Why did humans evolve to be creative? What purpose does creativity sevrve to mankind? How imporant is creativity to humans?

Step 1. Find resources already available in my own home.

Step 2. Use my new found resources and take note of valuble information.

Step 3. Find articles from well-known reputable sources, and find any info these sources may have related to creativity in humans and even other animals. (Ex: National Geographic, the American Psychological Assosiation, etc.). Use this info in my research.

Step 4. Watch videos from reputable sources to use in my research (Ex: Kurzgesagt, Cosmos, ect.).

Step 5 . Try to find any people in my life that may be knowledgable on the subject (Ex: Psychologist, Historian, etc.).

Step 6. Find examples of old and modern examples of human creativity (Large scale projects (both physically and emotionally)).

Step 7. Unearth my previous research from last year.

Step 8. Put the presentation together.

Step 9. Have fun presenting at the CYSF.

Andrew Huberman. Dec 19 2022. The Science of Creativity & How to Enhance Creative Innovation | Huberman Lab Podcast 103. :

• Three brain networks associated with creativity:

1. Default Mode Network
2. Exectutive
3. Salience

• Divergeant thinking: Using something we already know, and asking how many different things that something could be. Finding many meanings in one thing.
• Convergeant thinking: Given a certain amount of concepts and putting them together in a way that makes sence.
• Our brain releases dopamine when moving or even just thinking about moving, wich alowes for divergeant thinking.
• Some people are naturally better at divergeant or convergeant thinking.
• The age of 5 - 25 is when we are most able to develop Divergeant or Convergeant thinking.
• Higher dopamine levels increase creativity (not to high though).
• Go for a walk to be more creative (related to my last project).

 

TED. Jan 6 2007. Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson | TED.:

• Sir Ken Robinson - "Creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.".
• You must prepare to be wrong to be creative.
• Yes, schools kill creativity in most people by using the same education structure used in the 19th century.

 

What Is. Jul 26 2022. What is Creativity?.:

! NOT VERY HELPFUL. MADE A LOT OF UN-SUPORTED CLAIMS !

 

The Brainwaves Video Anthology. Jul 19 2016. Allison Kaufman - Animal Creativity and Innovation.:

• We come from different evolutionary cains than other animals, wich may explain why humans are the most creative.
• Humans developed creativity seperate from other species.

 

Scientific American. Sep 16 2016. Where Creativity Comes From.:

• The need to survive will occasionally lead to innovations.
• A study by Carol van Schaik shows that orangutans become more creative when they had time on their hands and less food or predators to worry about.
• When we lose our fear of the unknow, we can become more creative.
• Curiosity leads to creativity.
• Crows, orangutans, and spotted hyenas show signs of innovation.
• Creativity recuires previous knowledge.

 

US National Science Foundation. Apr 14, 2020. Where in the brain does creativity come from? Evidence from jazz musicians.:

• Inexperienced jazz musicians used mainly the right side of their brain, where as experienced jazz musicians used both sides of their brain.

 

National library of medecine. Mar 19 2015. The evolutionary roots of creativity: mechanisms and motivations.:

• Curiosity is a fundamental aspect of creativity.
• A fundamental of creative behaviour is the ability to respond to novelty in a way that is detectable.
• Novelty detection is a recuirement for noticing changes in an environment, a feature all animals recuire for survival.
• Novelty can also lead to fear or comfort. This is scale that can help us create feeling.
• 4 stages of creativity:

1. Preperation: Creative goal is identified
2. Incubation: Unconcious attempts
3. Illumination: Aha moment
4. Verification: Application of the creative idea

• We evolved for creativity because only creative humans were able to survive millions of years ago, and sometimes still today.

 

Crash Course. Nov 5 2014. Human Evolution: Crash Course Big History #6.Crash Course. Nov 7 2023. How Did Humans Evolve? Crash Course Biology #19:

• We did not evolve from chimps, rather we are cousinis.
• We have come this far from creative improvement
• 800000 to 200000 years ago, humans began to communicate with symbols.

 

American Museum of Natural History. Apr 21, 2021. Study Identifies Creativity Genes that Make Humans Unique.:

• Creativity is what allowed us to surpass Neandrothals.

 

The Science Behind Creativity:

• The ability to think in unique and different ways to solve a problem.
• Using information that we gather over time.
• Creativity is something we are all born with.

• Many brain networks communicating with each other.

• Asking “What if?”.

•  Our prefrontal cortex activates
• A sudden burst of gamma waves occur in the brain, creating new pathways

• Aha moments trigger in the orbital frontal cortex.

• An aha moment is when we suddenly figure out the answer to the question, or problem we are trying to solve.

• https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1S82mbVQZH5gMpMX-cKIMWHa5pRfLeCI3431Vuf730j0/edit#slide=id.g22f7de25bbb_1_140

• Three brain networks associated with creativity:

1. Imagination / Default Mode Network
2. Exectutive
3. Salience

• Divergeant thinking: Using something we already know, and asking how many different things that something could be. Finding many meanings in one thing.
• Convergeant thinking: Given a certain amount of concepts and putting them together in a way that makes sence.

