Creativity as a complex mental process and techniques for finding good ideas

INTRODUCTION

The progress of humanity has always been accompanied by the creative process, since man had a need to find survival mechanisms, he began imagining, creating, experimenting, adapting nature to his needs, human beings have the ability to think about new things, see new possibilities and do something about it.

Creativity is not accidental, as long as the person is perceptive, observant and curious, it is a journey to knowledge of unusual procedures, that is where it can be said that getting people to maintain the ability to learn has a lot to do with creativity As long as you keep learning, you will find new ways to do it. (Cotanda, 2010)

The interesting thing in this article is to understand the mental process through which learning is achieved and thereby gain experience.

DEVELOPING

Often in companies and in daily life, when a problem occurs, an immediate solution is automatically sought, which is not always the best, it is probably the most logical, however, thinking can reach levels of solutions even more. comprehensive and inclusive, through the combination of vertical thinking and lateral thinking.

Everyone wants to be creative, everyone should be creative, creativity makes life more fun, more interesting and more full of triumph. (Bono, 2008)

Creativity is the process of presenting a problem to the mind clearly (either imagining it, visualizing it, assuming it, meditating, contemplating, etc.) and then originating or inventing an idea, concept, notion or scheme along new or unconventional lines. It involves study and reflection rather than action. (Aguirre, 2005)

Creativity can be developed, it can be learned, it can be taught, creative thinking is fully analyzable, the mechanisms are similar, be it a technical, scientific or aesthetic investigation. William Gordon called synectics to the creative method that he devised and developed around the fifties, its precedent is brainstorming or brainstorming, only that it is applied more in the technical field than in the management field, brainstorming can be applied first and then synectics, the first generates ideas and the second selects the most useful. The word synectic comes from the Greek sün (together) ectos, put together, put together what was not there before. (Tobelem, 2001)

According to (Peña, 2006) There are four ideas about the conception of creativity, according to synectics:

Creativity is important in any human activity. The process of creation is not mysterious. Creativity is the same in all fields. Creativity becomes a conscious process.

Synectics uses analogies to develop the process, an analogy is a relationship of similarity between different things, thus stimulating creative thinking, bringing out ideas, taking out the ideas hidden in the subconscious and trying to find an original solution.

Types of analogies:

Personal analogy. To sympathize with ideas or objects that are terms in the comparison, they can be animals, plants, the personal analogy is empathetic and distinguishes four levels of commitment: Description of the facts in the first person Emotional identification in the first person Empathic identification with something alive Empathic identification with an inanimate object Direct analogy. Simple comparison of two objects or concepts, is to infer the conditions of the situation that causes conflict, to find a new idea. Symbolic analogy. Inspired by poetic metaphors, symbolic language by experience Fantastic analogy. The problem is related to a dream never achieved.

These first four are practiced with the whirlwind of ideas (brainstorming) (UNAM, 2010)

Compressed conflict. Description of an object using two words that seem to contradict each other: tiredly aggressive, sure attack, life-saving destroyer

Analogies are a valuable tool in the process of building knowledge, that is, people learn "almost without realizing it" because by mentally associating characteristics or events reflected in some object or being, they perform a mental modeling process, one of the factors how much weight it has in the generation of scientific knowledge and in the development of reasoning skills, to transmit knowledge from one field to another. (Ma. Del Mar Aragón, 1999)

Technique process:

Two strategies are carried out:

Make what is strange familiar. Phases

one	Description of the situation	The instructor asks them to describe the situation as they see it, disassemble the parts that compose it
two	Direct analogy	Analogies are suggested, selected and explored. What is it in my prior knowledge that looks like this?
3	Personal analogy	Collaborators identify with the analogy they have selected
4	Conflicts	Summarize descriptions, suggest conflicting expressions and choose one.
5	Direct analogy	Collaborators generate and select another direct analogy based on a contradiction.
6	Reexamination of the original assignment	The instructor makes sure that the collaborators return to the original problem, applying the last analogy.

Making what is familiar strange, the situation is the reverse.

one	Distort	The instructor asks that they distort, deform, what they see.
two	To invest	He asks them to change things of place, roles, processes.
3	Transpose	Ask them to transfer or change the way they conceive the problem.

