By the age of 3, children from wealthier households hear, on average, about 500,000 encouragements and 80,000 discouragements. The ratio is reversed in households on welfare.
Jonah LehrerWhat you discover when you look at creativity from the perspective of the brain is that it is universal. We're all creative all of the time, we can't help but be creative.
Jonah LehrerKnowledge can be a subtle curse. When we learn about the world, we also learn all the reasons why the world cannot be changed. We get used to our failures and imperfections. We become numb to the possibilities of something new
Jonah LehrerIf you're trying to be more creative, one of the most important things you can do is increase the volume and diversity of the information to which you are exposed.
Jonah LehrerEven when alternative views are clearly wrong, being exposed to them still expands our creative potential. In a way, the power of dissent is the power of surprise. After hearing someone shout out an errant answer, we work to understand it, which causes us to reassess our initial assumptions and try out new perspectives. โAuthentic dissent can be difficult, but itโs always invigorating,โ Nemeth says. โIt wakes us right up.โ
Jonah Lehrer