0:00:04 > 0:00:06We all know it...
0:00:07 > 0:00:09..when it happens.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14The moment when the light seems to go on in your head.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20The instant when you experience a flash of inspiration.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Scientists are beginning to understand
0:00:24 > 0:00:27how these moments come about.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31They've devised a series of puzzles...
0:00:31 > 0:00:33and brainteasers...
0:00:37 > 0:00:41..to try and unravel how these moments of creativity happen.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47And now they're able to see inside your brain
0:00:47 > 0:00:50and witness the creative spark...
0:00:50 > 0:00:53as it happens.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56This is incredibly exciting.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59Now we have the tools and are starting to really uncover
0:00:59 > 0:01:02what creativity is, what goes on in the brain
0:01:02 > 0:01:05when people have moments of creativity.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11And what they're discovering has the power to make you...
0:01:11 > 0:01:13and every one of us...
0:01:13 > 0:01:15more creative.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42In the early-morning Californian sunshine...
0:01:46 > 0:01:49..a team are preparing an experiment.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58It's been designed by Jonathan Schooler...
0:02:02 > 0:02:03That is awesome!
0:02:03 > 0:02:06..to test how creative you are.
0:02:06 > 0:02:07And I can see myself.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13If you look at the advancement of humanity,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16it fundamentally depends on creative innovation.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24..anyone who has a notion of how it could be done.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Yeah. Move three of the quarters...
0:02:26 > 0:02:30He's fascinated by one part of our creativity.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36The moment when leaps of imagination, great and small,
0:02:36 > 0:02:38seem to arrive...
0:02:40 > 0:02:41..as if from nowhere.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43UNINTELLIGIBLE CHATTER
0:02:43 > 0:02:45This young guy gets it!
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Very good.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50If you just look at all the different major advancements,
0:02:50 > 0:02:52there's some fundamentally creative insight.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55Just look how long it took for people to invent the wheel, right?
0:02:55 > 0:02:58It's not obvious. Someone obviously had to come up with it.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03For a mind game, it takes some setting up.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10A metal pyramid is hoisted to balance perfectly on this.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13A hundred dollar bill.
0:03:13 > 0:03:18The question is, how can you remove this hundred dollar bill
0:03:18 > 0:03:21without causing the pyramid to topple?
0:03:28 > 0:03:30It's trickier than you might think.
0:03:36 > 0:03:37You can't just pull it out.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42You can't grab it from beneath.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44How to get that hundred dollar bill out.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46You have nothing to cut with?
0:03:46 > 0:03:49No, unfortunately not.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52You can't cut it in half.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Maybe you've got it.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57You need to think outside the box.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Think outside the pyramid at this point.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04But if, like most of us, you need a clue...
0:04:06 > 0:04:10..Jonathan's team will shortly bring in something that might help.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12LAUGHTER
0:04:25 > 0:04:28In the past decade, there's been a surge of interest
0:04:28 > 0:04:30in trying to understand how insight works.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36- The moments when...- You've got three almost completed triangles.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39..without thinking methodically and logically,
0:04:39 > 0:04:43- we come up with a flash of insight. - Ta-da!
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Congratulations! Look at that. There's three and four.
0:04:46 > 0:04:53I think insight is a really, really important aspect of creativity.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55Typically, what an insight involves
0:04:55 > 0:04:58is overcoming some particular assumption.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01And so the insight involves suddenly realising,
0:05:01 > 0:05:03"Oh! There's another way of going about it."
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Cool. Thanks for doing it.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09And that is a critical element of the creative process in that regard.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13This is a goat. OK? It's got legs...
0:05:13 > 0:05:16Jonathan and his team use a seemingly simple set of puzzles
0:05:16 > 0:05:19to try and measure this ability.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24Moving just one of these sticks makes a different goat shape.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27But which one is it?
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Ah! Maybe this.
0:05:29 > 0:05:30You're very close.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Hm...
0:05:34 > 0:05:35Did you get it?
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Ah! A-ha!
0:05:38 > 0:05:40Ta-da! There it is!
0:05:41 > 0:05:43It's this one.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50We do a lot of dull research in psychology, I have to say.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54But this is one area in psychology where people really enjoy doing it.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58They just get a thrill out of solving these problems, trying to solve them.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00And when they get that a-ha! experience, they just love it.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06The thing about these insight moments is that they're fleeting,
0:06:06 > 0:06:10elusive and really hard to study.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Move three of the quarters and only three
0:06:12 > 0:06:16to create the same triangle, but facing in a different orientation.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Take this one.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23You have to move three coins to turn the pyramid upside down.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29But if you were able to do it,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Jonathan thinks something very distinct
0:06:31 > 0:06:34was just happening in your brain.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Ah! You got it!
0:06:44 > 0:06:47All these little puzzles are just one way of trying to understand
0:06:47 > 0:06:53why and how insight works in our brains.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59Back at the pyramid, the team are setting up some word clues
0:06:59 > 0:07:03which may help you figure out how to remove the banknote.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05They're using this experiment
0:07:05 > 0:07:08to try and find out if one hemisphere
0:07:08 > 0:07:10is more heavily involved in generating insight.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12The left side of the brain,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16traditionally associated with logical thinking and language,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20or the right side, often linked to spatial awareness and intuition.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23We took advantage of a fact,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26which is that if you flash information
0:07:26 > 0:07:29to the right visual field,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32it goes initially to the left hemisphere,
0:07:32 > 0:07:34and if you flash information to the left visual field,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36it goes initially to the right hemisphere.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48The word clues on the right side of the screen
0:07:48 > 0:07:51are primarily interpreted by the left side of your brain.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59The words on the left by the right hemisphere of the brain.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Do you see anything that helps?
