8 wireless ways to stay connected with faraway family

<img alt="Ily" height="359" src="http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzExLzAzLzc4L2lseS4xOTEyOS5qcGcKcAl0aHVtYgk5NTB4NTM0IwplCWpwZw/e6efac8c/5e9/ily.jpg" width="640" /><br /> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Long gone are the days of having to go through operators and scratchy audio connections when calling faraway places. The calls to Seoul from my childhood were a mix of butchered Korean, inaudible English and raised voices to merely glean half of what the other person was saying.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> It is amazing how far technology has come. Now calls to Seoul, or anywhere else in the world, can take place with a single tap on a screen. (I am still baffled as to how you can FaceTime with someone on the other side of the world.</div> <div class="see-also" style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22.5px; text-transform: uppercase;"> <div class="inline-ad-seealso" style="margin: 0px 18.75px 0px auto; max-width: 625px;"> </div> </div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Of course, there are plenty of video chat services and free international apps that make this possible, but every day, a new technology comes onto the market to make those connections richer, more meaningful and more frequent.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22.5px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.75em;"> Here are a few of the newest gadgets for keeping those family connections strong:</div> <section class="gallery list" style="background-color: white; border-color: rgb(246, 245, 242); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px; clear: left; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22.5px; padding: 10px 0px;"><div class="content"> <ul class="slides" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <li class="slide" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 30px; padding-bottom: 30px;"><figure style="margin: 0px;"><img alt="Bloom" src="http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzExLzAyLzQxL2Jsb29tLjNjOGRkLnBuZwpwCXRodW1iCTg1MHg4NTA-CmUJanBn/258aec7f/652/bloom.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 625px;" /></figure><div class="meta"> <h2 class="title" style="clear: left; color: black; line-height: 1.27; margin: 12px 0px 2px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <strong><span style="font-size: small;">1. <a href="https://bloomcloser.com/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">bloom</a></span></strong></h2> <div class="caption" style="color: #8a8c8e; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px;"> Designed specifically with elderly parents in mind, bloom is part screen, part band and part app for staying connected to aging parents. The bloomview screen is housed at your parent’s house and the bloomband is worn by your parent. The screen senses when the band is nearby and any photos or messages you have uploaded through your app instantly pop up on screen. There are no confusing buttons to fuss with and it’s great for parents who don’t own mobile devices. The wearable also doubles as an activity tracker and medical alert system to keep track of your elder’s health and safety. ($249, shipping soon)</div> <div class="credit" style="color: #aaaaaa; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; text-transform: uppercase;"> IMAGE: <a href="https://bloomcloser.com/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">BLOOM</a></div> </div> </li> <li class="slide" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 30px; padding-bottom: 30px;"><figure style="margin: 0px;"><img alt="Logi_circle_on_table" src="http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzExLzAyLzM5L2xvZ2lfY2lyY2xlLmM2YmJmLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTg1MHg4NTA-CmUJanBn/ca478be4/405/logi_circle_on_table.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 625px;" /></figure><div class="meta"> <h2 class="title" style="clear: left; color: black; line-height: 1.27; margin: 12px 0px 2px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <strong><span style="font-size: small;">2. <a href="http://www.logitech.com/product/circle?wt.ac_id=global_circle_102015" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">Logi Circle</a></span></strong></h2> <div class="caption" style="color: #8a8c8e; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px;"> Whether you want a peek into a family member’s house or just keep track of what’s going on in your own, you can set up the new Logi Circle camera for a bird’s eye view, no matter where you are. Live HD video and two-way talk using the iOS or Android app, guarantees instant contact when necessary. Plus, you can set alerts for certain activity. As we mentioned in our previous coverage, the camera’s Day Brief feature is a cool way to see 24 hours’ worth of activity, condensed into seven seconds. ($199)</div> <div class="credit" style="color: #aaaaaa; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; text-transform: uppercase;"> IMAGE: <a href="http://www.logitech.com/product/circle?wt.ac_id=global_circle_102015" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">LOGI CIRCLE</a></div> </div> </li> <li class="slide" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 30px; padding-bottom: 30px;"><figure style="margin: 0px;"><img alt="Everystory" src="http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzExLzAyLzU0L2V2ZXJ5c3RvcnkuNzZhMjkucG5nCnAJdGh1bWIJODUweDg1MD4KZQlqcGc/f3a7490e/d06/everystory.