Creativity has many different aspects, but one way to measure it is through its links with risk taking. Many pieces of art and music took risks by flying in the face of the accepted norms of the day (Michelangelo’s nudes for example). So, on a scale of 1 (extremely unlikely) to 7 (extremely likely), how likely are you to take risks in the following areas of life:
Morals and ethics eg, having an affair.
Finance eg, making a large investment in a friend’s business.
Health and safety eg, having unprotected sex.
Leisure eg, going skydiving.
Social norms eg, publicly disagreeing with an authority figure.
For each of the first four areas, you have to score at least 4/7 to count as more risk taking than the average person, or 1/7 or 2/7 to count as less risk-taking. However, risk-taking in these domains does not seem to be linked to creativity. Social norms, however, do appear to be connected to creativity, and it’s also the area in which people are generally most willing to take risks (average score of 5.33). According to a study from the University of Plymouth, you would have to score 6/7 or 7/7 to count as more risk taking – and therefore more creative – than the average person. The authors suggest the link exists because creative people present their work to audiences who may well criticise, laugh at, or, worse still, ignore them. Therefore they must be prepared to take social risks in the course of their working lives.
A fully referenced version of this article is at benambridge.com. Order Are You Smarter Than a Chimpanzee? by Ben Ambridge for £11.04 at bookshop.theguardian.com
