Check out my interview with David D. Friedman.

To categorize certain people as “creative” and others as “analytical” is a mistake. It implies that some people are innately less creative than others or that being creative is beyond their capabilities. To think of creativity as an ability utilized solely by an exceptional group of people engaging in the traditional arts is simply a misconception.

Explanatory creativity is indeed a rare ability. As far as we know, only about 8 billion biological organisms (us humans) possess it in the universe. But it is not rare among people. Creativity is a fundamental aspect of personhood.

The act of creating involves bringing something into existence that was previously absent. For a person, this could be as monumental as painting the Mona Lisa or inventing the airplane, or as straightforward as cooking a novel dish. Creativity is accessible to and employed by anyone who seeks to solve a problem, whether that problem is scientific, artistic, or even a simple, everyday moral decision about what activity to pursue next. 

From cave paintings to footprints on the Moon, these are all results of people applying individual creativity to the problems they face. The crucial thing is that people are free to solve these problems. Einstein developed his general theory of relativity not because someone forced him to but because he had a deep passion for solving problems in physics. Similarly, Beethoven composed his masterpieces out of a profound love for music. Had either been forced to learn the other’s field in an authority’s attempt to make them “well-rounded individuals” (as we see happening in current educational institutions), we might today be without the benefits of GPS or the beauty of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

The process of knowledge-creation—that happens by creative conjecture and criticism—is precious. It may well be the most significant thing in the cosmos. Coercion hampers this process. We must defend the freedom of the mind to be creative at all costs.

Further reading: Brett Hall’s blog series on Critical and creative thinking

Follow me on X @arjunkhemani.

You can support this free newsletter here. I now also accept tips in Bitcoin. If you enjoy my podcast or newsletter and have the means, please consider sending some satoshis to this address: bc1q3vajy7e79080uzg5j7watdtl2h7ktqx9l7x8w8