Einstein On Creativity

Here's a collection of  Albert Einstein quotes on creativity and imagination. Some merely exalt imagination's importance, but there is also good advice. My favorite is the idea that the question you ask is more important than the answer.

If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.

We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.

Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.

The mere formulation of a problem is far more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skills. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle requires creative imagination and marks real advances in science.

Comments

[Rob Jacobs]

What a great collection of quotes. We would all do well to keep those posted on our desks our in our planners. I would love to start out a meeting by reviewing those quotes with team members.

[David Wahl]

I agree. I'm lucky enough to work with people that are both willing to fail and explore.

Thanks for the link!

[Mary Jaksch]

I especially like 'If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it'.
That thought is so important in the creative process.

I've just posted an article 'what makes us creative?' on my website. I pointed out why creating and editing are two opposing brain functions.

Einsteins saying reflects this. If we let the editor loose too early, we stifle creativity. After all, mistakes are the seedbed of creativity.