Traits of the creative personality

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s ten paradoxical traits of the creative personality.

Furthermore, people who bring about an acceptable novelty in a domain seem able to use well two opposite ways of thinking: the convergent and the divergent. Convergent thinking is measured by IQ tests, and it involves solving well-defined, rational problems that have one correct answer. Divergent thinking leads to no agreed-upon solution. It involves fluency, or the ability to generate a great quantity of ideas; flexibility, or the ability to switch from one perspective to another; and originality in picking unusual associations of ideas. These are the dimensions of thinking that most creativity tests measure and that most workshops try to enhance.

Some of this seems like foolishness but the rest is a really interesting look at how to channel your creativity into success. (via 43f)

• mihalycsikszentmihalyi
• psychology