Creativity

Creativity is one of the most complex cognitive functions, and one of the main thrusts behind innovation. Creativity research is carried out in many fields, and there is still no coherent view as to whether creativity is an extraordinary event (sometimes even termed “divine spark”), or whether it can be based on day-to-day thinking. Methods to enhance creativity can be classified accordingly to randomness-based methods (that focus on increasing the number of ideas through associations and analogical thinking) and systematic approaches (that focus on quality and originality of ideas). The first, known as the “divergent-thinking” approach, is more commonly used, and is considered to be a more fluent and an easier process. The latter approach is more recent, and consists of more analytical processes. This article provides a review of both approaches.