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Creativity is a mental activity that results in the development of innovative or insightful ideas that change a field of knowledge in a certain way. This means that creativity is a relative term. An idea that was very creative a hundred years ago would probably not be called creative by today's standards. In order for something to be creative, it must contribute something new to society. Thus, an idea cannot be called creative until society judges it to be creative.

In "Creativity" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the author describes three different types of creativity.

The first type of creativity is actually an incorrect definition and pertains to people who are interesting and fun to be around. They have stimulating ideas and appear to be intelligent, witty people. These people may produce creative ideas that contribute something new to society, but not necessarily. For clarity we will call these people "brilliant" instead of creative.

The second type of creativity is called "personal creativity" and refers to people who are insightful and produce ideas that would be classified as creative, but they are either ahead of their time or keep their ideas to themselves.

The third type of creativity refers to people or ideas that change our culture in significant ways. Thomas Edison and his light bulb would be a good example of a truly creative person and his creative idea.

verve

noun :: Spirit and enthusiasm in an artistic performance.

"The reunion tour lacked the verve of the original band."

OK4R is a study system similar to SQ3R that can be used when you are trying to learn material from a textbook. OK4R is an acronym for the steps: Overview, Key Ideas, Read, Recall, Reflect, and Review.

Overview

Read the headings, introduction, table of contents, and summaries to get a general idea about what the text is about.

Key Ideas

Go over the text again and look for key ideas. These are usually located in the first sentence of each paragraph and in diagrams and captions.

Read

Read the material. This is frequently the only step that students perform.

Recall

Close the book and immediately try to recall the main points of what you have read. This will help solidify the information in your mind.

Reflect

We've discussed before how meaningfulness can help improve learning. In this step, try to relate what you have read to things that you already know. Try to find significance in what you have learned.

Review

At a later time, go over the text again to review material and refresh your memory. If you notice anything that you have forgotten, study those parts again.