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Perhaps not.
0:08:06 > 0:08:07Well, how about now?
0:08:11 > 0:08:15- Can you burn it? - Yep. That is the correct answer.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17So the answer is you light the bill on fire
0:08:17 > 0:08:21and it'll burn down and it's gone.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30The insight is...
0:08:30 > 0:08:33that you don't have to take it out whole.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39But what's so revealing is that it really does matter
0:08:39 > 0:08:43which side the clue, burn, is played to.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47What we found, remarkably,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50is that the right hemisphere was actually more sensitive
0:08:50 > 0:08:54to the hints than the left hemisphere.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57So when we presented information to the left visual field,
0:08:57 > 0:08:59people were more likely to solve the problem.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04Jonathan's found that the right side of the brain
0:09:04 > 0:09:07is more likely than the left to make that connection
0:09:07 > 0:09:10that leads to a sudden flash of insight.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Puzzles have become a rather important way
0:09:14 > 0:09:19of starting to understand how insight happens.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21But for scientists, it's just the beginning
0:09:21 > 0:09:23of a much more ambitious attempt
0:09:23 > 0:09:26to understand all the different mental processes
0:09:26 > 0:09:29that together help to make us creative.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31How they work in our brains.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Because if we could understand them,
0:09:34 > 0:09:38we might all become a bit more creative.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49The ability to think in novel and useful ways
0:09:49 > 0:09:53has been one of the defining features of the human species.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00I think creativity has been essential to the success of humans.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Every single conceptual leap forward
0:10:02 > 0:10:05in some way was a form of creativity.
0:10:08 > 0:10:14A lot of people associate creativity with artists and music and dance,
0:10:14 > 0:10:15but if you have an iPhone
0:10:15 > 0:10:18or if you enjoy the Internet, things like that,
0:10:18 > 0:10:20science created that.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25It helped us to fly to the moon,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29to cure illnesses, to develop
0:10:29 > 0:10:32microprocessors - I think you can see it everywhere.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41Until recently, research into creativity has focused on what could
0:10:41 > 0:10:46be seen from the outside, observing human behaviour and psychology.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Now, the tools of neuroscience allow us
0:10:50 > 0:10:56to look inside the brain, to try and capture inspiration as it strikes.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Mark Beeman is one of the pioneers of this new science.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15He's setting out to try and discover the neural correlate of creativity.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19That's the bit of your brain that corresponds to these creative
0:11:19 > 0:11:21moments of insight.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24The difficulty of solving insight in the lab is we can't just take
0:11:24 > 0:11:26the next Archimedes or the next Einstein and stick
0:11:26 > 0:11:31her in a brain scanner and wait for her to have a great "aha" moment.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Even if she was willing we would need more than one "aha"
0:11:33 > 0:11:36moment or eureka moment to study,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39because a lot of things are going on in the brain all the time.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46So he's come up with a systematic way to induce lots of insights.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Take a look at these three words.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56What word goes with - pine, crab, and sauce?
0:11:56 > 0:11:58Can you figure out what connects them?
0:12:02 > 0:12:05How are you trying to solve this problem?
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Are you testing out one word after another?
0:12:13 > 0:12:20That's the analytical way. But you might also suddenly "get it"
0:12:20 > 0:12:22in a flash of insight.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27Pine, crab, sauce.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Did you get it?
0:12:33 > 0:12:35It's apple.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40But more importantly, did you get there by methodical,
0:12:40 > 0:12:41logical thinking?
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Or did lightning strike?
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Hi, Laura. Thanks for coming in today, I'm Dasha.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52We'll be doing the EEG setup now. If you can just move your hair back.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56In his lab, just outside Chicago, Mark's team are getting ready
0:12:56 > 0:12:59to try and capture these insight moments.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03For two millennia, since Archimedes shouted "eureka,"
0:13:03 > 0:13:05people have believed that there's some kind of different
0:13:05 > 0:13:08processing that allows them to sometimes have these novel ideas.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11But because it feels different doesn't necessarily mean that
0:13:11 > 0:13:14there's different brain activity, there's been arguments about that.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Mark's PhD student, Dasha, places an electroencephalogram,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24or EEG cap, on a volunteer.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30This will measure her brain activity as she solves the problems.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42- Fire.- Correct.- Insight.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48We're examining Laura's brainwaves as she's trying to
0:13:48 > 0:13:50solve problems and then she tells us
0:13:50 > 0:13:55whether she solves the problem analytically or by insight.
0:13:55 > 0:13:56- Sun.- Yes, that's correct.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01So we're relying on her to be able to tell us
0:14:01 > 0:14:03how she's solving the problem.
0:14:04 > 0:14:05Analysis.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10He records data from every one of these fleeting insight
0:14:10 > 0:14:14moments using two very different scientific tools.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16FMRI is very good at picking up where in the brain
0:14:16 > 0:14:18something's happening,
0:14:18 > 0:14:20and EEG is very good at telling us when it happens.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24- Can.- Correct.- Analysis.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27He's now analysed hundreds of hours of brainwaves.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33And what that shows is that we really are thinking differently
0:14:33 > 0:14:37when we have a creative moment.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40- Writer.- Correct.- Insight.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44There are differences when people tell us
0:14:44 > 0:14:46they solved it by insight versus when they tell us
0:14:46 > 0:14:48they solved analytically - they are doing different
0:14:48 > 0:14:51things, behaving in different ways, having different
0:14:51 > 0:14:53ideas in their mind, different parts of their brain active,
0:14:53 > 0:14:57both at the moment that they solve it and leading up to that moment.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02In a sense, he's found the creative spark.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09Not just how it happens, but where it happens.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15The part of your brain where these moments occur.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23It happens here - the anterior superior temporal gyrus.
