[The World on the Page] Creative Thinking Emerges from the Collective Brain

“One genius supports the livelihood of 100,000 people. In an era of brain warfare fought with human intellect, ultimately, outstanding and creative talents determine a nation's competitiveness. In the 20th century, conveyor belts produced products, but in the 21st century, a single genius-level individual can replace the entire manufacturing process.”

This is the famous ‘Genius Theory’ of the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee. It is a valid statement. Creative thinking that discovers unexpected, new, and useful solutions propels humanity into the future. However, there are points to be cautious about. The word genius often causes two common misunderstandings.

First, people mistakenly believe that geniuses are born. Of course, our brains are not a complete blank slate at birth. Modern neuroscience and evolutionary biology reveal that humans have inherited numerous legacies, such as language abilities, through the long evolutionary process of life. However, at birth, the human brain is soft and malleable, and the human body is extremely fragile. Qualities learned and developed throughout life determine our lives far more than innate traits.

Expressions like “Our child is smart but doesn’t try hard...” are meaningless. The ability to resist immediate temptations, look ahead, and sit at a desk concentrating for long periods is itself a key requirement for good learning ability. Without passion and perseverance to endure current hardships and invest time in the future, no matter the innate talent, one cannot achieve greatness in study or sports. Angela Duckworth, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, called this power GRIT. Without teaching children sufficient positive frustration (patience), no talent will blossom.

Second, there is the misconception of the ‘lone genius.’ Influenced by the 18th-century European Romantic notion of genius, people often imagine a ‘genius in a garret.’ They picture someone pondering problems alone in solitude, suddenly shouting “Eureka!” and running naked through the streets from the bathhouse. However, just as the ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ is a falsehood, the ‘naked genius’ is also a myth. Human history teaches us that creativity?the ability to produce something new and valuable?is always the fruit of collective effort.

According to German science writer Stefan Klein’s The Amazing History of Creative Thinking, human creativity began about 3.3 million years ago in the Lomekwi region of East Africa with the making of stone tools. To make tools for specific purposes like stone tools, sharp foresight, planned thinking, and rich imagination are necessary.

However, nothing can be created by thought alone. Our cousin, the chimpanzee, sometimes uses tools. They understand natural laws and discover ways to use them creatively. But no chimpanzee plans and makes tools. The tool-making process always takes a lot of time and is unbearably tedious. While they have sufficient understanding and originality, chimpanzees lack patience. If something doesn’t work after a few tries, they immediately give up and focus on something else.

Only humans endure boredom to make planned tools, teach each other, and pass them on to children, evolving the tools. “Eureka!” moments may be important. But to realize them requires “effort and will to persist toward goals despite no clear rewards and the risk of failure.” The power to endure long periods for creation without social rewards does not arise spontaneously. Without sitting together to teach each other, discuss how to proceed, and cheer when a fine stone tool is made, no one tries to learn. Creativity is not about original ideas but is barely achieved through long social collaboration and communication.

Klein says, “Creativity unfolds not inside the head but in productive encounters with others and their thoughts.” Even if an imaginative individual comes up with a brilliant idea, that idea bears different fruit depending on “how it is communicated and exchanged with others.” Creative thinking is mainly nurtured not in solitary garrets where one agonizes alone but in the example and encouragement of parents, and further, in alleys and playgrounds where children play with friends.

Above all, no brilliant idea can be realized without the help of others and accumulated knowledge. If a woodcutter has no felled logs and a blacksmith’s saw, a carpenter’s brilliant house idea is useless. The more difficult the problem, the more the “mental extensions and appropriate materials” necessary for creative thinking?that is, culture?must be accumulated. Homo sapiens did not surpass Neanderthals in intellectual ability but succeeded in building a culture where “good ideas could continuously take root in the community,” defeating competitors.

Humans gain creativity through skillful patchwork, that is, “knowing others’ experiences embedded in existing culture, standing on that foundation, and thinking.” Humanity patched together the wheel and steam engine to create the automobile, candlelight and electricity to make the light bulb, and the grape press and movable type to invent the printing press.

No one thinks of everything from a blank slate. Humans can only take one step further in the given environment. Most creative achievements arise from meaningfully combining existing things to fit the problem. Steve Jobs defined creativity as “the power to connect things.” The iPhone was created by combining a computer and a personal digital assistant, then adding a phone. This was after 1,000 excellent engineers and designers devoted nearly seven years of their lives to the task.

Without a solid cultural background, no imagination works. Creation is the result of “imagination that surprisingly matches reality.” Good culture encourages individuals to imagine autonomously, logically selects plausible imaginations, encourages each other, and through strong collaboration endures boring and difficult times to realize them.

Inventive ideas are important. But what is truly amazing is not the idea itself but the capacity to endure tedious times together to create a transformative future. Creation is mostly proportional to the number of attempts, and well-accumulated knowledge and good collaboration reduce attempts. Organizations that think collectively are stronger than those where geniuses think alone. Organizational genius always surpasses individual genius. “Creative thinking comes from the collective brain.”