The Money Tree
It’s not the first time a tree offers a window into humanity. Anyone who has read Shel Silverstein’s classic knows that. But, even so, this little video by Amy Krouse Rosenthal says a little something about what we see and what we actually notice. It was filmed this past summer in Chicago…
John Cleese on the Origin of Creativity
British actor John Cleese is best known for his comedic talent as one of the founding members of Monty Python, which makes his intellectual insights on the origin of creativity particularly fascinating. This talk from the 2009 Creativity World Forum in Germany is part critique of modernity’s hustle-and-bustle, part handbook for creating the right conditions for creativity.
“We get our ideas from what I’m going to call for a moment our unconscious — the part of our mind that goes on working, for example, when we’re asleep. So what I’m saying is that if you get into the right mood, then your mode of thinking will become much more creative. But if you’re racing around all day, ticking things off a list, looking at your watch, making phone calls and generally just keeping all the balls in the air, you are not going to have any creative ideas.” ~ John Cleese
Cleese advocates creating an “oasis” amidst the daily stress where the nervous creature that is your creative mind can safely come out and play, with the oasis being guarded by boundaries of space and boundaries of time.
Another interesting point Cleese makes is that knowing you are good at something requires precisely the same skills you need to be good at it, so people who are horrible at something tend to have no idea they are horrible at all. This echoes precisely what filmmaker Errol Morris discusses in “The Anosognosic’s Dilemma,” arguably one of the most fascinating psychology reads in The New York Times this year.
Curiously, Cleese’s formula for creativity somewhat contradicts another recent theory put forth by historian Steven Johnson who, while discussing where good ideas come from, makes a case for the connected mind rather than the fenced off creative oasis as the true source of creativity.
This video permanently resides in Open Culture’s collection of Cultural Icons.
Maria Popova is the founder and editor in chief of Brain Pickings, a curated inventory of eclectic interestingness and indiscriminate curiosity. She writes for Wired UK, GOOD Magazine, BigThink and Huffington Post, and spends a disturbing amount of time on Twitter.
Where Do Good Ideas Come From?
Where do good ideas come from? Places that put us together. Places that allow good hunches to collide with other good hunches, sometimes creating big breakthroughs and innovations. During the Enlightenment, this all happened in Parisian salons and coffee houses. Nowadays, it’s happening on the web, in places that defy your ordinary definition of “place.” In four animated minutes, Steven Johnson outlines the argument that he makes more fully in his soon-to-be-published book, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. The video is the latest from the RSAnimate series.
PS: Last week, I wrote a guest post on 5 captivating RSA videos that mull over the flaws running through modern capitalism. You can find it on Brain Pickings.
Related Content:
Ira Glass on Why Creative Excellence Takes Time
David Bowie Standup
For a brief moment yesterday, the internet was abuzz. David Bowie? Now doing standup comedy? Bowie himself seemed to confirm it on Twitter. But then the truth came out. It was all a hoax, the work of comedian Ed Schrader. Listen below:
Related: Don’t miss little this video of a 3 year old having a “Want David Bowie” meltdown. Watch video here, and stay with it until the 1:30 mark…
The Paris Review Interviews Now Online
The Paris Review, the great literary journal co-founded by George Plimpton, unveiled last week a new web site and a big archive of interviews with famous literary figures. Spanning five decades, the interviews often talk about the “how” of literature (to borrow a phrase from Salman Rushdie) – that is, how writers go about writing. Rummaging through the archive, you will encounter conversations with TS Eliot, William Faulkner, Ralph Ellison, Ernest Hemingway, Simone de Beauvoir, Saul Bellow, Jorge Luis Borges, Norman Mailer, Mary McCarthy, Vladimir Nabokov, John Steinbeck, Joan Didion, Kurt Vonnegut, Eudora Welty, Raymond Carver, Russell Banks, Don DeLillo, Toni Morrison, Paul Auster, etc. And, amazingly, this list only scratches the surface of what’s available.
Note: These interviews are separately available in book format: The Paris Review Interviews, Volumes 1–4.
If you would like to sign up for Open Culture’s free email newsletter, please find it here. It’s a great way to see our new posts, all bundled in one email, each day.
If you would like to support the mission of Open Culture, consider making a donation to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your contributions will help us continue providing the best free cultural and educational materials to learners everywhere. You can contribute through PayPal, Patreon, and Venmo (@openculture). Thanks!
Ok Go & the Open Video Conference
This week, OK Go released a new video supporting its latest single “White Knuckles.” It’s the first since they released two viral videos (here and here) accompanying “This Too Shall Pass.” Give the video a watch (above) and take into account these stats.
- The video generated more than 1 million views on Monday alone (its first day on the web),
- It apparently took 124 takes to make the video, and the video you see is actually the 72nd take,
- 4 lbs of dog treats were used each day during the making of the video,
- There were 3–4 coffee runs per day for the humans involved, and
- The video will generate donations for the ASPCA.
Now this very related plug: Ok Go’s lead singer, Damian Kulash, will be a headline speaker at the Open Video Conference taking place in New York City on October 1st & 2nd. He’s just one of 100 speakers taking part in the conference, and tickets start at $35. For more information, visit the Open Video Conference web site.
The Smallest Stop-Motion Animation Ever
From the makers of Wallace and Gromit comes the smallest stop-motion animation ever. The lilliputian main character, aptly named Dot, stands a mere 0.35-inch-tall. According to Popular Science, the animators “used a 3D printer to make 50 different versions of Dot, because she is too small to manipulate or bend like they would other stop-motion animation characters.” Then each print-up was hand-painted by artists looking through a microscope. Once the set and characters were ready to go, the directors attached a CellScope (a cellphone camera with a 50x magnification microscope) to a Nokia N8 and let the cameras roll. You can watch the final cut above.
Support Us
We're hoping to rely on loyal readers, rather than erratic ads. Please click the Donate button and support Open Culture. You can use Paypal, Venmo, Patreon, even Crypto! We thank you!
About Us
Open Culture scours the web for the best educational media. We find the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & educational videos you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between.
Advertise With Us