0:15:26 > 0:15:27We have one on either side.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35During a flash of insight, the left doesn't really react.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40But the right side does.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50Insight.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55A striking increase in high energy brainwaves,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59called gamma waves, erupts from this one spot.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07The brain's two halves may look like a mirror image.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Yet this aspect of creativity,
0:16:10 > 0:16:14insight, does seem to happen in the right hemisphere.
0:16:14 > 0:16:20That's because there is a subtle, but very real structural difference.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23So it turns out neurons actually do differ on the left
0:16:23 > 0:16:26and right hemisphere, very subtly in the ways that they're wired.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29The dendrites, the pieces of neurons that collect
0:16:29 > 0:16:31information, actually branch differently in,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34at least some neurons, on the left and right side, characteristically
0:16:34 > 0:16:37having broader branching on the right hemisphere, so that each
0:16:37 > 0:16:41neuron is collecting information from a broader source of input,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43and this allows them to find connections
0:16:43 > 0:16:46that might not be evident otherwise.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50Brain cells on the left have short dendrites,
0:16:50 > 0:16:54useful for pulling in information from nearby.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57But the cells on the right branch out much further
0:16:57 > 0:17:00and pull together distant, unrelated ideas.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06So it's here that novel connections between concepts can get made -
0:17:06 > 0:17:08in a flash of insight.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14It's not just that these moments of creative insight
0:17:14 > 0:17:16feel subjectively different.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19They are objectively different in your brain.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32The moment of insight feels instantaneous.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41John Kounios has discovered it's anything but.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46He's interested in understanding the sequence of brainwaves that
0:17:46 > 0:17:50precedes an insight.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57He's looking at what's happening before the gamma wave spike
0:17:57 > 0:18:00that marks the moment when an insight pops into your awareness.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09So at the "aha" moment there's a burst in the right temporal lobe,
0:18:09 > 0:18:10just about above the right ear.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12If you go about half a second before that,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15or more like a second before that or more like a second before that,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19there's a burst of alpha waves in the back of the head
0:18:19 > 0:18:20on the right side.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24Now strangely enough, the back of the brain accomplishes
0:18:24 > 0:18:26visual processing.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29And alpha is known to reflect brain areas shutting down.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37The effect of this preceding burst of alpha waves seem to be
0:18:37 > 0:18:40to shut down parts of your visual cortex.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44You have all of this visual information flooding in.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Your brain momentarily shuts down some of that visual information.
0:18:48 > 0:18:49It is sort of like closing your eyes,
0:18:49 > 0:18:53but in our experiments some are not allowed to close their eyes,
0:18:53 > 0:18:58so the brain does its own blinking, and that allows this very
0:18:58 > 0:19:01faint idea to bubble up to the surface as an insight.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15An insight begins with an idea rumbling around
0:19:15 > 0:19:16your unconscious mind.
0:19:19 > 0:19:25And the effect of these alpha waves is to cut off distractions,
0:19:25 > 0:19:32helping you summon that new idea into awareness.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Think of it this way,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37when you ask somebody a difficult question you often notice
0:19:37 > 0:19:41they will look away or they might even close their eyes or look down.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45They'll look anywhere but at a face, which is very distracting.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47If your attention is directed inwardly,
0:19:47 > 0:19:51then you're more likely to solve the problem with a flash of insight.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58So if you want to have more insights,
0:19:58 > 0:20:02perhaps cutting off the distractions of the outside world -
0:20:02 > 0:20:06just for a short time - could help increase your creativity.
0:20:15 > 0:20:192,000 years after Archimedes shouted eureka in the bath,
0:20:19 > 0:20:24we now know that insights don't in fact come from nowhere.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27They unfold through a chain of events in your brain.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37It begins with a problem, one that logic can't solve.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Yet, in your unconscious mind, an insight is stirring.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55Suddenly. A blast of alpha waves.
0:20:59 > 0:21:00Your brain blinks.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08Seconds later, a burst of gamma waves.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15And this is what you experience as the moment of insight.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22But insight on its own is just one of the mental
0:21:22 > 0:21:25processes that make up creativity.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29Scientists are also turning their attention to a different
0:21:29 > 0:21:30aspect of creative thinking.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35A study that has its roots in the turmoil of the Second World War.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55At the height of the conflict, tens of thousands of US planes
0:21:55 > 0:21:57were in the skies.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03With enemy fire, breakdowns and accidents rife,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06surviving as a pilot took a special kind of skill.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11One that caught the attention of JP Guildford,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14a psychologist working with the air force.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20He noticed that in an emergency, some aircrew had the ability to
0:22:20 > 0:22:24"think outside the box" - to come up with novel,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27creative insights that saved their lives.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31Guilford was among the first to believe that
0:22:31 > 0:22:34intelligence alone had been overrated.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38And that what he was studying in the airmen was undervalued.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43He called this talent divergent thinking.
0:22:44 > 0:22:45A form of creativity.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52And he came up with a way to test it, one that is still in use today.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Venice Beach, California.