 

• Our brain releases dopamine when even just thinking about moving, wich alowes for divergeant thinking.
• Some people are naturally better at divergeant or convergeant thinking.
• The age of 5 - 25 is when we are most able to develop Divergeant or Convergeant thinking.
• Go for a walk to be more creative.
• We come from different evolutionary cains than other animals, wich may explain why humans are the most creative.
• Humans developed creativity seperate from other species.
• You have to prepare to be wrong to be creative.
• Curiosity is a fundamental aspect of creativity.
• A fundamental of creative behaviour is the ability to respond to novelty in a way that is detectable.
• Novelty detection is a recuirement for noticing changes in an environment.
• Novelty can also lead to fear or comfort.

 

• 4 stages of creativity:

1. Preperation: Creative goal is identified
2. Incubation: Unconcious attempts
3. Illumination: Aha moment
4. Verification: Application of the creative idea

 

• We evolved for creativity because only creative humans were able to survive millions of years ago, and sometimes still today.
• 800000 to 200000 years ago, humans began to communicate with symbols.
• https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1S82mbVQZH5gMpMX-cKIMWHa5pRfLeCI3431Vuf730j0/edit#slide=id.g22f7de25bbb_1_140

Why did humans evolve to be creative?:

This was because of several different factors. Humans needed to survive somehow. We aren't as strong as many other animals ( despite several people thinking they're the acception ), so we needed a different skill to set us at the top of the food chain. We made ourselves stronger by using our creativity. We started at basic tools, now we have a weapon that can destroy our planet that's so dangerous that it started a cold war and got an oscar-winning movie, and we can know everything about a famous person's life with the simple push of a button. All of these incredible yet also slightly scary things are a product of human creativity. We also make pretty things with our creativity. We have commedy specials on Netfilx, large artistic buildings made to house thousands of peices of creativity, and books filled with years of world-building and storytelling. Creativity started as a survival mechanism, but now that we have less of a worry to survive, we can use this creativity in incredble ways.

 

What purpose does creativity sevrve to mankind?:

Creativity is an amazing thing. It allows us to share ideas in ways that other animals wish they could. We use our creativity to destroy, to create, and even entertain. We have what where though of as super computors in the palm of our hands, and now we can put the screen dangerously close to our face so that we can always have a super computor in front of us at all times. We have less war in first world countries because of the warheads we now have, and we can gather together in one building to discuss worldwide issues. We have books like Dune that have years of world-building and storytelling integrated into the fabric of the story, and we have studios like Disney that pushed the boundries of how entertainement should be viewed. Creativity is no doubt weaved into the human brain in an amazing way that sets us appart from all other animals. Creativity is an essential for human life.

 

How imporant is creativity to humans?:

I don't even know why I asked this question, the answer is kinda obvious after all that I've said, but allas, it's a very important question to ask. Creativity is what got us so far. Our ancestors from thousands of years ago first started to apply creativity in a useful way. Because of them, we are now able to take our mostly safe lives in first world countries to create things that may not serve a very specific purpose, but still make us feel something. We can open our phones to find funny animals to laugh at, just for the sake of it, and we can do that because of human creativity. We can experience emotion by playing a song on our phones because of creativity. We can own a pet because of creativity, We are here because of creativity.

Andrew Huberman. Dec 19 2022. The Science of Creativity & How to Enhance Creative Innovation | Huberman Lab Podcast 103. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPlJcD-o-4Q&list=WL&index=6

What Is. Jul 26 2022. What is Creativity?. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMpLtJUte2c&list=WL&index=4

TED. Jan 6 2007. Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson | TED. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY&list=WL&index=3

The Brainwaves Video Anthology. Jul 19 2016. Allison Kaufman - Animal Creativity and Innovation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFxz--BlVjk&list=WL&index=1

Scientific American. Sep 16 2016. Where Creativity Comes From. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/where-creativity-comes-from/

US National Science Foundation. Apr 14, 2020. Where in the brain does creativity come from? Evidence from jazz musicians. https://new.nsf.gov/news/where-brain-does-creativity-come-evidence-jazz

National library of medecine. Mar 19 2015. The evolutionary roots of creativity: mechanisms and motivations. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4321140/

Crash Course. Nov 5 2014. Human Evolution: Crash Course Big History #6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPggkvB9_dc

Crash Course. Nov 7 2023. How Did Humans Evolve? Crash Course Biology #19.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmNHk7kIxr8

American Museum of Natural History. Apr 21, 2021. Study Identifies Creativity Genes that Make Humans Unique. https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/research-posts/human-creativity

Science Daily. Apr 21, 2021. Creativity and community: How modern humans overcame the Neanderthals. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210421100932.htm

The Science Behind Creativity. Apr 19, 2023. Evrett Sansom. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1S82mbVQZH5gMpMX-cKIMWHa5pRfLeCI3431Vuf730j0/edit#slide=id.g22f7de25bbb_1_140

I would like to thank Reyna Carswell and Stella Foster for participating in the CYSF with me for the second year in a row. You guys are awesome.

I would also like to thank Mme Pollock for founding the Science Club at Bishop Pinkham, and to Mme Lam for signing us up and hosting Science Club this year.

Thank you to my parents and all of my family that support me.