Why We Art is about creativity, education, critical thinking and how The Arts can help. Paying attention to detail and developing concentration through artistic study builds a mindset and framework that overflows into all aspects of our lives.
We have lost our attention spans, our ability to focus, our moral compass, and worst of all, we have lost our understanding of critical thinking.
The digital onslaught of information in our society can be overwhelming. Many techniques are available for spreading misinformation – red herrings, bluffs, false flags, misdirection, lies of omission, etc. – and today’s fake news organizations use these in not-so-subtle ways to push forward their agendas. Much of it is obviously bogus and identifiable with minimum effort.
But it is the not-so-obvious misdirections lying well below the surface that could be the most devious and most disruptive. Many of these are typically not on the critical-thinking radar. They exist as established societal norms that are rarely questioned yet justify unfair and biased behaviour in everything.
Media distractions can either 1) shift focus away from reality or 2) provide underlying support for a cause or behaviour. Fake news in today’s world has become the perfect tool for audience distraction. In Johann Hari’s book, Stolen Focus, he discusses the internet as a marketing machine designed to control and direct every moment of our screen time for someone else’s benefit, mostly for monetary gain but more insidiously for influencing outcomes.
As Hari suggests, resistance is futile. The internet is driven by thousands and thousands of the world’s best programmers whose sole mission is to deprive you of choice. Every click-bait is designed to pull you into the next click-bait giving the illusion that you are making your own decision for the next pageview. You are not. You are being led to where the programmers want you to be. Online manipulation is a proven science and we are at their mercy. In hunting for a good will moment, we must realize that our inability to focus is not our fault. We are but pawns.
The Arts are discussed here as a moving-forward solution to our diminishing powers of concentration. Through artistic study, we develop, in simple terms, a “big picture” approach to analysis and problem solving.
The education system today promotes the development of critical thinking. This includes not only self-examination but also the ability to question the sources, timelines, perspectives and motives of everything encountered. Skepticism is healthy in the pursuit of truth. As well, an awareness of conditions such as confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance helps guard against misinformation. Confirmation bias is the natural tendency to see more often things you agree with versus things you do not. Cognitive dissonance is the natural tendency to disregard and avoid processing things that do not fit within your worldview or opinion.
STEM is an acronym (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) discussed in education policy and curricula to address and stimulate a sector of education that, in 2001, was perceived to have been in decline for decades. Its importance has dwindled over the years as institutions that followed the President Bush-driven agenda have failed on all counts to improve education in any way. The tragedy, of course, was the decimation of study in the humanities; the arts became a casualty in the rush to technology.
Studying the arts – literature, music, visual arts, pottery, etc. – introduces subjectivity (not just objectivity), abductive reasoning (not just deductive reasoning), and integrative thinking (not just linear thinking), and it is these qualities that provide the needed creative foundation for everyone, including engineers, to succeed.
Subjectivity is rooted in individual perspectives, emotions, feelings, and opinions, which can vary from person to person. Objectivity, on the other hand, is based on verifiable facts, research, and data, independent of personal biases, making it essential for scientific, technical and neutral reporting. Objectivity discourages out-of-the-box thinking thereby restricting creative potential.
Abductive reasoning is often referred to as our gut-feeling and is typically based on general information acquired over time through life experience. Although the potential is huge for abductive reasoning to be clouded with emotion and misinformation, it is still effective as a starting point to form creative hypotheses for further examination. Many ideas derived through abductive reasoning that may begin as whimsical or tangential become practical over time. Deductive reasoning begins with a hypothesis and through analysis and exploration, attempts to arrive at a logical conclusion justifying the hypothesis. Scientific method is based on it. But conclusions arrived at through deductive reasoning can only be as valid as the premises upon which they are built.
The integrative thinking methodology, inherent in artistic study, provides an infrastructure that fosters the creative and analytical thought processes required in all aspects of life. It scaffolds a framework that rises above the limitations of an “A or B” (either/or) solution to seek new and creative solutions that accommodate both A and B. It promotes a broader awareness of possibilities. Linear thinking, on the other hand, is based on a logical sequence of thought processes, which tends to discourage the freedom to explore tangential options.
Integrative Thinking theory was developed by Graham Douglas in 1986. Douglas describes it as “the process of integrating intuition, reason and imagination in a human mind with a view to developing a holistic continuum of strategy, tactics, action, review and evaluation for addressing a problem in any field.”
