Creativity is the ability to produce an artifact or an idea that is both novel and useful given a particular social context (some definitions also include valuable as a necessary requirement).

In creativity research, it can mean that an idea has sprung from a connection that has never been made or is new to an individual but may be otherwise widely known.

Researchers generally believe that creativity is a two-part process. The first is to generate candidate ideas and make novel connections between them, and the second is to narrow down to the most useful one.

As a memory moves from short-term to long-term storage, what’s represented in that memory is associated with existing memories (aka “schemas”), and your overall understanding of the world shifts slightly.

The way memories are associated makes it possible to connect your ideas later. In fact, recent evidence shows that semantic memory structure—how we relate language-based concepts—is one of the biggest predictors of creativity.

understanding how our brains give rise to the creative  experience helps us understand the process more deeply and fills in a critical component that is thus far missing—attention.

When Delilah is coming up with all of these different uses (i.e., divergent thinking), a network of brain regions called the "default network" is activated. In brain imaging studies, this network shows the highest activation during spontaneous, self-generated thought—including mind wandering, which is specifically not related to a task.

Governing this process is a "control network" that allows us to think flexibly, inhibit outside distractions, and pull from our memory.

“Constraints breed creativity.”

Switching between the default and control networks is thought to be governed by a "salience network," which helps us to engage each one effectively. Higher creative thinking scores are correlated with greater coupling between these networks.

Memories are the materials needed for creative thinking. Consuming other people's ideas in conversation by reading or listening to them (like you're doing now!) stimulates creativity and deepens existing associations.

To widen our divergent thinking funnel, we could try and seek out new ideas that are maximally different from our own, but this typically won’t work. It’s actually better to make incremental steps outside your own filter bubble because new information must overlap somewhat with what you already know to be effectively associated and assimilated.

Taking notes, making highlights, and revisiting that material when it’s related to what you’re currently thinking about is a good way to maintain and strengthen connections.

These connections can happen spontaneously, often during a period of mind wandering, when our attention is less focused, or during an engaging conversation, when we’re focused but someone else’s ideas are helping spark our own that we can share. 

the best state for doing creative thought work depends on the type of work, your attentional state, your mood, and how engaged you can be. In terms of your mood, it’s helpful to be in a positive affective mental state—e.g., happy and not anxious.

Counterintuitively, the more we try and force ourselves to focus, the narrower our thinking may become. Mind wandering is what allows us to explore, retrieve, and experiment with connecting our memories in different ways.