This Week’s Guest
Michael Hanchett Hanson – deconstructing creativity
What is creativity – It’s a big question. I’ve worked in the creative industries all my life, yet I’ve never considered creativity to from a psychological and developmental perspective until I sat down with this weeks guest Michael Hanchett Hanson – author and founder and director of the Masters Concentration in Creativity and Cognition program at Teachers College, Columbia University,
In part one of the interview, we cover the impact of Michael’s upbringing and the dual influence of his mother and father, his mentors and his early ambitions growing up in Texan Bible belt.
Michael deconstructs the social, material and temporal components of creativity. We discuss genius, distinctiveness, and exceptionality.
Finally, we cover the serendipity in his journey and how he applies creativity in his life.
I hope you find value in this vibrant and vigorous exploration of creativity with Michael Hanchett Hanson.
The Podcast we Love
Joshua Spodek Leadership and The Environment
This is a podcast from one of our upcoming guests. Josh is the ultimate renaissance man with an incredible personal journey. We are sharing Josh’s interview from 2018 with Bea Johnson, TEDx Speaker and a mother living a zero waste lifestyle for over ten years. Listen to Josh’s other podcasts, they are packed with value and insights on leadership and the environment.
We found this online
From coal country to solar country
When in the midst of a grand transition from fossil fuels to renewables but it still feels we are too reliant on fossil fuel economy. We read this piece in the Atlantic about how in one Colorado county, solar-energy-training classes are helping ease the transition from fossil fuels to renewables and may well fill the economic hole left by the dying coal industry, which sustained the area for more than 120 years. There may be insights and lessons here for other regions and countries working to address what is a global imperative.
Recommended to us
The case against contemporary feminism
A past guest sent us this exploration of what feminism means in the age of Trump. The New Yorker article sets out two recently published arguments against contemporary feminism that have emerged in near-exact opposition to each other: either feminism has become too strict an ideology or it has softened to the point of uselessness. Both sides make a compelling case.
Series of the week
College Behind Bars
This four-part series streamed on PBS in the US, follows men and women incarcerated in maximum and medium-security prisons across New York state over the span of four years, as they attempt to gain college degrees through the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), one of the most rigorous prison education programs in the U.S.
Producer Sarah Botstein states “ We always say we hope the film will raise two really important questions: who in our country should and does have access to education? And what is prison for? We hope people think about how those two questions intersect with the systemic issues of race and poverty, and what is broken about our country.”
This is not just a US issue but a global one.
Mulling on this
Is life just a game?
Is what we experience just a user interface? Donald Hoffman argues such. Is this a plausible argument? If so, there must be a game maker? But who, what, or where is the game god?
I am posting this thought as an early stage consideration that there may be a way to reconcile ancient religious doctrines, teachings and dogmas with emerging scientific insights to create a new point of view or perspective on our existence and reason for being. Watch this space.
Tools we’re using
Over App
If you don’t use Sketch or Adobe tools but want to bring your ideas to life and make a visual impact in a simple and easy manner then Over is your app. A combination of curated content and easy to use pro like tools for layering and masking as well the ability to collaborate makes this app a must-have. It’s also one of Apple apps of 2019.
Social Impact
A Decade of Loss
We can not afford another decade of extinction. This piece by Vox sets out why we have been responsible for the loss of species and what we need to do to avoid repeating the same mistake in the decade ahead. We are all part of the natural ecosystem and as we enter this new decade we all have power and responsibility to affect our impact.
Read and reflect.
That’s all for now.
