Today my kids played against each other in little league. You can see them in the photo: my daughter is the catcher while my son is at bat. They are 8 year old twins and have an epic love / hate relationship. They are each other’s best friend and biggest competition. As a parent of twins it is always a creative endeavor to make sure they develop independently while maintaining the specialness of their sibling connection. I was encouraged to read about a study out of Ohio State University that discusses a certain type of creativity that peaks after the age of 50 called experimental creativity. Trust me as a parent who has found 100 creative ways to say “go take a shower,” this is a big deal! Experimental creativity refers to accumulating knowledge over years and incorporating it into creative endeavors. In speaking about the study’s focus on nobel laureates:
…there is another kind of creativity, he said, which is found among “experimental” innovators. These innovators accumulate knowledge through their careers and find groundbreaking ways to analyze, interpret and synthesize that information into new ways of understanding.
The long periods of trial and error required for important experimental innovations make them tend to occur late in a Nobel laureate’s career.
I know it is probably not fair to compare myself to the mind of a nobel laureate but it did make me feel good to know that something is still developing after the age of 50! Also, I won’t reveal who won the game today but I will say that out of many years of trial and error with my kids the most creative solution to who should I root for was to sit in the neutral zone behind home plate and cheer for everyone!
Source: Creativity is not just for the young
