<s docid="LA093089-0065" num="17"> In trying to unravel the biological and physiological mysteries that surround creativity, scientists have found that artists and writers -- especially poets and novelists -- are much more prone to mania and depression than the general population.</s>

<s docid="LA093089-0065" num="19"> Even more intriguing are recent studies showing that, while many creative people have a predilection to mental problems, their relatives appear to be even more highly susceptible to severe depressions or crippling manic attacks.</s>

<s docid="LA093089-0065" num="20"> One emerging theory is that creativity may be nature's way of helping individuals overcome a genetic predisposition to mental disease.</s>

<s docid="LA100790-0251" num="27"> Finally, there are indications that the willingness to take risks is a critical psychological link between the need for exhilarating physical or mental experiences and the drive to create.</s>

<s docid="LA100790-0251" num="61"> Their curiosity, he says, is aided by an ability to think concretely and abstractly, fostering high levels of creativity, which Farley has observed among many of the thrill seekers he has studied.</s>

<s docid="LA100790-0251" num="75"> The scientists suggest that in exchange for a presumed genetic risk of developing a mood-swing disorder -- shared by up to 15 million Americans, according to some estimates -- these people are equipped with a "compensatory advantage" of creative potential.</s>

<s docid="LA092989-0114" num="20"> It must be original and it must be either useful or in some way valued by society.</s>

<s docid="LA092989-0114" num="28"> Essentially, Simon said, creativity is nothing more than simple problem solving.</s>

<s docid="LA092989-0098" num="15"> Some modern thinkers have theorized that it is just a lucky combination of genes, a happy but largely accidental coincidence of events.</s>

<s docid="LA092989-0098" num="21"> One of the most surprising and important findings has been that, as people become more creative, they also become more consumed by their work.</s>

<s docid="LA092989-0098" num="24"> In fact, one of the fundamental attributes of creative people may be the ability to make productive use of mental states, such as depression and mania, that tend to cripple others.</s>

<s docid="LA092989-0098" num="41"> There remained some universal traits that creative individuals seem to share: insatiable curiosity, openness to new experiences, willingness to take risks, a tendency to think in images.</s>

<s docid="LA092989-0098" num="48"> It is the intrinsic rewards of the work -- the fascination of mixing paint or combining sounds or manipulating numbers.</s>

<s docid="LA092989-0098" num="90"> "When you look at all the data and analyze it, in the end what you find is that the committed students like spending time alone, they like solitude and in their solitude they find the time to pursue. . . their passions," Csikszentmihalyi said .</s>

<s docid="LA092989-0098" num="107"> "If the family environment is supportive but expecting children to do well and to work hard, that clearly helps.</s>

<s docid="LA092989-0098" num="114"> "I studied the subject for over 24 years and only recently did I realize what creativity really is: It is the interaction between societal needs and individual talents".</s>

<s docid="LA092989-0098" num="129"> Although there may be no scientific formula for how to do it, one thing is clear about creativity, Csikszentmihalyi concluded: When cultures value it, creativity flourishes.</s>

<s docid="FT931-12874" num="11"> Thirdly it must be decisively if not entirely of your own devising.</s>

<s docid="FT931-12874" num="12"> Fourthly it must meet all the previous three conditions not only in your own estimation, but in the judgment of at least some other people with a sound claim to know what they are judging.</s>

<s docid="FT931-12874" num="50"> It is the notion that creative people think in a special way which differs from the mental workings of the more prosaic, thinking intuitively or synthetically as opposed to analytically or discursively.</s>

<s docid="LA101489-0015" num="9"> Jerome Bruner, in "Play" (1976), noted that it is fair to say that creativity not only defies explanation but that it defies description, too.</s>

<s docid="FT942-4796" num="29"> It is more the result of divergent thinking, and highly intuitive approaches.</s>

<s docid="FT943-16131" num="6"> One way of being creative is to think through the opposite of an idea or technique.</s>