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 625px;" /></figure><div class="meta"> <h2 class="title" style="clear: left; color: black; line-height: 1.27; margin: 12px 0px 2px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <strong><span style="font-size: small;">3. <a href="http://everystory.us/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">everyStory</a></span></strong></h2> <div class="caption" style="color: #8a8c8e; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px;"> A large part of staying connected to family is knowing where your family members came from and understanding more of their life experiences. everyStory is an app that lets anyone record personal color commentary to a photo, whether it’s an old family portrait or a birthday party shot from thirty years ago. Of course, it’s up to you to digitize those old family photos, but once you do, it’s possible to have a storied narrative attached to each one. (Free, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/everystory-give-your-photos/id990148261?mt=8" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">iOS</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=us.everystory.android.everystory" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">Android</a>)</div> <div class="credit" style="color: #aaaaaa; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; text-transform: uppercase;"> IMAGE: <a href="http://everystory.us/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">EVERYSTORY</a></div> </div> </li> <li class="slide" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 30px; padding-bottom: 30px;"><figure style="margin: 0px;"><img alt="Skylight-photos" src="http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzExLzAyLzFkL3NreWxpZ2h0cGhvLjljZmU4LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTg1MHg4NTA-CmUJanBn/260937d5/177/skylight-photos.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 625px;" /></figure><div class="meta"> <h2 class="title" style="clear: left; color: black; line-height: 1.27; margin: 12px 0px 2px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <strong><span style="font-size: small;">4. <a href="http://skylightframe.strikingly.com/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">Skylight Frame</a></span></strong></h2> <div class="caption" style="color: #8a8c8e; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px;"> For family members who are always begging for photos, the Skylight Frame is a perfect way to keep them satisfied. Using a home Wi-Fi network, you can simply email any photos to the dedicated email for your particular frame (yourname@ourskylight.com) and the images magically appear, regardless of where you are and where the frame is. Skylight features a 7-inch display and can hold approximately 1,000 photos. There’s also touchscreen capabilities on the screen, allowing users to browse photos or freeze on a favorite. ($109)</div> <div class="credit" style="color: #aaaaaa; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; text-transform: uppercase;"> IMAGE: <a href="http://skylightframe.strikingly.com/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">SKYLIGHT FRAME</a></div> </div> </li> <li class="slide" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 30px; padding-bottom: 30px;"><figure style="margin: 0px;"><img alt="Egg_white" src="http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzExLzAyLzczL2VnZ193aGl0ZS42MzRmYi5wbmcKcAl0aHVtYgk4NTB4ODUwPgplCWpwZw/8fda1e38/443/egg_white.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 625px;" /></figure><div class="meta"> <h2 class="title" style="clear: left; color: black; line-height: 1.27; margin: 12px 0px 2px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <strong><span style="font-size: small;">5. <a href="http://www.eggcyte.com/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">The Egg</a></span></strong></h2> <div class="caption" style="color: #8a8c8e; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px;"> The dreaded pop-up alerting us to dwindling storage is a real nuisance. This is where The Egg wants to help. Dubbed as a “personal cloud device,” Egg does everything from store data, import images from many devices (camera, phone, GoPro, etc.) and even serve as a Wi-Fi access point. The Egg offers up to 256GB of storage and works with iOS and Android apps to access and transfer content. Those long videos to Aunt Sue from your Hawaii vacation can now be stored and sent directly from The Egg when your mobile device runs out of space. (Starting at $169 for 64GB; shipping in November)</div> <div class="credit" style="color: #aaaaaa; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; text-transform: uppercase;"> IMAGE: <a href="http://www.eggcyte.com/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">THE EGG</a></div> </div> </li> <li class="slide" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 30px; padding-bottom: 30px;"><figure style="margin: 0px;"><img alt="Bevy" src="http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzExLzAyLzk0L2JldnkuZjNkNmUuanBnCnAJdGh1bWIJODUweDg1MD4KZQlqcGc/16360c07/4fe/bevy.