Is creativity under attack?

What are the consequences for independent thought?

In 2020 the British government released a photograph of a ballet dancer with the caption “Fatima's next job could be in cyber (she just doesn't know it yet)” followed by the slogan “Rethink. Reboot. Reskill.” This image seemed to clarify the intention of the state to drive those working in the arts into more prosaic occupations. Lockdowns could not have been designed much better to do so. Where, in the UK, company employees received furlough that paid 80% of their wages, the self-employed (including many artists) received 80% of their profits. The self-employed were asked to cover all their professional and personal expenses with less than their often meagre profits. Those arts courses that did not fold moved unsatisfactorily on-line along with choirs and even discos.

It is clear that totalitarianism does not favour independent thought. George Bush made this clear when he stated, “You are either with us or you are with the terrorists.”

David Cameron referred to those who questioned government narratives as “non-violent extremists,” conflating them with terrorists. More recently London mayor Sadiq Khan labeled anti-ULEZ demonstrators as extreme when he denounced them as “far right.”

The desire to eradicate independent thought was elucidated by WEF spokesman Yuval Noah Harari when he spoke of a “new era in which humans are now hackable animals...(and) the whole idea that humans have ...this soul or spirit and they have free will ... that's over.”

In a previous article I questioned whether the general public’s failure to recognise the authoritarian agenda could be related to a failure to cultivate creativity and imagination due to narrow parameters of education and passive entertainment.

Is there a link between creative pursuits and independent thought?

In the 1970s psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi identified what he termed the flow state.

“The founding researchers of flow were originally studying creativity. They noticed that when painting was going well for artists, the painters developed a deep focus, persisting in their work. They would even ignore hunger and overcome fatigue to continue to paint. This experience, now understood as a flow state, is when we are completely focused, so much so that we might forget to eat or use the bathroom. Thoughts, feelings, wishes, and actions are all aligned.” 

But why would this be a challenge to authoritarianism?

Investigation into the flow state found that it produced a number of benefits.

“With increased flow, people experience growth toward emotional complexity. This can help people develop skills that allow them to regulate their emotions more effectively.”

This would be unhelpful for a state and media that uses emotions to manipulate people.

“People in a flow state enjoy what they are doing more... Research also suggests that flow states may be linked to increased levels of happiness, satisfaction, and self-actualization.”

Happiness and self-actualization are not helpful to a state that relies upon fear and subjugation to maintain control.

“Because flow is a positive mental state, it can help increase motivation. Intrinsic motivation involves doing things for internal rewards (how they make you feel) vs. external rewards (such as prizes or payment).”

Those who value internal rewards are more resistant to the influence of external inducements and pressures.

Researchers have found that flow can enhance performance in a wide variety of areas including teaching, learning, athletics, and artistic creativity.

The more competent a person becomes the more their confidence grows -making them more formidable adversaries for an oppressor.

Because the act of achieving flow indicates a substantial mastery of a certain skill, people have to keep seeking new challenges and information in order to maintain this state.

Flow states often take place during creative tasks, which can help inspire greater creative and artistic pursuits.

The more skilled and creative a person becomes the more capable they are at communicating and solving problems.

To attain the flow state a task has to be intrinsically rewarding or ‘autotelic’ (from the Greek: auto=self, telos=goal). It must be challenging and require complete focus, but still be attainable. The activity must provide immediate feedback and allow for personal control over the situation and the outcome.

“Generally non-academic courses such as vocational courses, computer science and art have the highest levels of flow. In academic subjects mathematics had the highest levels, whilst subjects such as English and science have much lower levels of flow.”

The flow state demands a balance between skill and challenge. This necessitates the development of a skill and the opportunity to apply it. Unchallenging occupations and passive temptations divert us from the experience.

Flow may be a state of ultimate enjoyment, but it requires effort and work, at least to begin with. The pleasures do not, they are passive. It’s far too easy to switch the TV on, and it is the effortlessness that ‘sells’ this mildly pleasurable activity to us.

Where the flow state is facilitated by modern technology the activity is not necessarily morally positive -such as online gambling.

Cell phone interruptions and the ubiquity of video and audio recordings deny people access to the flow state.

“According to psychologists, every time you get interrupted from a task you’re focused on, it takes you twenty-three minutes to reattain that level of focus.

On average, a college student can only stay focused on a single task for sixty-five seconds. A fully-grown adult does just marginally better, clocking in at three minutes per task.”

As the simultaneous use of two screens has become commonplace,

“Neuroscientific studies have shown that people who multitask frequently have lower density of gray matter in the part of their brain that is involved in decision-making, learning, and cognitive control.”

In contrast,

“the current literature provides much evidence to suggest that engaging in activities that produce flow offers many beneficial outcomes for the adolescent population, including increased concentration, happiness, strength, motivation, self esteem, optimism, future mindedness, cheerfulness, friendliness, sociability, intrinsic motivation, enjoyment, interest in family communication, control, positive experiences, commitment to education and academic achievement.”

This seems to be the opposite of what was achieved by lockdown and to the desires of an authoritarian regime.

Csikszentmihalyi spoke of an autotelic personality – a person who ‘generally does things for their own sake rather than in order to achieve some later external goal’. These people develop skills that help them get into the flow state frequently, skills like curiosity, interest in life, persistence and low self-centredness.

As has been said 'No society wants you to become wise… If people are wise they cannot be exploited.'

This is the second in a series of related articles

The first is Non-Player Characters

The second is: Is Creativity Under Attack?

The third is: What Stops People Thinking?