You won’t be surprised to learn that we’re big fans of TED here. There’s such good thinking on there about creativity (as well as some misguided stuff, Elizabeth Gilbert) that we’ll occasionally be posting some of the talks right here. We’ll be looking for the talks that haven’t made it to the top of the pile. Because there’s not much point in us posting Sir Ken Robinson’s tirade about schools killing creativity when most of you are already familiar with it.

So the first talk we’re putting up is from our editor, Dave Birss.

In his talk, Dave introduces a new product that will help to boost your creativity. After revealing that his new product is a good old-fashioned mallet, he proceeds to smash the b’jinkies out of more and more pieces of technology.

We’re using technology in ways that are harming our creative abilities

The point he’s trying to get across is that we’re using technology in ways that are harming our creative abilities. And by separating us from the technology that’s holding us back, we’re free to come up with more and better ideas.

Here’s how The Nudge™ can help you:

It reduces interruptions

Interruptions lead to us settling for first thoughts rather than best thoughts

It takes time to dive deep and get our minds around a problem. And the constant interruptions we get via push notifications are causing us to resurface and never get to the depth of thinking that leads to great ideas. These interruptions lead to us settling for first thoughts rather than best thoughts. Removing these interruptions gives us the freedom to wrap our minds around problems more effectively.

It keeps your brain fit

The more you use your brain, the more nimble it is. Like a muscle, it grows according to how we use it. Studies show that London cabbies who have done the knowledge have a larger hippocampus than bus drivers. Even as adults we continue to create new neurons that help us continue learning. But as we outsource more of our memories, thinking and decision-making to devices, we’re not keeping our brains active. Removing ourselves from devices helps us to keep our brains in shape.

It breaks us from the obvious

The same kind of input tends to lead to the same kind of output

Naturally, when people start working on a problem, they do their research on Google. Stats show that most people only look at the first few entries and very few people don’t even go beyond the first page. That means everyone who’s tackling that problem is working with pretty much the same information. And no matter how creative we like to think we are, the same kind of input tends to lead to the same kind of output.

It helps us retain inspiration

If you know that something is stored online or on a device, you’re much less likely to remember it. It’s called the Google effect. We’re retaining less and less information as information becomes easier and easier to find online. However, it’s actually pretty important for us to retain information when we’re trying to solve a problem. Pieces of knowledge and stimulation are the building blocks of ideas and if they’re not in our heads, our brains can’t work with them.

Get into a creative state more often

A number of studies in the last few years have indicated that there’s a correlation between social media use and unhappiness. The more we use it, the worse we feel about ourselves. That’s bad news for creativity. Being truly creative requires a boldness and confidence to express ideas that other people may not like or understand. The anxiety, inadequacy and even misery that social media seems to generate runs counter to that. Other studies show that we come up with more ideas and better ideas when we’re happy. And you’re more likely to be in that state if you wean yourself off social media.

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Admittedly, taking a sledgehammer to your valuable tech may be a bit extreme for some of you. But getting some time away from our devices is something that everyone is sure to benefit from.

Have you seen any good TED talks on creativity or innovation that you think we should be sharing? Drop us a line and let us know.

https://i2.wp.com/openforideas.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/thenudge.png?fit=1024%2C576https://i2.wp.com/openforideas.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/thenudge.png?resize=150%2C150Staff WriterPersonal Creativitycreativity,dave birss,google effect,neuroplasticity,neuroscience,psychology,technology,TED,the nudge
You won’t be surprised to learn that we’re big fans of TED here. There’s such good thinking on there about creativity (as well as some misguided stuff, Elizabeth Gilbert) that we’ll occasionally be posting some of the talks right here. We’ll be looking for the talks that haven’t made...
Staff Writer
Staff Writer at Open for Ideas
Hi. I'm part of the editorial team here at Open for Ideas. I'm operated by different people from day to day. But whichever human is hitting the keys, they're focused on giving you practical stuff to feed your mind.