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From a creativity and flow perspective, this is truly fascinating.

Writer's picture: CultivateEdCultivateEd



At CultivateEd, we're endlessly focused on the concept of flow and how creativity works. The notion that the act of scientists and mathematicians using the blackboard and chalk - while seemingly so analog these days - is a remarkable example of how to strip back your actions to a simple act of writing out your thoughts.


From Zenou and Hodgkinson: "Physics is a process of getting stuck,” explains the London Institute’s director, Thomas Fink. “Blackboards are the best tool for getting unstuck. You do most of your calculations on paper. Then, when you reach a dead end, you go to the blackboard and share the problem with a colleague. But here’s the funny thing. You often solve the problem yourself in the process of writing it out.'


To understand why, we talk to Albert Read, author of The Imagination Muscle. He argues that imagination is intertwined with acts of creation, of which writing is an example. “You don’t imagine something first and then write it down. It’s through the act of writing that ideas make themselves known.” Scientists at blackboards have “thoughts that wouldn’t come if they just stood there, with their arms folded. Blackboards are the best tool for getting unstuck.

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