0:23:07 > 0:23:13It's a hangout of the curious, the creative and the eccentric.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26Today Professor Rex Jung is here to test just how creative they are.
0:23:33 > 0:23:34And here it is.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40This is the tool of creativity that we are going to use today.
0:23:40 > 0:23:41It's a brick, a common brick.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46It's known as the divergent thinking test.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Sir, do you want to take a test of creativity?
0:23:51 > 0:23:56Of diverging from known ideas to come up with something novel.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59So you take a common object like a brick,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03and you ask people to think of as many creative ways
0:24:03 > 0:24:05they can think of to use this thing.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Sir, a creativity test? You look like you're ready to go.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11- Come on.- Name's Coleman.- David.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15- Caveman.- Caveman?- Yeah.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18So come on over here...
0:24:18 > 0:24:20It's simple, but powerful,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23one of the most commonly used creativity tests.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25..my bag of tricks.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28I'm going to give you a minute to tell me as many new
0:24:28 > 0:24:31and useful creative uses for this brick that you can think of
0:24:31 > 0:24:33in the next minute. Go.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36- Hammer. Building doorstop. - A paperweight.
0:24:36 > 0:24:37- A brick wall.- Protection.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39- Art!- Er...
0:24:39 > 0:24:41Each idea is given a score.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44From one, for the mundane or obvious...
0:24:46 > 0:24:47- A building block.- A dam.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49Making a castle.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51..to five for the most imaginative.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54- Excellent. - Making a really heavy shoe.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56To make a humungous hole.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02The more highly inventive new ideas you come up with,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04the more of a divergent thinker you are.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07- Thank you very much. - Great. Thanks for your time.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12HE HOWLS LIKE AN ANIMAL
0:25:14 > 0:25:19Measuring creativity for scientific research now involves a series of
0:25:19 > 0:25:24different tests, and Rex has devised his own broad measure of creativity.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30He's been able to see how it compares to IQ,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33the traditional measure of intelligence.
0:25:35 > 0:25:36One of the things that got me
0:25:36 > 0:25:40interested in studying creativity was it doesn't appear that
0:25:40 > 0:25:44intelligence and creativity are isomorphic,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47are the same thing, it appears that there's overlap between the two,
0:25:47 > 0:25:51but that they're somewhat different constructs from each other.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53There's something very different that is
0:25:53 > 0:25:56going on in the brain of people who are creative as opposed to
0:25:56 > 0:25:58people who are acting intelligent.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06So creativity and intelligence seem to be different processes
0:26:06 > 0:26:07on the outside.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12Rex is one of the first scientists to look inside,
0:26:12 > 0:26:14and examine the structure of the brain,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17to see what makes people highly creative.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34For some time, scientists have understood the basic neural
0:26:34 > 0:26:36mechanisms of intelligence.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41It's about the fast and efficient firing of neurons
0:26:41 > 0:26:42in the grey matter.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47The mystery is what's happening
0:26:47 > 0:26:50when you come up with creative ideas?
0:27:00 > 0:27:03And here's where Rex started to find differences.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12This beautiful image is of the white matter of your brain.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17So this is the most sophisticated image we have,
0:27:17 > 0:27:20this is an image of the white matter fibre tracts.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Looks like a big spaghetti ball,
0:27:22 > 0:27:24but it actually makes a little bit of sense.
0:27:27 > 0:27:32Each of us has 150,000 kilometres of these connections.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39It's an intricate wiring system that connects regions of your brain.
0:27:41 > 0:27:42So these are the actual roadways going
0:27:42 > 0:27:44in different regions of the brain,
0:27:44 > 0:27:47connecting up different neural networks.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52His studies showed that there was indeed
0:27:52 > 0:27:56a difference in the brain structure of highly creative people.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01It's about the white matter.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07What we learned was somewhat surprising, in that
0:28:07 > 0:28:10unlike intelligence, where more is invariably better,
0:28:10 > 0:28:14more tissue, more white matter connectivity, more biochemistry.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17In creativity the picture was the opposite of what
0:28:17 > 0:28:19we predicted, where less is better
0:28:19 > 0:28:22in terms of higher creative capacity.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28But why should less white matter mean more creativity?
0:28:31 > 0:28:35It seems that because certain areas of the brain are less packed,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38less organised, that nerve traffic is slowed down.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43So instead of having this very efficient pathway
0:28:43 > 0:28:48going from A to B, you have lots of different directions,
0:28:48 > 0:28:51lots of different pathways that ideas can,
0:28:51 > 0:28:55can flow, and in this idea space, it's more likely for new ones
0:28:55 > 0:28:59to collide with each other and be brought into conscious awareness.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07This cognitive slowdown, which makes it more likely for ideas to
0:29:07 > 0:29:10connect with each other, seems to be an important
0:29:10 > 0:29:14part of the mechanism that underlies divergent thinking.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27Rex believes he has started to see the difference
0:29:27 > 0:29:30between what's going on inside us
0:29:30 > 0:29:33when we display our intelligence and our creativity.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41And it's all, in a sense, about speed.
0:29:43 > 0:29:44Intellectual functioning,
0:29:44 > 0:29:46the research is showing that the information is travelling
0:29:46 > 0:29:50the shortest pathway, the quickest pathway that it can get,
0:29:50 > 0:29:51from point A to B.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55This is very important that you can have a fast and short pathway,
0:29:55 > 0:29:57to get from point A to point B.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04But creativity is different.
