Saturday, October 20, 2007

The Dictionary of Creativity

Here's an intriguing new online resource: a glossary of terms and ideas relating to the creative process.
This compendum goes beyond the usual role of a dictionary in that it defines concepts: detached devotion, the ten-year rule, secondary process, etc. And it summarizes research in the field of creativity.
Curiosity doesn't take long to define, but there are interesting little mini-essays on such subjects as novelty, and the distribution of creativity over time and space. I never knew for example that research into the function and enhancement of creativity began with inquiry into what makes a genius.
The writing in this "dictionary" is quite scholarly, with a wide range of sources, Freud to Ecclesiastes. You may want to skim the drier stuff, but there are some interesting nuggest in here.