Let your imagination roam your entire life, but take courses in art, film, or whatever appeals the most, so that you can make a living with your hobby. Creativity sells, but it needs a stepping stone.
“Know how the box is built so you can think outside it.” Also helpful to know something about the history of the field in which you are trying to be creative, so you don’t run into the problem that your “brilliant new approach” was already a fad and a fizzle years ago. And even artwork has to stand up, or balance, or perhaps be “magical” trompe l’oeil, in the real world, so knowing how the box is built is essential for knowing how to build an “un-box”.
Unfortunately for the kid, thinking outside the box is not allowed until one has graduated from all forms of formal education. Hard to retain the drive to be individual in a world where one is just another egg in a carton
there are right answers and wrong answers in the world (as far as we understand) but she is right. That is only the start and used to build ideas bigger and brighter.
Cynicism is never a substitute for real data. The teachers I see today, K-12 and college, seem to be much better at handling “thinking outside the box” then the ones I knew growing up. Anecdotal data to be sure, but a large amount of it.
One of the best and hardest lessons of my life, professionally and otherwise: You’re not thinking outside the box if you don’t know anything about the box. You’re just scattering thoughts around at random, all but guaranteed to miss.
Formal education is designed to train you to be… and prove that you are… a reliable cog. Great teachers on the other hand nurture every part of you if they can, and lay great emphasis on creativity, which is the rarest form of excellence and which is often unpleasant for observers, particularly as it starts to come into its own.
fuzzbucket Premium Member over 4 years ago
Let your imagination roam your entire life, but take courses in art, film, or whatever appeals the most, so that you can make a living with your hobby. Creativity sells, but it needs a stepping stone.
DutchUncle over 4 years ago
“Know how the box is built so you can think outside it.” Also helpful to know something about the history of the field in which you are trying to be creative, so you don’t run into the problem that your “brilliant new approach” was already a fad and a fizzle years ago. And even artwork has to stand up, or balance, or perhaps be “magical” trompe l’oeil, in the real world, so knowing how the box is built is essential for knowing how to build an “un-box”.
sandpiper over 4 years ago
Unfortunately for the kid, thinking outside the box is not allowed until one has graduated from all forms of formal education. Hard to retain the drive to be individual in a world where one is just another egg in a carton
car2ner over 4 years ago
there are right answers and wrong answers in the world (as far as we understand) but she is right. That is only the start and used to build ideas bigger and brighter.
roth45 over 4 years ago
Cynicism is never a substitute for real data. The teachers I see today, K-12 and college, seem to be much better at handling “thinking outside the box” then the ones I knew growing up. Anecdotal data to be sure, but a large amount of it.
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] over 4 years ago
Blog PostsFrazz14 hrs ·
One of the best and hardest lessons of my life, professionally and otherwise: You’re not thinking outside the box if you don’t know anything about the box. You’re just scattering thoughts around at random, all but guaranteed to miss.
Concretionist over 4 years ago
Formal education is designed to train you to be… and prove that you are… a reliable cog. Great teachers on the other hand nurture every part of you if they can, and lay great emphasis on creativity, which is the rarest form of excellence and which is often unpleasant for observers, particularly as it starts to come into its own.