0:30:05 > 0:30:11It's not about speed and efficiency. Creativity is slow, and meandering.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17These winding roads,
0:30:17 > 0:30:24I think, are analogous to the pathways in the brain that are
0:30:24 > 0:30:29coming together less frequently, so you don't know quite where they're
0:30:29 > 0:30:32going to end up, but it could end up some place very interesting.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35But this is certainly a less travelled road than the...
0:30:35 > 0:30:37than the highway that we were on,
0:30:37 > 0:30:40it's a slower, more meandering pathway and I think that's
0:30:40 > 0:30:42how it works in the brain.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49It would be wrong to think that brain structure alone
0:30:49 > 0:30:50made you creative.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55But Rex's work shows - for the first time - that there is
0:30:55 > 0:31:01a neurological basis to divergent thinking, to creativity itself.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14The city of Baltimore.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21Here, another aspect of creativity is emerging for science to study.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29It's just always been a deep obsession of mine. I dream about it,
0:31:29 > 0:31:32I go to bed thinking about it, I wake up thinking about it.
0:31:32 > 0:31:37I always wonder how is it that sound can produce beauty.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39Thank you.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43Charles Limb has the night off work.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49He'll be spending tonight the same way he spends all his spare time.
0:31:51 > 0:31:52Listening to music.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56I think that jazz is probably one of the most creative art forms
0:31:56 > 0:31:58in all existence, in all forms of music.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01From the perspective of creation of new ideas,
0:32:01 > 0:32:03it doesn't get much better than jazz.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14Charles is fascinated by the way ideas flow so fast
0:32:14 > 0:32:16when jazz musicians improvise.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27This piece of music will never be played the same way again.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34From a basic melody, they're creating something new,
0:32:34 > 0:32:36making it up on the spot.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45What they are doing is a real talent.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51But it is, in a sense, something we all have.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01That's exactly what Charles is researching,
0:33:01 > 0:33:05here at John's Hopkins hospital in Baltimore.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11One of the intriguing things about creativity is that it exists in
0:33:11 > 0:33:14everybody in both high and low levels,
0:33:14 > 0:33:17so maybe somebody's not used to thinking
0:33:17 > 0:33:20of themselves as an artist, yet if they think about their daily
0:33:20 > 0:33:23behaviour, most of it is unscripted, most of it is improvised,
0:33:23 > 0:33:27they don't actually plan every second what they are going to do.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36So to really understand how we improvise,
0:33:36 > 0:33:38Charles is studying the best musicians he knows.
0:33:43 > 0:33:48- Charles.- Mike, hi, how are you? - Good.- Thanks for coming in.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51And that's why Mike Pope has come into the lab.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54We're going to be doing a functional MRI of your brain
0:33:54 > 0:33:56while we're improvising, and while we're...
0:33:56 > 0:33:59Charles's plan is to use FMRI to image what's
0:33:59 > 0:34:02happening in his brain as he improvises.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05- So here we are.- So this is it? - So this is the scanner room,
0:34:05 > 0:34:07where we're going to be doing your brain scanning.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09We've got his plastic piano.
0:34:09 > 0:34:11You're going to be able to play this in the scanner.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13This is the thing you spent all the time working on?
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Two years to make it work. Why don't we get you situated then?
0:34:16 > 0:34:18All right. Sounds good.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22Creativity is probably the combination of ordinary
0:34:22 > 0:34:26mental processes combined in ways that we hadn't described before,
0:34:26 > 0:34:31that somehow allow us to gain new insights and to generate new ideas.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33I think that's creativity in a nutshell.
0:34:33 > 0:34:35- Can you see your hands? - Yeah, sure can.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39- Am I allowed to turn a little bit, like that?- Uh-huh. Yeah. Go ahead.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45For Charles, it's a chance to explore the secrets
0:34:45 > 0:34:47of one of his jazz heroes.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50I really hope that we can gain some incredible insights
0:34:50 > 0:34:52in how the brain innovates.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55But on the other hand, as far as my own personal joy in a
0:34:55 > 0:34:59science experiment, I don't think I can do anything more
0:34:59 > 0:35:02enjoyable in science ever, for the rest of my life.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05It's really bizarre!
0:35:07 > 0:35:10The computer plays a recorded melody.
0:35:10 > 0:35:16Then Mike starts to improvise.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21Charles plays too, to make Mike feel a bit more at home.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25I hope I can keep up with him, he's really pretty, pretty special.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31But Mike's improvising is just too fast.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33HE LAUGHS
0:35:33 > 0:35:36The result of this experiment have been really exciting. We saw
0:35:36 > 0:35:38changes in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain,
0:35:38 > 0:35:40that's the frontal lobes of the brain,
0:35:40 > 0:35:43that's the portion of the brain that kind of makes us human.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52One of the main roles of this large area at the front of the brain
0:35:52 > 0:35:55is in conscious self-monitoring.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58Watching what you do and what you say.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04Jazz musicians, I think, naturally have to take a risk musically and
0:36:04 > 0:36:06to promote that ability to take risks,
0:36:06 > 0:36:09have to turn off a little bit of the gatekeeper.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11And so we saw the shutdown of the
0:36:11 > 0:36:13pre-frontal cortex in these musicians.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18Kind of the opposite of what you would
0:36:18 > 0:36:20do at a cocktail party when you are very focused on saying
0:36:20 > 0:36:24the right thing or making sure you don't say something silly.
0:36:27 > 0:36:33Charles is now widening his research to study other kinds of improvisers.
