ABSTRACT
This chapter explains that creativity is the process by which ideas already in the mind are paired in unusual and useful combinations. Every image or concept teachers have is associated with other images and concepts. Creative people are those who go further down the mental list, searching for more unusual but higher-quality pairings to solve their problems. A lot of people forget how important it is to be creative. "These small acts of creativity, though they differ in scope, are not different in kind from the brilliant leaps of an Einstein. Creativity is commonplace in cognition, not an esoteric gift bequeathed only to a few." Chinese student scores on an annual international assessment of creativity have been rapidly rising since 1990, whereas American scores have been decreasing. The test is considered valid by scholars, and has a high correlation with success later in life.
