr. Robinson says that in the corporate context creativity is defined as something new and useful that an employee does without being shown or taught. It's crucial that the innovation be recognized as useful by others. Dr. Simonton essentially agrees. Studying genius, he says, allows us to see particularly pure examples of creativity that has been certified as such by society and the passage of time--examples are Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Beethoven, and Einstein.
The key components of creativity are flexibility of thought and fluent production of ideas. Creative people are tolerant of ambiguity, don't impose boundaries on ideas, and take risks. The have a sense of play and can deal with failures--because new ideas risk failure.
Dr. Goodwin comments that many scientists he knows get to their theory, their fantasy picture of how things are, before they fill in the data. In fact, a Nobel-prize winner once said that it was more important for theories to be beautiful than correct.
Both professors agree that serendipity and accident are key factors in creativity. In Dr. Robinson's study of workplace creativity, 590 of 600 creative acts had their genesis in an accidental observation. Some examples of products that resulted from this are the Ink Jet printer, the bar code, Post-it notes, Velcro, and penicillin. As important as serendipity, though, is the capacity to recognize the significance of what we're seeing, what Dr. Goodwin calls the prepared mind.
Many creative people work on multiple projects simultaneously and so a lot of "cross-talk" goes on.
Dr. Simonton and Dr. Robinson say that creativity is probably more prone to be surrounded by superstition than any other human activity, simply because of the role luck plays in it. But one thing is not superstition--in every case Dr. Robinson studied, the truly innovative aspect of the creative acts ended once it reached the level of management.
Dr. Goodwin asks Dr. Simonton about the brain science involved in creativity. He replies that ths is a controversial area, but what seems to be true is that the brain is more active and volatile when creative activity is going on. There is a sharp rise in general arousal in the brain and many different areas are stimulated, which would go along with flexibility of thought. Contrary to stereotype, both hemispheres are intimately involved in creative activity--it's not a "right-brain thing." Analysis and synthesis are going on at the same time.
Dr. Robinson mentions that the biggest stereotype about creativity in the corporate world involves who will be creative. His studies found that management had no idea. The assumption was that innovation came from young people, but in many cases this was not the case.
Dr. Alan Robinson is the author, with Dr. Sam Stern, of the bookm 
Corporate Creativity. Dr. Simonton's book, Origins of Genius, is forthcoming from Oxford University Press.
Next, a visit with another "creative type"--Brooklyn-based poet Jay Ward. Ward is a performance poet inspired by jazz who often performs alongside musicians. He is part of a creative scene headquartered at the Nuyorican Poets' Cafe in New York City. For more information about the Nuyorican and their poetry and musical events, or to contact Mr. Ward, you can call 212-505-8183 or visit their Web site at www.nuyorican.com.
Dr. Goodwin now interviews Ruth Richards, a professor of psychiatry at the Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center about the link between creativity and mental illness, in particular, manic depressive illness or bipolar disorder.
Dr. Richards emphasizes that despite our images of tortured artists and even mad scientists, psychological problems are not a pre-condition for creativity. However, studies show the prevalence of some kinds of bipolar disorders in some groups, like creative writers, is much higher than for the general population. In fact, the rates can be as much as 10 or 12 times higher.
Why is this so and what is going on? Based on self-reporting from people with the illness, it seems that people perceive themselves as more fluid and associative in their thinking, and see their associations as more interesting. They may also feel things more intensely.
While many people may experience the shifting moods of bipolar disorder, they will not all be creative. An ability to put what they're experiencing to use is important. It involves a certain degree of control--what Dr. Richards says used to be called "ego strength."
Dr. Richards also emphasizes how creativity is important for everyday life and everyday activities.
Next, The Infinite Mind's Bill Lichtenstein interviews singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega. She performs one of her songs, "The Queen and the Soldier," and talks about where its imagery came from. Some of it developed inside her head for months, while other details were serendipitous accidents.
Suzanne Vega has just published a book, called 
The Passionate Eye. It is a collection of her song lyrics, journal entries, and other writings.
Finally, John Hockenberry talks about some not-so-positive meanings of the word creative, and his own experience with the label.