0:36:33 > 0:36:34We've actually recently
0:36:34 > 0:36:38looked at freestyle rap, and we've looked at illustrators, cartoonists.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42And we're seeing that the pre-frontal cortex in both of these
0:36:42 > 0:36:45settings seems to decrease in some component,
0:36:45 > 0:36:49when you switch from a memorised, or a non-creative component,
0:36:49 > 0:36:51to a generative, improvised component.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58It's all part of Charles' grand ambition.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00He's out to discover
0:37:00 > 0:37:04whether there is a deep creative potential that lies within us all.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09These art forms are different, yet they share a
0:37:09 > 0:37:13basic process in the brain, and so I have in my mind, long-term,
0:37:13 > 0:37:17this idea that if you were able to define these circuits,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20we might be able to enhance them in many ways,
0:37:20 > 0:37:25that in the end, humans might be better at being creative.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34I think obviously this is the kind of work that will take many
0:37:34 > 0:37:38lifetimes to really consolidate, but I'm just glad to even start
0:37:38 > 0:37:41some of these experiments, to try to answer these questions.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00Research that began with mind games and brain teasers has started
0:38:00 > 0:38:04to unlock some of the secrets of what makes you creative.
0:38:11 > 0:38:16The connected - but different - processes of insight.
0:38:22 > 0:38:23Divergent thinking.
0:38:27 > 0:38:28And improvising.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37But crucially they have revealed there is indeed a neural
0:38:37 > 0:38:43correlate of creativity, a signature of creativity in your brain.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47And now we're discovering that this research
0:38:47 > 0:38:51could be rather helpful to all of us.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55SHE SQUEALS WITH DELIGHT
0:39:13 > 0:39:17In the skies above Holland,
0:39:17 > 0:39:21Simone Ritter is experiencing something new.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34Until today, she had never set foot in a glider.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42What she's doing forms the backbone of her research
0:39:42 > 0:39:44to make all of us more creative.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00Simone has a theory...
0:40:00 > 0:40:02Well, this virtual reality lab.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05The most important equipment is this backpack here.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09OK, so, if you could wear it...
0:40:10 > 0:40:12She believes that new
0:40:12 > 0:40:16and unexpected experiences can boost your creativity.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20So she's devised an experiment that is designed
0:40:20 > 0:40:22to alter your cognitive habits.
0:40:24 > 0:40:30- So maybe you already recognise where you are?- I'm in the cafeteria.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33Yeah, right. Erm, and what you will do is,
0:40:33 > 0:40:35you will first walk around a little bit,
0:40:35 > 0:40:37just to get used to the equipment.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42Just walk around, you have a lot of space.
0:40:47 > 0:40:48The location looks familiar.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54But Annika has stepped into a virtual world that cannot
0:40:54 > 0:40:56exist in reality.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58One designed to startle, and shake her up.
0:41:00 > 0:41:06OK. And now you see a table on the left side, do you?
0:41:06 > 0:41:08- Yeah, with a suitcase.- Yeah.
0:41:08 > 0:41:16Could you please walk towards the table and towards the suitcase? OK.
0:41:16 > 0:41:17SHE MUTTERS
0:41:17 > 0:41:20SHE GASPS AND LAUGHS
0:41:20 > 0:41:24OK. It gets smaller.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36In this virtual world the laws of physics are subverted.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38The suitcase grows smaller as she approaches it.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47The bottle flies upwards, defying gravity.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54- After three minutes...- I'm here.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57- ..she's completely disorientated. - There's a pole.
0:42:00 > 0:42:01It's great. It's funny,
0:42:01 > 0:42:05but it's also an experience that opens up your mind.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08And that's what we, what we want.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10Welcome back to the real world.
0:42:12 > 0:42:17Simone's aim is to disrupt what she calls our functional fixedness.
0:42:17 > 0:42:22That's a mental block, where your thinking gets stuck in rut.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24If you experience something unexpected, this will also
0:42:24 > 0:42:27influence your cognitive patterns -
0:42:27 > 0:42:28you would break old cognitive patterns,
0:42:28 > 0:42:31you would overcome functional fixedness,
0:42:31 > 0:42:34and this will help you to make new associations between concepts.
0:42:36 > 0:42:37But is she right?
0:42:39 > 0:42:42Annika, like the other participants in Simone's study,
0:42:42 > 0:42:46takes an online version of the divergent thinking brick test.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53And what she's discovered is that experiencing this strange new
0:42:53 > 0:42:56virtual world has a very real effect.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00The results showed an increase
0:43:00 > 0:43:03of ten to 15 percent in creativity scores.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05The first lesson is that unexpected
0:43:05 > 0:43:11and unusual experiences help you to think more flexible and creative.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15And that this is one way to help you to think different,
0:43:15 > 0:43:17to approach problems in a different way.
0:43:17 > 0:43:22And I would advise people to look for unexpected experiences.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34But most of us don't have virtual reality suites at home.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38How could this apply to our everyday lives?
0:43:41 > 0:43:45Simone has devised something new, something far more commonplace,
0:43:45 > 0:43:48that we can use to increase our creativity.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54This is the real university canteen.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58Here the day begins like any other.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02Starting with a classic Dutch breakfast -
0:44:05 > 0:44:07the chocolate chip sandwich.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14We all know how to make a sandwich.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17But what's about to happen here is
0:44:17 > 0:44:21what Simone calls "schema violation".
0:44:21 > 0:44:24A disruption of a normal pattern of thought or behaviour.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31The computer gives step-by-step instructions.
