How Logical Thinking Gets in the Way of Creativity

Throughout our lives, we've been trained to be logical. Indeed, much of our education is geared towards ensuring that we always get the right answer.

When you answer a question such as, “In what year did the United States enter WWI?” with the response “1917,” then you would be right—or, more specifically, you’d be logical. Consequently, when asked countless “right answer” questions over your educational career, your mind has been trained to think in logical terms. In a sense, you’ve been creatively “brainwashed.”

As you might imagine, an overemphasis on logical thinking can seriously inhibit our creative thinking. If something is logical, it’s accepted. One plus one equals two. That’s logical; that’s accepted.

But what if I said that one plus one equals seven? That’s not logical; consequently, it’s not accepted. When something is accepted, it achieves permanency; it becomes concrete and often immovable. It is subject to little change and no alteration. As such, it is inured against any creative possibilities.

This is not to denigrate logical thinking; quite the contrary. Employers often state that they place a high value on logical thinkers—people who use data and facts to prove a point or make a decision. Businesses, for the most part, don’t want to base their economic viability on emotional reactions or sentimental decisions. They desire employees who can use logical thinking and reasoning skills to make sound decisions—decisions based on facts, rather than feelings.

It’s All About Similarities

That logic, however, sometimes gets in the way of creativity. According to Roger von Oech, logical thinkers often focus on the differences among things, while creative thinkers look for similarities and connections between things.

For example, a logical thinker might say that a brick and a rubber band are members of two completely different sets. A creative thinker, on the other hand, might say that a brick and a rubber band have a lot in common—they are both composed of organic materials, they can both be found in a hardware store, they both have potential energy, they both can be used as projectiles, they both can be used to hold things together, they both come in a variety of colors, they both have finite lifetimes, they both have 90° edges, and so on.

Source: Wokandapix/Pixabay

Throughout our educational experiences, our teachers have focused primarily on developing our logical thinking. An over-emphasis on standardized testing, a reliance on getting the right answer, a propensity to ask a plethora of fact-based questions, a tendency to quash thinking that does not support the status quo, and a relentless fear of failure all combine to create a mental environment that is, most certainly, logical (and, quite often, predictable). In turn, we tend to see logical thinkers as intelligent thinkers (the more facts you have in your head and the myriad ways you can use those facts in everyday life equates to a higher level of intelligence).

On the other hand, we give short shrift to creative thinking throughout our education system. For example, think about how many times you were tested on your musical abilities, your artistic predilections, your decorating skills, your cooking acumen, or your storytelling talents. Not much, I would venture. If you are musically gifted, for example, how much did that talent come into play when the Admissions Department at your college was deciding on whether to admit you or not? If you were logical (and got high scores on the entrance exams) you likely stood a better chance of admission than if you could compose your own sonatas or do improvisational drum riffs like Ginger Baker (Cream) or John Bonham (Led Zeppelin).

Logic is a valuable thinking commodity and we have been trained to rely on it to solve many, if not all, of life’s challenges. However, as von Oech points out, excessive reliance on logical thinking can short-circuit our creative impulses. That’s because logical thinking is focused thinking, while creative thinking is divergent and diverse. Creative thinking asks “What if” questions; logical thinking asks, “What is” questions. Our education, experiences, and interactions with others have placed a premium on logical (adult) thinking while at the same time modulating or restricting creative (childlike) thinking.

Here’s the reality: We begin life as uninhibited children and then are educated/trained to become logical adults. Along the way, we lose our unrestrained predilections and develop practical predispositions. We begin with unlimited possibilities and wind up with barriers and bonds. We start at a place outside the “box” and are slowly pushed, shoved, and directed to a place inside the “box.” We are rigid where once we were free. What happened?

As adults, we often let our logic get in the way of our creativity.

“If someone says he has learned to think, most of us assume that he means he has learned to think logically.” —Edward de Bono