Science News

It appears that the answer has to do with sexual selection. Does this explain how our species went from hunting and gathering to mass-producing iPhones and airplanes? There are many pieces to that puzzle. The relationship between sex and creativity might be one of them.

What does it mean to be connected in the 21st century? Hope, interdependence, and possibly the creation of a new consciousness, says Tiffany Shlain. Shlain is the founder of the Webby awards and creator of a new documentary, Connected: An Autoblogography about Love, Death & Technology, which premiered this year at Sundance.

In many ways, children flourish where adults fail. Children are more creative and are natural inventors. Their worldview is incomplete and demands discovery. They prosper because they embrace their ignorance instead of ignoring it. And they are willing to explore, investigate and put their ideas to the test because they are willing to fail. Unlike adults, they don’t care how other people perceive or evaluate their ideas, and they’re unconcerned with the impossible or what doesn’t work.

Articles about CREATIVITY: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=creativity

A new mindfulness research study (Ostafin, B. D., & Kassman, K. T, In Press) examined whether mindfulness could help improve participants' insight problem solving skills. Their hypothesis was that mindfulness might aid in solving of problems that require creative, nonhabitual responses.

Articles about PSYCHOLOGY: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=psychology

New research finds circadian rhythms in our creativity.

Having created a mobile app to conduct an experiment, scientists recently found that our minds wander about 47% of the time (the notable exception being love-making, when our ability to concentrate is very strong). While that may make us sound lazy and unproductive, neurologists say that daydreaming actually increases our ability to solve problems by thinking more creatively.

More on DAYDREAMING: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=daydreaming

New efforts are being made to reconcile neuroscience with the arts and humanities, a process which is throwing further light on the fact that our brain works in a very creative way simply viewing a piece of art.

NEUROSCIENCE: http://www.scoop.it/t/science-news?tag=neuroscience

Scientists have determined that people in a relaxed state and a good mood are far more likely to develop innovative or creative thoughts. And companies are now taking advantage of this fact. Lehrer points to 3M, which started out making packaging tape and has now expanded into other sectors including electronics and pharmaceutical delivery. Companies like 3M allow their employees to have an hour a day to do whatever they want: work on a side project or tinker with a hobby.