I’m not sure of the Genesis of the so-called ‘Big C and Small C Creativity‘ concept? It could be Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, or Mark Runco, or Kozbelt et al, or even Jeff Mauzy, according to the interwebs.
Whomever coined it first, I’m calling Big BS instead of Small BS Bull-Shit on it. And this is not a Small T, it’s a Big T Thought
MAKES ME A LOTTLE GIGGLY
I do get a lottle giggly when I think of applying this very silly Big / Little categorisation to various things in my world, and how it’d go down to whomever I was talking to? As in:
“Darling, would you mind if we had a Small R and not a Big R Romantic night this evening?”
“That was a Small L and not a Big L Lunch today. I’m still hungry!”
“Sorry Dave, it’s been a slow month, so you’re getting a Small PC and not a Big PC Pay Cheque on Friday.”
I can’t think of any situation I can put it into where it makes any sense at all to talk about it in this sort of way?
WHAT IS SMALL C AND BIG C CREATIVITY?
The good news is that there’s plenty out there to break it down. Here are some explanations:
SMALL C CREATIVITY
“by far the most important focus for research and education”
“All creativity starts with (and thus depends on) little c creativity”
“the individual’s production of a new and useful idea or solution. It is personal. It may at some point be shared, and occasionally an individual’s new idea may change the way others think, in which case it has made the transition to Big C creativity”
“what we find in the everyday production of novel solutions to minor problems”
“we are all creative in this little-c sense every time we speak a novel sentence”
“Other everyday examples of useful and novel-to-the-solver problem solving would be combining ingredients from the fridge that we have not previously put together to make a quick stir-fry meal”
BIG C CREATIVITY
‘the sort of creativity reflected in world-changing achievements, like artistic masterpieces or scientific breakthroughs. The works of Picasso, the breakthroughs of Einstein and the stories of Terry Pratchett could all be seen as examples of that Big C”
“is the most important side of creativity due to its world-changing nature”
“refers to major productions of scientific, technological, social, or artistic importance”
“those who break the norms of art like Picasso, Presley, or Tharp. Those innovative scientists like Galileo, Edison, or Einstein. Those who invent new technology models like Ford, Bezos, and Jobs”
HOW, WHY, WHAT, WHY AND WHY AGAIN?