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 625px;" /></figure><div class="meta"> <h2 class="title" style="clear: left; color: black; line-height: 1.27; margin: 12px 0px 2px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <strong><span style="font-size: small;">6. <a href="http://bevy.us/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">Bevy</a></span></strong></h2> <div class="caption" style="color: #8a8c8e; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px;"> Speaking of photo sharing, <a href="http://mashable.com/2015/02/18/lineagelabs-bevy-photo-management/#0c7O0KRbFZqR" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">Bevy</a> is a new device that lets family members save and preserve memories in one location, wherever they are in the world. The person who has the actual Bevy unit in the home can grant access to any family members who want to upload photos, see new photos from other family members and create albums and favorites, all from an app. It’s a great way for everyone to stay connected, plus the 1TB model holds approximately 400,000 photos. That’s a lot of memories. (1TB, $299; 2TB, $349)</div> <div class="credit" style="color: #aaaaaa; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; text-transform: uppercase;"> IMAGE: <a href="http://bevy.us/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">BEVY</a></div> </div> </li> <li class="slide" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 30px; padding-bottom: 30px;"><figure style="margin: 0px;"><img alt="Ily" src="http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzExLzAyLzc4L2lseS44OTgxNi5wbmcKcAl0aHVtYgk4NTB4ODUwPgplCWpwZw/aab6efa2/2bc/ily.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 625px;" /></figure><div class="meta"> <h2 class="title" style="clear: left; color: black; line-height: 1.27; margin: 12px 0px 2px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <strong><span style="font-size: small;">7. <a href="https://www.ily.co/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">ILY</a></span></strong></h2> <div class="caption" style="color: #8a8c8e; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px;"> Aiming to be the new family phone, the ILY (pronounced ill-ee) is geared towards family members of all ages who don’t want to be reliant on a smartphone to communicate. This Wi-Fi enabled video phone is an alternative to parents who don’t have mobile devices, but want the benefits of video calls. You can connect via the ILY app (or an ILY phone in your own house) and send drawings or messages to let Grandma know that the kids miss her. ($299, no monthly fees; shipping in early 2016)</div> <div class="credit" style="color: #aaaaaa; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; text-transform: uppercase;"> IMAGE: <a href="https://www.ily.co/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">ILY</a></div> </div> </li> <li class="slide" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 30px; padding-bottom: 0px;"><figure style="margin: 0px;"><img alt="Far-far-away" src="http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzExLzAyLzUxL2ZhcmZhcmF3YXkuOTU5NGUucG5nCnAJdGh1bWIJODUweDg1MD4KZQlqcGc/be7d12e7/f25/far-far-away.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 625px;" /></figure><div class="meta"> <h2 class="title" style="clear: left; color: black; line-height: 1.27; margin: 12px 0px 2px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <strong><span style="font-size: small;">8. <a href="http://farfarawayapp.com/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">Far Far Away</a></span></strong></h2> <div class="caption" style="color: #8a8c8e; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px;"> For parents who frequently travel or family members who don’t live close by, Far Far Away lets them participate in one of the most treasured times of day — story time. Both parties need to have an iPad, but using the app’s technology, two parties from across the world can connect on the app, choose a story and read it together. (Free, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/far-far-away-one-family.-connected./id910158336?mt=8" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;">iOS</a>)</div> <div class="credit" style="color: #aaaaaa; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; text-transform: uppercase;"> IMAGE: <a href="http://farfarawayapp.com/" style="color: #00aeef; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">FAR FAR AWAY</a></div> </div> </li> <li class="slide" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 30px; padding-bottom: 0px;"><div class="credit" style="color: #aaaaaa; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; text-transform: uppercase;"> <em style="color: #555555; line-height: 22.5px;">Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.</em></div> </li> </ul> </div> </section>

8 wireless ways to stay connected with faraway family

Long gone are the days of having to go through operators and scratchy audio connections when calling faraway places. The calls to Seoul f...

