The creativity habit

Imagine you are taking a new class and at the first session, as one of 80 students, you are given a banana or an orange. Before you start to eat, you are asked to peel your fruit in a way that is different from how you ordinarily do, and in an unusual manner, and to sketch your efforts as you proceed. While you’re familiar with the fruit, you’ve never given much thought as to how to be creative in this ordinary part of your life. This is the start of a different form of thinking in the class, one that will continue with a series of challenges and exercises to increase your personal creativity. The first assignment will build on this; it is to eat something different, and it is the first of a series of challenges called “differents” that encourage divergence through your entire life.