Is nonconformity, or “staying weird” a prerequisite for creativity*? Does breaking away from tradition constitute a creative act? If so, are there other forms of creativity that lean into tradition rather than opposing it?
Each individual negotiates between conflicting norms and beliefs they deal with as members of a variety of communities. These communities can be cultural, communities of practice, organizational cultures, physical/geographic communities, knowledge communities – the possible number and variety are almost infinite. Therefore each individual is capable of adapting to a new communal system. What if creativity meant each individual was capable of both creating a new community and adapting to that community’s new set of norms beliefs and values at the same time? Rather than simply rejecting traditions or “accepted wisdom” what if creativity looked to those things as sources of problem-solving and synthesis of a new/old thing? Isn’t that what is needed as we face challenging situations that past practices aren’t capable of handling?
I am asking this question, thanks to this informative article on the history of the concept of “creativity” the creativity movement in the U.S. https://aeon.co/essays/how-did-creativity-become-an-engine-of-economic-growth