We are living in an era when virtually anything can be done quicker, easier and with less effort.
You want to write? There exists a tool to that.
You want to design? There is even a tool to do it.
You desire ideas, structure, even fined content? One can do it all with a few clicks.
And to be quite frank, it is impressive.
But on the other hand... it brings up a question I cannot but ask:
Are we more productive or is it that we are simply becoming a little less creative?
I have thought about this a lot particularly in the recent past.
It was a time when it was necessary to be patient when creating anything. Writing was sitting and thinking, and grappling at words, and deleting and rewriting, and at times just staring at a blank page, longer than one wanted to admit.
The creation of something entailed experimentation. Learning. Failing. Trying again.
It did not come easy... but that was one of the things that made it yours.
Things are now different.
A significant amount of friction is eliminated by technology. And though that might sound like a good thing, because everybody likes to have it easy, I believe that there must be a cost involved in it.
Once things become too easy, then we cease to stretch ourselves.
Use an example such as writing.
Having made possible that all ideas, all structures, all forms of expression can be produced in an instant, then where do we go with the personal struggle? It is that struggle, the thinking, the refining, the emotional input, that is normally where creativity is created.
Without it all begins to seem like... well, like that.
Clear, well-organized, yet not necessarily insightful.
However, I do not believe that technology is the issue.
The actual challenge is the way we decide to utilize it.
Since there are always tools. The distinction at this point is that the tools are robust enough that they end up doing much of the work on our behalf.
And that’s where discipline comes in.
In my case, I do not consider technology as something which should overrule creativity. I consider it something that must favor it.
There’s a difference.
When you give up to the fullest extent of tools to think, create, and express, then over time you notice that your own creative capacity is beginning to weaken. You are more of a consumer rather than a producer.
However, when you apply the same tools to hone the ideas, broaden your thinking, or expedite the performance, then you still are in charge of the creative process.
The other thing I have been able to discover is this:
Creativity does not only concern output. It’s about effort.
The process matters.
The thinking matters.
The points at which you hesitate, in which things are not running smoothly, these are not the challenges, they are the elements of the creation itself.
By taking that process out of the picture, we may gain velocity... but lose density.
What then can we do to be creative in a world where everything is turning into an automation?
To me it all boils down to a few basic things:
Remain engaged in the process.
Don’t outsource your thinking completely. Work with tools, but nonetheless, use your brain.
You should permit yourself to wrestle a bit.
Not all things need to be immediate. When things are not easy, some of the best ideas are realized.
Create intentionally.
Question yourself: Is this my own? Or have I simply prepared a sort of thing?
At the end of the day, technology isn’t going anywhere.
It will just become better, quicker and more competent.
The actual question is not whether it is killing creativity.
The actual question is:
Or are we still making the choice to be creative... or is it the choice of convenience instead?
Effort is mighty.
However, when we are not too keen it may gradually strip us off the same thing that makes our work feel human.
