Divergent Thinking - Are you in the top 2%?

Being able to think outside the box, having the ability to find multiple solutions to a problem. Producing original and creative approaches is divergent thinking.

Studies show that this ability decreases dramatically in children as they grow older.

George Land and Beth Jarman tested the creative abilities of 1,600 children between the ages of three and five in a long-term study.

• 98% of the children scored at the “genius” level.
• When the same children were tested again five years later, that proportion had dropped to 32%.
• Another five years later, the ability to think divergently was only 10%.

And if you think that adults relearn these skills over the course of their careers, I'll disappoint you.
Among adults, the value of leaving one's own comfort zone and thinking creatively, originally and unconventionally is only 2%!

How can that be? It's the education system and the "entertainment industry", keeping people down!

In schools, the focus is on standardized tests and uniform solutions. This tends to inhibit children's creativity, according to creativity experts like Sir Ken Robinson.

Education researchers emphasize the need to promote creative thinking in all classroom subjects. Teachers should value different ideas and solutions and develop them together with their students, instead of judging them too hastily.

In summary, studies show that the creativity given to us by our creator, in whose image we are created, is trained away through certain educational practices over the course of school.

Just two days ago, I heard from a teacher: “I don't really have the capacity. I continue to educate myself in other areas!”

Personal development begins with questioning: “What is happening right now? What am I actually doing here? Is this beneficial for me, for my development and for those for whom I am responsible?”

The studies show very clearly that teachers, despite ongoing education, are unable to think outside the box and relearn divergent thinking. How so, because in the swamp of the 98% you are more likely to stand out if you dare to be different. And the stunted self-confidence doesn't allow that.

So faithfully continued according to the motto: “Whose bread I eat, whose song I sing.”