REVIEW: "Rice storm" - dozens of techniques for developing creativity

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Rice Storm is a book by Michael Mikalko, one of the world's leading experts on creativity. It contains dozens of ways to develop creativity. But most importantly, it will let you know that everyone needs creativity, and everyone can develop it.

We mistakenly believe that creativity is a skill that only creative people need. The word "creativity" comes from the English create - "to create" and means any action aimed at creating something new. Are you working in a steel mill and are trying to come up with a new way to make steel? You are a creative person.

Therefore, "Rice Storm" by Michael Mikalko is one of the rare examples of the book that everyone needs. The more new each of us creates, the faster we will enter a bright future.

Mikalko's track record makes it clear that the book will definitely contain useful information and little water. The way it is. Rice Storm is a collection of scientifically based techniques, puzzles and games that help you learn to come up with new ideas in business and life. Mikalko also explains how creativity works and what we can do to think outside the box.

Book for "monkeys"

According to Mikalko, there are two approaches to everything that happens in our life. He conventionally calls them the kitten and monkey approach. In times of danger, the kitten begins to meow, beckoning to its mother, who takes him to a safe place. The baby monkey, on the other hand, quickly rushes on to the mother's back, where it feels safe.

The book is only suitable for "monkeys". For those who, during a difficult situation, do not plaintively ask for help, but themselves make every effort to achieve a result.

The secret of Leonardo da Vinci's creativity

Who will read the entire book, immediately finding in the content the secret of Leonardo da Vinci's creativity? I'm not sure. Seeing the page number (285), I immediately went to her to find out what the secret of this genius was, to be honest, not really hoping for anything.

It turns out that Leonardo da Vinci's way of creating new ideas was really quite unusual. He sat down at the table, laid a piece of paper in front of him, relaxed and closed his eyes. Then he streaked the paper with arbitrary lines without opening his eyes.

At the end of the "procedure" Leonardo da Vinci opened his eyes and tried to find something worthwhile in these scribbles. Sometimes new ideas were born in this way. Mikalko reinforces the importance of such images in thinking with the words of Einstein:

Words, as they are written or pronounced, do not seem to play a significant role in the mechanism of my thinking. More or less distinct images act as elements of thinking.

Albert Einstein

Quite an unusual way to find new ideas, but I see no reason why it might not work. Often I myself come up with something new, already lying in bed or being in another, seemingly not working condition at all. Leonardo da Vinci's method is far from the ideal way to get creative, but we are not finished with this book yet.

The surrealism of Salvador Dali

What do you see in the image on the left page of the book? I specially photographed it quite far away, as this is the key.

Due to the stretched and distorted shape, it is not immediately clear that this is the letter "E". If you still can't see it here, try moving away from the screen. However, as soon as you notice it, it will be very difficult for you to distract yourself from this image - you will no longer be able to see the abstract figure. This trick is a good example of hypnagogic imagery. They are visual or auditory imagery that cannot be controlled or consciously attempted.

Perhaps the most famous person who used hypnagogic images in his work was Salvador Dali. His technique was rather unusual:

Dali sat in a chair and put a tin plate on the floor. Then he took an iron spoon in his hand and held it over the plate. Having completely relaxed, he began to doze. At this time, the spoon fell out of the hand and made a loud sound from hitting the cymbal. Dali woke up just at the moment when consciousness began to slip unusual and strange images.

Perhaps Dali's method is not the best. But this is a good explanation for why unusual ideas often come to us when we begin to doze or fall asleep. Hypnagogic images are the response of the subconscious to everything that we have ever seen or heard.

Book of the Dead

Finally, the third way of developing creativity, which I remember more than others. It is actively used by Michael Ray, a professor at Stanford University. Ray tried to prove that images, not words, allow us to come up with something new.

The Book of the Dead is a technique based on hieroglyphs taken from a book that the ancient Egyptians placed in the tomb of the dead. Scientists have still not been able to decipher most of the hieroglyphs. And it only plays into our hands. Here's what Ray suggests:

1. Formulate your task.
2. Choose one of the three pieces with hieroglyphs.
3. Relax and discard unnecessary thoughts. You can meditate.
4. Imagine that the selected fragment was created in order to solve your problem.
5. Look for the answer to it in each hieroglyph, their sequence or whole lines.

Mikalko recalls a teacher who wanted to improve his financial situation. Pondering an idea for his own business, he turned to The Book of the Dead. Looking through the selected fragment, he saw the hieroglyph of water, three circles between two lines and a man holding something in his hands.

The circles and water reminded him of oysters, lines reminded him of wrapped oysters, and a man reminded him of gifts and vacations. So he got the idea to create an oyster delivery service for lovers on Valentine's Day.

Give your imagination the opportunity to do what it knows best - to connect different, at first glance, things. These associations will help you arrive at an idea that you didn't even think about initially.

Creativity can be learned

The "Rice Storm" contains dozens of logic games and ways to think differently from everyone else. After reading them, you will see patterns that unite all methods. This will help you understand one important thing:

You are already creative. It remains only to convince myself of this.

That's what a book is for. It is worth giving Mikalko his due: there is practically no unnecessary information in "Rice Storm", and the one that can hardly be called such is created for entertainment and allows the brain to relax after complex logic puzzles.