With the use of these techniques, problems can be creatively solved in groups in different areas, creativity can be promoted in a directed, planned and organized way, some myths about creativity are:

The idea that being creative is a special gift, that you either have it or you don't have it, and that if you don't have it you can't develop The idea that only highly educated people can be creative The perception that people who it's creative it's messy (Ocaña, 2009)

Of course these myths have been generated over time according to the perceptions or stereotypes that people create, however it is not forceful or categorical as there may be somewhat disorganized and very creative people, there may be extremely orderly people being creative, as well In any case, the important thing is not to be influenced by these characteristics.

When you know what you want but don't know how to get it, you have a problem that requires lateral thinking to solve, creative thinking that is basically a different way of using your brain without using logic, even if that may seem irrational. (Bonus, Lateral thinking, creativity manual, 2000)

These types of situations occur regularly in organizations or in daily life: - "I want it… but, I don't know how to get it…" - that is why thought becomes a very powerful tool to trigger alternatives that can be used in that search for the simple and natural solution without so much complication.

Thought begins through a sensory act in which things manifest. That is to say, part of perception, thought requires effort and decision. That is, an attitude. Thought demands representational capacities, that is, imagination. Thought needs to follow a path. That is, a process. (Bescós, 2000)

Characteristics of the left and right hemispheres

The brain is divided into 2 hemispheres, the left is focused on language, mathematics, logic and analytics.

The right hemisphere provides concepts, shapes and spaces.

The difference between lateral thinking and creativity is that the latter is a description of results that causes admiration, and lateral thinking includes the description of a process that can be learned and used consciously. (Bonus, Lateral thinking, creativity manual, 2000)

Many times individuals get carried away by "rapture attacks" of creativity causing surprising results, but momentary, without any opportunity to learn it or repeat it, is when it was only an almost spontaneous result that does not represent consistency in its application.

It is important to consider vertical or logical thinking, which is made up of the advancement of ideas through phases justified in themselves, lateral thinking does not replace vertical or logical thinking, both are complementary, the first is creative, the second is selective (Bonus, Lateral thinking, creativity manual, 2000)

Applying vertical thinking from logic and analysis locates the objective bases in solving the problem, however, if lateral thinking were applied, it would only be considering a categorical thinking with proven alternatives in a single sense, the richness of using thought lateral is to be able to see the panorama with different eyes.

It is important to consider the creative process to identify its stages and act accordingly:

ID. Recognize the problem Preparation. Obtain and accumulate information. Incubation. Development of ideas Feeling of a close solution. Illumination. The idea becomes clearer and can be raised Elaboration. The plan is formulated to make the unknown familiar Verification. Check that the idea that was generated is the solution (Estrada, 1990)

Sometimes a trigger is needed to start an idea, that is why they are considered:

Eight creative techniques to find good ideas:

Creative copy. Finding something you like to reinvent it is not literal. Forced association. List of words to generate ideas. Inspiration from nature. What does it look like? Dig into the similarities with nature. Celebrity gallery. List of famous people who are admired for various reasons, what would they do about this problem? Immersion in creative environments. Visit creative places, museums, movies, favorite books. Brainstorming or brainstorming. Nothing like asking a group of people their opinion. Moliere's "clean eyes" technique.Asking a person who has nothing to do with it, a child, a foreigner, someone from another area, will probably obtain information that is not considered. Da Vinci technique. Draw whatever comes to mind, find information (business, 2012)

There are many other tips, techniques, exercises, to achieve creativity, each person in the search to use their potential will find the one that seems most appropriate to what they need at that time.

CONCLUSION

At the end of the day, the changes continue to proliferate, the advances do not stop, each human being is responsible for finding their own creative mechanisms, exploring in their being the triggers to carry out lateral thinking. The human being has the decision to choose how to do things, knowing tools that contribute to the achievement of these objectives, achieves consistent and long-term results, not only lucky sparks, but the creation of a specific modeling for solving problems to in order to fully utilize the creative potential.

Companies have the responsibility to be generators, sponsors of creative elements, not oppressors, that a team can develop ideas freely in a planning process, from brainstorming, synectics, can guarantee the growth and maturity of that organization without room for doubts, achieving the learning that everyone wants.