Roger L. Martin is a prominent writer, strategy advisor, and Professor Emeritus at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Martin’s 2007 book The Opposable Mind builds on Douglas’s theory to define and build a practical creative process that relies on salience, which is the ability to identify and prioritize the most vital variables in a problem while ignoring extraneous noise.
As an analogy to the salience component of the integrative process, imagine flying from Calgary, Alberta, to Vancouver, British Columbia. On a rainy day, it might be possible to see only a few of the Rocky Mountain peaks throughout the entire flight. And on a clear day, the entire range may become visible right down to the valleys and rivers of the rugged landscape. But on a cloudy day, the primary mountain tops are still visible but many mini-peaks appear as well. It is this filtered information, these new and smaller mountain tops, that Martin would refer to as “salient points”.
The secondary peaks might display characteristics that make them unique amongst their peers, such as being snow-covered, having trees or grass, or being pointed, rolling, wide or narrow, etc. Combinations of these salient points could then make a correlative connection with one or more of the primary-peaks. Applying minor and seemingly-insignificant associations to obvious and seemingly-unrelated characteristics opens a broader world of options and possibilities for big-picture solutions.
Linking several mini-peaks together can create arguments that could support one or more of the primary peaks. Possible solutions are presented that include not just A or B, but options that could include A, B, C, D and E that become viable through a variety of mini-peak connections.
Martin also makes an excellent case for the use of abductive reasoning (“gut feeling”) as opposed to relying solely on inductive and deductive reasoning to arrive at decisions. Because of its flexibility and untethered freedom from limitation, abductive reasoning can be used as a starting and finishing point in the creative process.
Martin distinguishes between integrative thinkers versus conventional thinkers and suggests that we can train ourselves to dig deeply and creatively for more comprehensive solutions. With increased exposure to the discovery process, he believes we develop a “habit of thought” that becomes our natural method for decision-making in all aspects of our lives. Integrative thinking is a skill that develops over time with repeated practice.
The Arts encourage the repeated application of subjective, abductive and integrative thinking. Stimulating these attributes repetitively on a regular basis engrains the process as standard. It is in this way that study in the arts improves the potential success of study not only in the sciences, but in all aspects of life. Put another way, how do you get to where you want to be? Practice, practice, practice.
Study in The Arts is not about finding answers. It is about discovery. It is about building critical thinking skills through subjective, abductive and integrative out-of-the-box thinking.
Meditation is a gateway to critical thinking. By clearing one’s mind of debris, a clean slate is presented that promotes creativity without limitation or baggage. “White. A blank page or canvas. So many possibilities.“, were the prophetic words written by Stephen Sondheim in his 1984 musical Sunday in the Park with George. Spoken by pointillist artist Georges Seurat as he stares at his easel, he is expressing the joy of calm and rational thought without distraction.
One of the objectives of meditation is to slow mental activity to let the subconscious mind bubble up without judgement or control. Many individuals express their desire to “stop the noise” or “clear their thoughts.” Many explore meditation to “improve their focus” or “help them concentrate.” The quest for “inner peace and tranquillity” is common and many attach religious overtones to the process, which, while important, is not a requirement for meditative success.
Technology has dramatically limited our capacity for reflective examination. Social media platforms encourage spontaneous emotional reactions and the few seconds typically allotted between receipt and response leave little time for sober second-thought or moral consideration. It is a challenge to maintain composure, and the current social and political arenas of hatred, narcissism, selfishness and bullying tend to inspire knee-jerk retributions.
Critical thinking is somewhat of an art form. It requires diligence, patience, commitment, integrity and a desire for truth. Studying The Arts gets you out of the box and into a world of possibilities.
Critical thinking is a discipline that can be learned.
Clarity of thought requires a healthy mind. Studies in addiction and mental health have shown that developing social connections through community involvement, especially in music-making ensembles, such as choirs, can have a profound effect on physical and mental well-being.
Anecdotal stories regarding the success of music for improving health abound, and many are supported with scientific studies. Some of the researched benefits and attributes of singing in a choir include the following:
rhythmicity (auditory and motor neuron connectivity)
synchronicity (group breathing and heart rates)
stress relief (cortisol decrease)
physical therapy (abdominal and facial exercise)
creativity (improvisational expression)
depression management (serotonin increase)
communal participation (primal needs of engagement)
“happiness” (increases in both oxytocin and dopamine).
Participating in The Arts, a forum that implicitly features non-invasive, non-chemical, community-based and artistically-driven mental health solutions, can improve the quality of our lives.