Re: Spectrum of Thought( was Imagination vs Critical thought)

QueeneMUSE@aol.com
Thu, 19 Jun 1997 22:40:27 -0400 (EDT)


The Low Willow writes

> phoenix@ugcs.caltech.edu
cc extropians
>
> Actually at the moment my model has constant creativity, and it is the
> criticism which slides freely.

I think creativity is linked to the emotions, and higher levels of critical
thought/logic are unemotional, numb, and dry. New ideas, original ideas, are
not deductive, but result from a blending of many things... almost accidental
pairings of unrrelated thoughts... like the guy who accidentally dipped his
chocolate in peanut butter..What happens is that the creative moments are
often unfocused, daydreamy moments...resulting in flashes of "AHA!" which may
be very unclear and even unuseful, but THEN the critical parts can go in and
hone and perfect...

>>>If you call random spew creativity,

random spew is fine, it is EXPRESSIVE, and can result in great Music, but it
is not creation, creativity by defintion must hbe followed with product,
action or result..

> I suspect that is what it must amount to under the hood.

I don't understand that comment.
> When you're
> tired you're not too focused, more ideas get through, you feel more
> creative, and some of them might even be good.

Exactly - you are allowing your brain to flow to areas less ruled by logic
and more by emotion: hence the new and odd combinations of peanut and
chocolate slip through

When you're sleeping
> you're not focused at all and your mind goes on a random walk.

And don't you get the most marvelous ideas then? i do... driving too...

>That it makes as much sense as it seems to do while you're asleep is
probably
> due to our neural networks desperately trying to find patterns. If
> you're too tightly focused and critical not enough ideas are allowed to
> live long enough.
>
> Hallucinogens perhaps actively affect the creation of ideas, vs. simply
> tearing down the critical walls; I wouldn't know.

So I hear! Very extropic!

For my purposes a
> constant source of idealets with varying intensity and quality of
> surrounding filters works as a model, so far.

SOr tof backwards to what I would reccomend, but a good model if it works for
you.

> Smart people have more dumb ideas than dumb people, because dumb people
> don't have ideas. Really smart people, of course, recognize their dumb
> ideas before they open their mouth.
>
> That last sentence was not meant as a jibe at anyone specific.

O I C - OK, maybe I am not smart enough to worry about being dumb...or vice
versa.. ; )
Love,
KWEEN MOOS