0:44:34 > 0:44:38The volunteer, Thomas, follows each prompt.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45Then, he's prompted to do something differently.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51Yeah, as you can see he was really surprised,
0:44:51 > 0:44:54because now he has to put the chocolate chips on the disc.
0:44:55 > 0:44:57That's not the way they normally do it,
0:44:57 > 0:45:00they first put the butter on the bread.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05The resulting sandwich is pretty standard.
0:45:07 > 0:45:09But he got there by a different, unexpected route.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17This sort of activity also boosts
0:45:17 > 0:45:22your creativity test scores by up to 15 percent.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25Just performing such an activity where you see OK,
0:45:25 > 0:45:28it doesn't have to be like I assume it to be,
0:45:28 > 0:45:31but it can also be done differently, in a new way, in a different way.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36Also it enables you think different, to break cognitive patterns,
0:45:36 > 0:45:40to overcome functional fixedness, and this helps you to make new
0:45:40 > 0:45:44associations between concepts, which is really important for creativity.
0:45:46 > 0:45:51Thankfully it doesn't have to be a chocolate chip sandwich.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54It's about disrupting any routine.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57We don't need virtual reality, where we manipulate the laws
0:45:57 > 0:46:02of physics, it can be as simple as that, don't prepare a sandwich
0:46:02 > 0:46:07in the normal order but just switch one of the steps, and this
0:46:07 > 0:46:10will make you more flexible - this will help you to think creative.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12So give yourself room for creativity.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23The effect of changing your routines changes your brain.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33Well-travelled neural pathways are abandoned,
0:46:33 > 0:46:36forcing new connections to be made between brain cells.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42And that means more new and original ideas.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00I'm back on the ground.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09It's late afternoon at Stearn's wharf.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14Jonathan Schooler and his team have one last experiment to run.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20One which may help explain one of the most enigmatic
0:47:20 > 0:47:22mysteries about creativity.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27Why you have your best ideas when you are least expecting them.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34It all begins with a familiar test of divergent thinking -
0:47:34 > 0:47:37- the brick test. - You can start by having a seat.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39We're going to do a test of your creativity.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42OK, so there's going to be a couple of different phases
0:47:42 > 0:47:44to this experiment today. You're going to have two minutes
0:47:44 > 0:47:48to generates as many uses as possible for this brick that you can think of,
0:47:48 > 0:47:50and you can be as creative as you like.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54I could write a note around it, and put it through somebody's window.
0:47:56 > 0:48:00- OK.- Erm, I could hit somebody over the head with it.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03Use the pattern as a stamp.
0:48:03 > 0:48:07I could use it, like, to hold some papers down, like a paperweight.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10Now they take a two minute break.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14Each person is asked to spend it a different way.
0:48:17 > 0:48:22The first volunteer is told just to sit and do nothing.
0:48:24 > 0:48:28The second person is given a non-demanding task.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31Arrange the blocks by colour.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34Start with one colour, and just sort them into piles.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48The third person is given a very demanding task.
0:48:48 > 0:48:50Build a little model.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53I want you to used these Legos to actually build a house.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03The volunteers don't know it, but these two minutes are actually
0:49:03 > 0:49:06the most important part of the experiment.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10This is when their minds are either given a chance to wander, or not.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19Would it be a bad thing if I fell asleep right now?
0:49:19 > 0:49:20We'd like you to remain awake.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30After the break, they take the divergent thinking test again.
0:49:31 > 0:49:34Has their creativity changed?
0:49:38 > 0:49:40We're going to return back to this brick test,
0:49:40 > 0:49:43and we're going to see again in two minutes' time,
0:49:43 > 0:49:46how many uses you can come with, but new uses,
0:49:46 > 0:49:48ones that you haven't said originally.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52Er, use it to, erm...
0:49:57 > 0:50:00It turns out that people occupied with the demanding task
0:50:00 > 0:50:04do the worst on the second creativity test.
0:50:04 > 0:50:05Erm...
0:50:08 > 0:50:10But what is surprising is who comes first.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15Not those left staring into space, doing nothing.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19But the people given a mindless, easy task.
0:50:21 > 0:50:25I could break it into pieces, and paint different things on each one,
0:50:25 > 0:50:28like flowers, or whatever, and sell them.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31I could cut it into four pieces, and put it under the legs of the bed
0:50:31 > 0:50:34to make the bed a little bit higher.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37Mind wandering seems to particularly facilitate
0:50:37 > 0:50:39the creative process.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42Now one interesting thing is, you might think that just giving
0:50:42 > 0:50:45nothing to do would have also created similar mind
0:50:45 > 0:50:48wandering benefits, but it seems that not all mind wandering is equal.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51That mind wandering that's broken up by engaging
0:50:51 > 0:50:55in a non-demanding task seems to be more functional than the mind
0:50:55 > 0:50:58wandering that happens when you're given absolutely nothing to do.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05So if you want to come up with a creative solution to a problem,
0:51:05 > 0:51:07don't just do nothing.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09Do something undemanding instead.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13We don't know exactly why that is, but one reasonable possibility is by breaking it up,
0:51:13 > 0:51:15by sort of thinking a little bit about the task and
0:51:15 > 0:51:18coming back and thinking a little bit, and coming back,
0:51:18 > 0:51:21sort of stirs the pot and allows a special kind of unconscious
0:51:21 > 0:51:25recombination that's particularly beneficial for creativity.
