ABSTRACT
This supper table conversation proved to be a crystallizing event in the life of E. Paul Torrance. Ellis Torrance, E. Paul’s father, recognized that his son would never pursue a career in farming, and from that moment on, Paul Torrance remained committed to “getting an education.” That defi ning moment between father and son ended years of desperate and unsuccessful attempts to master some of the more diffi cult tasks of farming and indicated to Paul that his father accepted him as he was and it would be up to Paul to fi nd his way in life. Paul Torrance did just that as he became the father of modern creativity research-a scholar whose infl uence spanned several generations.
