It was the year 1994 when a young engineer
computer scientist who went by the name of Jeff Bezos set the stage for a true e
own revolution. In those days, the Internet was an accessible tool only
a privileged few, largely confined to government circles e
academics.
she realized that it would soon expand and become a part of it
of the daily life of millions of people. A weekend while he was staying
driving his car, he sketched a business
plan for a project that would have
changed the network. It was a risky plan,
mainly because Bezos and his wife already had good jobs and
a secure income. Anyway, they decided to bet on their idea and
they created "Amazon". After a few months
trial and without any kind of advertising, the company started selling.
A few years later, Amazon was already selling for millions of dollars and had spread to
Worldwide. Amazon is currently a model of innovation
and creativity for thousands of young entrepreneurs. However, creativity is
important in many sectors, from psychotherapists to cooks and journalists. A
creative idea can convert into a terrific career incentive e
produce corresponding economic benefits. The secret lies in Hypofrontality Historically it has been considered that the
creativity is a gift that benefits only a few. However, more recent studies
they show that we all have the seeds of creativity in us, we only have
need to heal them and make them grow. The key to creativity is in the process
of idea generation, this is where we have to hold on to
open mind and abandon the established rules. But… how can we do it? Sharon Thompson-Schill, a neuro
University of Pennsylvania scientist, believes the secret lies in
ability to exercise poor cognitive control. That is, put less
restrictions on behavior and ideas. In practice, the prefrontal region of the
our cerebral cortex regulates our actions, decisions and thoughts. If there
an idea comes, immediately it goes through the prefrontal cortex
which tells us if it is feasible or if it is madness. However, when
let our imagination run free, this region exercises a
minor influence, this phenomenon is known as "hypofrontality". In reality the phenomenon is not new, yes
discovered in the XNUMXs while measuring activity
electrical brain of people who were generating new ideas. When a
person has to solve a mathematical problem or say where he will go on vacation, the
brain emits beta waves, which oscillate in a frequency between 15 and
20 hertz. However, when people are
involved in a creative process, alpha waves are predominant and these
they vary between 8 and 12 hertz. This state is also found in chi
practices yoga and meditation and indicates a relaxed level of consciousness e
widespread attention. For this reason, scientists claim that the
process of generating innovative ideas is associated with poor control
cognitive. Thompson-Schill continued to
investigate this phenomenon. In 2011 he carried out another study in which
he asked the people involved to see pictures of some objects from the
daily. Half of the participants were asked to mention their use
habitual while the other half indicated an unconventional use. Once again, those who saw each other
forced to think more creatively, they showed an activity of the
minimal prefrontal cortex and an excitation of the posterior regions of the
brain, related to visual-spatial skills. In summary, to facilitate the
creativity it would be important that we disconnect from many of our own
life experiences, that we stop criticizing every idea that comes to us
mind and that we focus on producing as many ideas as possible
and freely. It will be difficult at first, but with a little practice it will be
progressively simpler. An excellent trick is to practice the
meditation before engaging in the idea generation process.
