Want to learn the ideas in The Creative Curve better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of The Creative Curve by Allen Gannett here.

Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.

Video Summaries of The Creative Curve

We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on The Creative Curve, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Allen Gannett.

1-Page Summary of The Creative Curve

Overview

You can find geniuses in history books and museums. They are the people who shaped art, literature and science. But how did they become so accomplished? How can we emulate their success?

In this piece, we will explore the science and social aspects of success by looking at some of history’s geniuses. We’ll look at whether their success was due to unique inspiration or good timing. We’ll also examine the friends and teachers they had in common as well as the phenomenon behind many successful products and creative ideas: the creative curve.

In this article, you’ll find out why creativity is so important to success and how the most creative people are also typically smart. You’ll learn about the surprising truth of why originality doesn’t matter as much as we think it does when it comes to ideas. Finally, you’ll discover how our friends influence us in ways that might surprise you.

Big Idea #1: Creativity is fueled by purposeful practice, not intelligence.

How creative are you? To find out, try to think of as many ways as possible that you could use a hairdryer. One idea might be to use it like a leaf blower. This is an exercise in divergent thinking – the ability to look at something from multiple angles and come up with solutions for problems. People who can do this tend to be more creative than others.

Scientists have studied how creativity and intelligence are related. Their research shows that beyond a certain point, your overall IQ doesn’t matter much in terms of creativity. For example, someone with an IQ above 86 is likely to be just as creative as someone with an average IQ of 100. In other words, there’s no need for you to worry about your overall intelligence if you want to be more creative.

Some people think that they aren’t smart enough to be creative. According to a study, 80% of the world’s population has an IQ above 86, which is considered a high threshold for being able to have ideas and create things. This means that three billion people are capable of having great ideas and creating new things just like the geniuses we idolize.

People have great potential, but they don’t always realize it. Research shows that people need to practice in order to reach their full potential.

Professor K. Anders Ericsson of Florida State University has found that to become an expert in any field, one must practice with clear goals and feedback mechanisms. He studied professional violinists and found that the most accomplished of them practiced more purposefully than others: They ensured their teachers listened to and critiqued their playing, thus providing a feedback mechanism. They also asked their teachers for exercises they weren’t proficient at yet, which allowed them to set clear goals all along the way.

If you want to be more creative, don’t just practice the same skills over and over again. Instead, develop other skills and seek feedback on your work from others.

Big Idea #2: Becoming a genius requires impeccable timing and the right historical context.

Why do we consider some people geniuses? For example, Charles Darwin is often considered a genius for discovering natural selection. But dig deeper into the history of his discovery, and it’s clear that he wasn’t the only one to develop this theory. He was preceded by Alfred Wallace who discovered it at almost the same time as Darwin did. However, while history has all but forgotten Wallace, Darwin is celebrated for his genius.

This should make us stop and think. Are those we consider geniuses really so unique and special? It could be that there are other factors involved in their success.