0:51:30 > 0:51:32You now have a good excuse to get up from your desk
0:51:32 > 0:51:34and walk away from the problem.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38Well, one important lesson is that if you're stumped, take a break
0:51:38 > 0:51:43and allow the unconscious processes to take a hold.
0:51:43 > 0:51:47But it also suggests the kind of break that you might want to take.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50Rather than just sitting there, you might want to take a walk,
0:51:50 > 0:51:52or take or shower, or do something - gardening.
0:51:52 > 0:51:55Something that's not especially demanding but still sort of occupies
0:51:55 > 0:51:57your mind a little bit,
0:51:57 > 0:51:59and yet nevertheless enables the mind to wander.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07The research does underline the notion that
0:52:07 > 0:52:13if you want to be more creative, it is best not to be too focused.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15At least, not all the time.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22Mind wandering has a long history in creativity.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28But now we're starting to understand just why it's so effective.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35This is a question that Rex Jung has been able to try
0:52:35 > 0:52:38and answer in the last few years.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41Beethoven liked to take a long walk when he was
0:52:41 > 0:52:43thinking about music,
0:52:43 > 0:52:46I like to mow the lawn, this repetitive action
0:52:46 > 0:52:50that you're going back and forth, and doing some physical
0:52:50 > 0:52:53activity, occupying your body but your mind can wonder freely.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57He studied brain scan after brain scan,
0:52:57 > 0:52:59of people as their minds wandered.
0:53:01 > 0:53:06He noticed a distinct change in one area of the brain.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11It's called the frontal lobe, right above your eyes.
0:53:13 > 0:53:18What he observed was something he calls transient hypofrontality,
0:53:18 > 0:53:20a kind of temporary sleep mode.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23Where the frontal lobes are slightly pulled back,
0:53:23 > 0:53:27the brakes are slightly pulled back off the system
0:53:27 > 0:53:31and ideas are flowing more freely and some of these ideas from the
0:53:31 > 0:53:36subconscious can percolate into conscious awareness more readily.
0:53:38 > 0:53:42He's found that this temporary brain state, when you're open to
0:53:42 > 0:53:46creativity, is actually something we can easily induce.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49People can get there with lots of different ways,
0:53:49 > 0:53:52whether it's meditation, or a long run, or a bath,
0:53:52 > 0:53:56there's lots of ways to down-regulate your frontal lobes
0:53:56 > 0:53:58temporarily and allow creative ideas to flow.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07Rex has discovered the frontal lobes play a powerful gate-keeping
0:54:07 > 0:54:10role in our creativity.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12But what's intriguing is that in the research,
0:54:12 > 0:54:19this bit of brain keeps on turning up again and again.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22It's now showing up in the work of people studying insight.
0:54:23 > 0:54:27It seems some people are naturally hypofrontal -
0:54:27 > 0:54:31their frontal lobes are a little less active, all of the time.
0:54:31 > 0:54:35People who tend to solve problems with insight have a lower
0:54:35 > 0:54:37base level of frontal lobe activity,
0:54:37 > 0:54:41in other words their frontal lobes are not controlling them,
0:54:41 > 0:54:46focusing them as much. It's more of a free for all.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49I mean, different brain activity doing all sorts
0:54:49 > 0:54:51of different things at once.
0:54:54 > 0:54:58And of course, we now know that this transient dip in frontal lobe
0:54:58 > 0:55:02activity is what helps you lose your inhibitions when you improvise.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16It's not that scientists have located the ultimate
0:55:16 > 0:55:17source of creativity.
0:55:18 > 0:55:22But it is this area of the brain with its ability to release
0:55:22 > 0:55:27your mental handcuffs that is at the forefront of current research.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42For centuries, creativity has been a subject considered
0:55:42 > 0:55:44off-limits to scientists.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50It's seemed too elusive, too subjective to be studied.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52Creativity and music, art, improvisation,
0:55:52 > 0:55:56all these things, they are magical things to experience, but I know
0:55:56 > 0:56:00that they are not magic, they happen because we have brains that function
0:56:00 > 0:56:03in a certain way that allow us to do these things, and so I want
0:56:03 > 0:56:07to make a distinction between the fact that these experiences might
0:56:07 > 0:56:10be transformative, for us they might be profound life-changing things
0:56:10 > 0:56:14we'll never forget, but that doesn't mean that they can't be explained.
0:56:19 > 0:56:20Now things are very different.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25At last we have to tools to explore it.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31This is incredibly exciting.
0:56:31 > 0:56:35Now we have the tools, we're starting to really uncover
0:56:35 > 0:56:37what creativity is, what goes on in the brain
0:56:37 > 0:56:43when people have moments of creativity, and it is just incredibly
0:56:43 > 0:56:47fascinating, the next ten, 15, 20 years are going to be amazing.
0:56:49 > 0:56:52But for all that science has revealed, we are still a long way
0:56:52 > 0:56:58from coming up with a complete understanding of creativity.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01There's lots of these theories rumbling around,
0:57:01 > 0:57:04and what we're trying to do is put together a theory of creativity,
0:57:04 > 0:57:06and how it's manifested in the brain.
0:57:06 > 0:57:08We're getting close but we're not quite there yet.
0:57:08 > 0:57:10We have all these different scientists
0:57:10 > 0:57:11that have pieces of the puzzle,
0:57:11 > 0:57:16but no-one's put it together quite yet to make a beautiful picture.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24But while we wait for that beautiful picture to emerge,
0:57:24 > 0:57:30in the meantime we can at least all become a bit more creative.
0:57:45 > 0:57:48Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd