"Creativity is Intelligence having fun"
Or the importance of play in knowledge work
Here’s a good rule of thumb: If you ever find a tweet on the internet and they claim Albert Einstein said it, he probably didn’t.
That was the case with the title quote of this issue.
If we trust Quote Investigator’s research (they provide the references) then it’s an evolution of a slightly less pithy expression
Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun.
by George Scialabba in the Harvard Business Review. But regardless of the quotes origin, it touches on something we all know to be true.
Creativity involves play
Let’s run a thought experiment.
You’ve got a project to do — let’s say coming up with two new product names. For the first one you enter a dimly lit room where the head of the project is standing. They tell you this is really serious business and you have to do your best work. So, you follow a strict process to get your ideas.
What would the result be?
Now let’s rerun the experiment, but with a difference.
You come in and there’s a collection of various toys, magazines, and the most wonderful multi-coloured collection of Postits you’ve ever seen (Yes, I have a postit obsession since I was a teacher, thank you for noticing). Before you’re told about the project you play a word association game and spend some time making stupid puns. Finally, the head of the project briefs you about the project, perhaps giving some tips that might help you but leaving it up to you.
What would the result be this time?
From my own experience of similar project, when I’ve been able to make stupid word play jokes in the office and had the space to pursue a crazy and unexpected idea, it always improves the “serious work” we’ve done.
So what’s the application?
If you are finding it hard to be creative (and I’ve certainly felt that this last week), maybe you need to add some more play into your life again?
It doesn’t have to be in the office or directly related to your business (though that’s great too) but space to play and relax can invigorate the rest of your work.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and experience on this topic and that’s part of the reason for the next section.
Inspiration: Educational duck tape
Thanks Crystal for this interesting sketchnote. In terms of style, I often stuggle to provide enough contrast when using a non-white background, but this sketchnote works brilliantly.
And in terms of content there’s applications beyond just the classroom: we need to be careful that our tools (especially new shiny ones) don’t distract from our goals.
Yes, I moved to Substack
The eagle eyed readers have probably noticed that I’ve moved to substack.
Really I should have done this earlier as it provides a better newsletter experience, but convert kit had better email marketing tools. Ultimately I realised that reducing the publishing friction and giving my readers a better experience was the best decision. So here we are!
It also means you can leave a comment or like the post if you’ve enjoyed it.
And I’m working on bringing the whole archive over to substack too.
See you next edition
Thanks again for hanging out with me this weekend. If you’d like to connect during the week, consider messaging me on