Creativity
Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed.The created item may be intangible or a physical object.Scholarly interest in creativity involves many definitions and concepts pertaining to a number of disciplines：engineering，psychology，cognitive science，education，philosophy，technology，theology，sociology，linguistics，business studies，songwriting，and economics，covering the relations between creativity and general intelligence，mental and neurological processes，personality type and creative ability，creativity and mental health；the potential for fostering creativity through education and training，especially as augmented by technology；the maximization of creativity for national economic benefit，and the application of creative resources to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning.
In a summary of scientific research into creativity，Michael Mumford suggested：“Over the course of the last decade，however，we seem to have reached a general agreement that creativity involves the production of novel，useful products”，or，in Robert Sternberg's words，the production of“something original and worthwhile”.Authors have diverged dramatically in their precise definitions beyond these general commonalities：Peter Meusburger reckons that over a hundred different analyses can be found in the literature.As an illustration，one definition given by Dr.E.Paul Torrance described it as“aprocess of becoming sensitive to problems，deficiencies，gaps in knowledge，missing elements，disharmonies，and so on；identifying the difficulty；searching for solutions，making guesses，or formulating hypotheses about the deficiencies：testing and retesting these hypotheses and possibly modifying and retesting them；and finally communicating the results”.
Theories of creativity have focused on a variety of aspects.The dominant factors are usually identified as“the four Ps”—process，product，person，and place.A focus on process is shown in cognitive approaches that try to describe thought mechanisms and techniques for creative thinking.Theories invoking divergent rather than convergent thinking，or those describing the staging of the creative process are primarily theories of creative process.A focus on creative product usually appears in attempts to measure creativity（psychometrics，see below）and in creative ideas framed as successful memes.The psychometric approach to creativity reveals that it also involves the ability to produce more.A focus on the nature of the creative person considers more general intellectual habits，such as openness，levels of ideation，autonomy，expertise，exploratory behavior，and so on.A focus on place considers the circumstances in which creativity flourishes，such as degrees of autonomy，access to resources，and the nature of gatekeepers.Creative lifestyles are characterized by nonconforming attitudes and behaviors as well as flexibility.
Most ancient cultures，including thinkers of Ancient China，Ancient Greece，and Ancient India，lacked the concept of creativity，seeing art as a form of discovery and not creation.The ancient Greeks had no terms corresponding to“to create”or“creator”except for the expression“poiein”（“to make”），which only applied to poiesis（poetry）and to the poietes（poet，or“maker”）who made it.Plato did not believe in art as a form of creation.Asked in The Republic，“Will we say，of a painter，that he makes something？”，he answers，“Certainly not，he merely imitates.”
However，none of these views are similar to the modern concept of creativity，and the individual was not seen as the cause of creation until the Renaissance.It was during the Renaissance that creativity was first seen，not as a conduit for the divine，but from the abilities of“great men”.
The rejection of creativity in favor of discovery and the belief that individual creation was a conduit of the divine would dominate the West probably until the Renaissance and even later.The development of the modern concept of creativity begins in the Renaissance，when creation began to be perceived as having originated from the abilities of the individual.This could be attributed to the leading intellectual movement of the time，aptly named humanism，which developed an intensely human-centric outlook on the world，valuing the intellect and achievement of the individual.From this philosophy arose the Renaissance man，an individual who embodies the principals of humanism in their ceaseless courtship with knowledge and creation.One of the most well-known and immensely accomplished examples is Leonardo da Vinci.
However，this shift was gradual and would not become immediately apparent until the Enlightenment.By the 18th century and the Age of Enlightenment，mention of creativity，linked with the concept of imagination，became more frequent.In the writing of Thomas Hobbes，imagination became a key element of human cognition；William Duff was one of the first to identify imagination as a quality of genius，typifying the separation being made between talent and genius.
As a direct and independent topic of study，creativity effectively received no attention until the 19th century.Runco and Albert argue that creativity as the subject of proper study began seriously to emerge in the late 19th century with the increased interest in individual differences inspired by the arrival of Darwinism.In particular，they refer to the work of Francis Galton，who through his eugenicist outlook took a keen interest in the heritability of intelligence，with creativity taken as an aspect of genius.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries，leading mathematicians and scientists began to reflect on and publicly discuss their creative processes.term“creativity”to serve as the ultimate category of his metaphysical scheme：“Whitehead actually coined the term—our term，still the preferred currency of exchange among literature，science，and the arts…a term that quickly became so popular，so omnipresent，that its invention within living memory，and by Alfred North Whitehead of all people，quickly became occluded.”
The formal psychometric measurement of creativity，from the standpoint of orthodox psychological literature，is usually considered to have begun with J.P.Guilford's 1950 address to the American Psychological Association，which helped popularize the topic and focus attention on a scientific approach to conceptualizing creativity.Statistical analysis led to the recognition of creativity as a separate aspect of human cognition to IQ-type intelligence，into which it had previously been subsumed.Guilford's work suggested that above a threshold level of IQ，the relationship between creativity and classically measured intelligence broke down.
James C.Kaufman and Beghetto introduced a“four C”model of creativity；mini-c（“transformative learning”involving“personally meaningful interpretations of experiences，actions，and insights”），little-c（everyday problem solving and creative expression），Pro-C（exhibited by people who are professionally or vocationally creative though not necessarily eminent）and Big-C（creativity considered great in the given field）.This model was intended to help accommodate models and theories of creativity that stressed competence as an essential component and the historical transformation of a creative domain as the highest mark of creativity.It also，the authors argued，made a useful framework for analyzing creative processes in individuals.The contrast of terms“Big C”and“Little c”has been widely used.Kozbelt，Beghetto and Runco use a little-c／Big-C model to review major theories of creativity.Margaret Boden distinguishes between h-creativity（historical）and p-creativity（personal）.
Robinson and Anna Craft have focused on creativity in a general population，particularly with respect to education.Craft makes a similar distinction between“high”and“little c”creativity.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has defined creativity in terms of those individuals judged to have made significant creative，perhaps domain-changing contributions.Simonton has analyzed the career trajectories of eminent creative people in order to map patterns and predictors of creative productivity.