Thursday, February 14, 2013

Lehrer Heal Thyself


Lehrer Heal Thyself

I’m trying to IMAGINE how these two pieces fit together.  A Jonah Lehrer apology, http://www.jonahlehrer.com/2013/02/my-apology/  and a piece on my blog about  Jonah Lehrer and an article of his about creativity in the classroom: http://bit.ly/14VfBSV .

Interesting when Lehrer says about creativity, “The danger, however, is that we’re teaching our kids a very narrow and stultifying model of cognition, in which conscientiousness is privileged above all.”  It makes me think of a recent blog piece by Daniel Coyle, “How to Daydream More Effectively”, where he says, “Here’s the takeaway: daydreaming works best when you focus both on the goal and on the obstacles between you and the goal.” I’m working hard to integrate that lesson into my own life. Even as we create, we have to create within boundaries.  Indeed, the boundaries help us become more creative.  It seems to me that Jonah Lehrer lost some focus on the obstacles between him and his goal.  Even the brightest among us can succumb to the shortcut.

Ironically the word Lehrer in German means teacher.  In my estimation Lehrer’s mistakes have something to teach him and us.  I hope, as he sets his new boundaries, his genius, imagination, creativity and hard work will inspire and teach us again.   

No comments:

Post a Comment