你可能還沒有達到你的創(chuàng)造力高峰

你可能還沒有達到你的創(chuàng)造力高峰

The fire of creativity don't necessarily burn out after your youth. A new study by economics professors at Ohio State University and the University of Chicago, reveals there are two types of creative peaks that occur at different ages, reports Ohio State News.

創(chuàng)造力的火焰不一定會在你年輕后熄滅。據(jù)《俄亥俄州立大學(xué)新聞》報道，俄亥俄州立大學(xué)和芝加哥大學(xué)的經(jīng)濟學(xué)教授進行的一項新研究表明，在不同的年齡有兩種類型的創(chuàng)造力高峰。

Conceptual innovators and experimental innovators chip away at problems at a different speed. (Photo: Syda Productions/Shutterstock)

"Many people believe that creativity is exclusively associated with youth, but it really depends on what kind of creativity you're talking about," says lead study author, Bruce Weinberg of Ohio State University.

這項研究的主要作者、俄亥俄州立大學(xué)的布魯斯·溫伯格說:“許多人認為創(chuàng)造力只與年輕人有關(guān)，但實際上這取決于你談?wù)摰氖悄姆N創(chuàng)造力。”

According to the study, which was published in De Economist, there are two types of innovators: conceptual and experimental. Weinberg and fellow researcher David Galenson of the University of Chicago assert that those who tend to do their best work in their mid-20s are conceptual innovators, whereas those who peak in their 50s are experimental innovators.

根據(jù)這項發(fā)表在《經(jīng)濟學(xué)人》上的研究，創(chuàng)新者有兩種:概念性的和實驗性的。溫伯格和他的同事、芝加哥大學(xué)的大衛(wèi)·蓋倫森認為，那些在25歲左右就能將工作做到最好的人是概念創(chuàng)新者，而那些在50歲左右達到頂峰的人是實驗創(chuàng)新者。

The difference here as it relates to age is that younger, conceptual innovators are seen as creative thinkers whose ideas challenge the status quo — ideas that reinvent the way a particular art or science is practiced and perceived, shifting the paradigm. The experimental innovator is typically seen as older, one who builds on the bedrock of past great thinkers, established norms and their own methods. These experimental innovators tweak ideas over time based on experience, reinventing themselves and their craft along the way.

與年齡相關(guān)的不同之處在于，更年輕的概念創(chuàng)新者被視為創(chuàng)造性的思考者，他們的想法挑戰(zhàn)了現(xiàn)狀——這些想法徹底改變了特定的藝術(shù)或科學(xué)的實踐和認知方式，改變了范式。實驗型創(chuàng)新者通常被視為年長者，他們建立在過去偉大思想家的基礎(chǔ)上，建立了規(guī)范和自己的方法。這些試驗性的革新者根據(jù)經(jīng)驗，隨著時間的推移不斷調(diào)整想法，在這個過程中重塑自己和自己的手藝。

One could say the different forms of creativity are connected to how an innovator finds inspiration. The ideas of conceptual innovators appear to be ignited by a sudden spark that breaks new ground, while the experimental innovator slowly cultivates his own creative landscape seed by seed, a landscape which then looks unique unto itself.

可以說，不同形式的創(chuàng)造力與創(chuàng)新者如何找到靈感有關(guān)。概念革新者的思想似乎是由一顆突然迸發(fā)的破土而出的火花點燃的，而試驗性革新者則是慢慢地一粒一粒地培育他自己的創(chuàng)意景觀種子，這景觀隨后看起來是獨一無二的。

A study of economics gives us insight into other creative fields

對經(jīng)濟學(xué)的研究使我們能夠洞察其他創(chuàng)造性領(lǐng)域

Virginia Woolf wrote some of her greatest works near the end of her life. (Photo: [public domain]/Wikimedia Commons)

Weinberg and Galenson studied the works of 31 Nobel Prize laureates of economics, placing the economists on a spectrum of most conceptual to most experimental. The age at which an economist contributed the most well-regarded work to the field was taken into account, and the age at which the work entered the economic sphere helped to classify the laureate economist's creative peak. Economists with a conceptual approach peaked in their mid to late 20s, while those who took the experimental approach peaked in their late 50s.

溫伯格和蓋倫森研究了31位諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學(xué)獎得主的著作，把這些經(jīng)濟學(xué)家放在一個最具概念性和最具實驗性的范圍內(nèi)。考慮了經(jīng)濟學(xué)家在該領(lǐng)域貢獻最受推崇的著作的年齡，以及該著作進入經(jīng)濟領(lǐng)域的年齡，有助于對桂冠經(jīng)濟學(xué)家的創(chuàng)作高峰進行分類。采用概念性方法的經(jīng)濟學(xué)家在20多歲時達到頂峰，而采用實驗性方法的經(jīng)濟學(xué)家在50多歲時達到頂峰。

The researchers correlated their findings in economic achievements with those of artistic and scientific achievements. For instance, the study contends that poets and painters such as T.S. Elliot and Picasso made their most important artistic contributions when they were younger, contributions that radically changed literature and painting. They also mention Albert Einstein as a conceptual innovator, whose early work turned the scientific world on its head.

研究人員將他們在經(jīng)濟成就方面的發(fā)現(xiàn)與藝術(shù)和科學(xué)成就聯(lián)系起來。例如，研究認為像艾略特和畢加索這樣的詩人和畫家在年輕時做出了最重要的藝術(shù)貢獻，這些貢獻從根本上改變了文學(xué)和繪畫。他們還提到阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦是一位概念上的革新者，他的早期工作徹底顛覆了科學(xué)界。

The researchers suggest that scientist Charles Darwin developed his most groundbreaking theories later on in life, which would make him an experimental innovator. This makes sense given that the theory of evolution was developed over many years through a meticulous process of trial and error. They also cite early modernist author, Virginia Woolf, as an experimental innovator. Her novel "Mrs. Dalloway" was conceived of and written in the final years of her life after many years' of stylistic reinvention. The novel is now considered a seminal piece of feminist literature and stream-of-consciousness storytelling.

研究人員認為，科學(xué)家查爾斯·達爾文在后來的生活中發(fā)展出了他最具開創(chuàng)性的理論，這將使他成為一個實驗創(chuàng)新者。這是說得通的，因為進化論是在多年的反復(fù)試驗中發(fā)展起來的。他們還引用了早期現(xiàn)代主義作家弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫作為實驗創(chuàng)新者。她的小說《達洛維夫人》構(gòu)思和寫作于她生命的最后幾年，經(jīng)過多年的風(fēng)格重塑。這部小說現(xiàn)在被認為是女權(quán)主義文學(xué)和意識流敘事的重要作品。

None of this is to say that either type of innovative approach is exclusive to different age groups. It isn't unheard of for an older person to be a conceptual innovator or for younger people to innovate more experimentally. The research simply shows trends.

這并不是說，這兩種創(chuàng)新方法都只適用于不同的年齡組。老年人成為觀念上的革新者，或者年輕人進行更多實驗性的創(chuàng)新，這并非聞所未聞。這項研究只是顯示了趨勢。

So, is creativity strictly a young person's game? Thanks to Weinberg and Galenson's studies, it looks like there's always a little room for a creative breakthrough — no matter your age.

那么，創(chuàng)造力僅僅是年輕人的游戲嗎?由于溫伯格和蓋倫森的研究，無論你的年齡如何，似乎總有一些創(chuàng)造性突破的空間。