The Little-c Creative Joy of Wordle

Okay, I admit it, I have been playing Wordle every day for a few weeks now. I'm doing pretty well; I typically get the word, although my most used number of guesses are 4 and 5. A 3-guess word is pretty rare. But I'm not here to brag.

The joy I get from doing this small puzzle every morning is not necessarily from the hit of dopamine when I solve it, or because I have the chance to paste some green boxes onto my Twitter feed. Instead, I've come to realize that Wordle is a chance for small-c creativity in a way that many other daily puzzles and internet games are not. The way in which the game is set up allows for enough flexibility and creativity as you move down the pathway towards the solution that the pleasure is not just in the solving, it's also in the doing. Want to change the beginning word each time? Sure. Like to narrow in on vowels first then consonants? Yup. Want to throw in a random word just to work through letters, even if it doesn't use previously green squares? Totally allowed.

Wait, you may ask, isn't creativity about making art and solving big problems? Yes, at one level. But the prevailing theory of creativity in the field is the 4 level, or 4-c theory of creativity. Originally developed by James Kaufman and Ron Beghetto, this theory proposes that creativity occurs at four levels, defined by who the creativity influences, the level of expertise you need to engage in such creativity, whether you get paid and studied in the future, and how much previous knowledge is needed before you can be creative at that level. "Mini-c" creativity is about personal learning, and really only affects the person who is learning. "Little-c" creativity is also everyday creativity, making a drawing, a meal, or singing a song at home. Maybe you show some friends, or your social media feed, but you're not getting paid or changing your community through your creative act. "Pro-c" creativity is when you get paid for such acts, such as selling small scale drawings at a farmer's market, or working as a professional chef at a neighborhood bistro. Then, Big C. This is the one we all think about—Frida Khalo, Steven Speilberg, Twyla Tharp. Creativity that changes the domain, the world, that everyone hears about, and that shifts mindsets.

I would argue Wordle falls somewhere between mini-c creativity, where you're solving a small process in a variety of ways, and little-c creativity, where you're exercising a variety of ways to solve the problem, but that you can share and teach other people how to do so. It's not just learning, because of the variety of pathways to get to the right answer. This is what also makes it creative above and beyond other word games such as spelling bee, sudoku, or a crossword, where there are not many paths to get to the answer.

Mark Hirsh in the Boston Globe points out the process of Wordle as a creative process that is "nonspontaneous and restricted." And while he contrasts this with free jazz or improv, it's not the case that those creative acts are free of restrictions themselves. The restrictions of jazz and improvisational comedy are more difficult to learn and require more expertise, they live in the realm of pro-C work, where the creativity is at the level where you might get paid, or perform for a larger audience. But art-making (Hirsh likens it even to the Beatle's "Get Back") is a process of creating and solving small problems for yourself. Wordle sets the problem for you, but you solve it. In art, you set the problem for yourself: How do I write a song about longing? How do I create a painting about nuclear war? And then the solution often becomes obvious.

Back to Wordle levels, importantly for the practice of little-c or "everyday" creativity is that it is pleasurable. It can lead to flow, the feeling that you've lost track of time because you've been both challenged and rewarded. It can help build well-being and a sense of thriving, according to Paul Silvia and colleagues. And everyday creativity is often exciting and motivating, as well as allowing for emotion regulation and coping with the small stresses of life, according to Mathias Benedek and colleagues.

All of these findings point to the reason why Wordle has become the most-posted item on my social media feeds, with people congratulating each other or subtly complaining about the difficulties on the day: it provides a small bit of enjoyable and motivating flow. These findings from the psychology literature also point to the need for and positive outcomes of searching for moments of creativity that are personally engaging and feel good to you, as an individual. It can help well-being.

Enjoy your "guilty" pleasure of Wordle and don't feel guilty about it. And, think about how and where you might be able to pull other kinds of small creative achievements and engagements into your day.