Story Analytics

Blogathon Workspace, 10:30 AM

Sure, we all know that analytical skills are required for a business analyst (or any job or role that says “analyst” – obviously). But what about Creativity? Don’t tell me – that’s the job of the creative designer, artist, user interface designer etc.

Here we go again. The whole left-side of the brain, right-side of the brain debate. As long as we use the brain.

Anyway, this brings up the question of analytical thinking and creative thinking. In Think Better, Tim Hurson explains that creative thinking can be taught, and is just as important as critical thinking.

How often do we come up with an idea immediately to dismiss it as not doable? That’s where critical, or analytical thinking takes over and immediately dismisses our creativity to the darkest corners of the earth.

One of the reasons for trying story-writing (there are so many amazing writers in Protagonize, btw, check it out if collaborative story writing piques your interest!) is to see where I can get with creative thinking.

An example quoted by Tim Hurson involves a time during the space race and the cold war between the US and Russia (then USSR). American astronauts had a problem. They couldn’t write in space because ink didn’t flow in zero gravity. NASA then spent millions of dollars and research and invented the space pen with zero gravity ink of some sort. The Russians, it is believed, solved the same problem a bit differently. They used pencils instead.

The Americans saw the problem as “How do I write with my pen in zero gravity?”. The Russians looked at it as “How do I write in zero gravity?”.