Read more »

3 Easy Ways to Exercise Your Brain’s Creativity

<figure class="post-thumbnail" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><img alt="getty_453048049_970647970450036_62641" class="attachment-larg wp-post-image disappear appear" height="450" src="http://goldenzine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/getty_453048049_970647970450036_62641.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out; vertical-align: middle;" width="970" /></figure><div class="entry-content-data " style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; float: left; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-right: 20px; position: relative; width: 164px; z-index: 10;"> </div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD7" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static; text-decoration: underline !important;">I met</span> Balder Onarheim earlier this summer during a trip to <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD8" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static; text-decoration: underline !important;">Copenhagen</span>. We found some simpatico based on our mutual interests in helping organizations optimize creativity.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> <span style="font-weight: 700 !important;">Balder, please explain your background and what the Copenhagen Institute of Neurocreativity is.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> I’m actually trained as an officer in the Norwegian army, but later I took a master<span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD3" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static; text-decoration: underline !important;">degree</span> in industrial design (at <a href="https://aho.no/en" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #d8bc31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">aho.no</a>) and then a <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD11" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static; text-decoration: underline !important;">PhD</span> on creativity. Most of my career I’ve worked with <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD1" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static; text-decoration: underline !important;">medical equipment</span> design and enhancing creativity–in organizations, projects and ultimately in <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD10" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static; text-decoration: underline !important;">individuals</span>. <a href="http://www.neurocreativity.dk/" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #d8bc31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">The Copenhagen Institute of Neurocreativity, or just CINC as we like to call it</a>, is an institute I founded together with a neurobiologist, <a href="http://www.neurocreativity.dk/#!about-us/cee5" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #d8bc31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">Morten Friis-Olivarius</a> who happens to have a PhD on creativity and is very interested in enhancing creativity in individuals. It is a privately owned cross-institutional institute devoted to rigorous <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD12" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static; text-decoration: underline !important;">scientific study</span> of the neurobiology of creativity, and to disseminate this knowledge to individuals and organisations.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> <span style="font-weight: 700 !important;">So, how does it all work?</span><span style="font-weight: 700 !important;">Why did you start CINC and what is its mission?</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> Whoa, that’s a long story! It all started with Morten Friis-Olivarius, the fore-mentioned neurobiologist, and myself catching an interest in how to do applied neurocreativity, based on his work on the neurobiology of creativity. We then designed a creativity training program for individuals, which we tested at different universities around the world for some years. This resulted in <a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00656/full" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #d8bc31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">a study</a> published in<a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/journal/human-neuroscience" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #d8bc31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">Frontiers in Human Neuroscience</a>.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> This generated a lot of positive feedback, both locally and internationally, and since we felt that the type of research and dissemination we wanted to do in relation to neurocreativity didn’t really fit in any of the existing institutions we were working for at the time, we decided to start our own place.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> The institute works as an umbrella for for various researchers and consultants engaged with the neuroscience of creativity, and both for doing research projects together and for working with private clients. The funding for the institute currently comes from our consulting work.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> <span style="font-weight: 700 !important;">What are key ways that people can practice optimizing their creativity?</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> The most important thing we can do as individuals is to challenge our (physically) established thought patterns. Our brain has a very logical way of working, and that is very helpful most of the time, but we also get lazy in terms of challenging this local way of reasoning. We can fight this <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD9" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static; text-decoration: underline !important;">laziness</span> in two different ways, either by working on actual creative problem solving or by simply training our ability to reach ‘random’ associations. I give these 3 specific examples in my<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-YScywp6AU" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #d8bc31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">TEDx talk</a>:<br />1- <span style="font-weight: 700 !important;">Constant Practice!</span> For example, over the next 2 weeks when brushing your teeth, think of as many random words as possible associated with <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD6" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static; text-decoration: underline !important;">the toothbrush</span>. How random were the words? At first it may feel challenging to do this, but over time you’ll get better at it.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> 2- <span style="font-weight: 700 !important;">Sleep On It</span> Think of a problem before you go to sleep- but don’t try to solve it! Just fall asleep. Chances are you will dream–and when you awake write down all that you remember, no matter how far fetched the ideas seem. You may have dreamt of an idea that can assist in your problem solving.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> 3- <span style="font-weight: 700 !important;">Random Prompts</span> Many people do not realize that Wikipedia has a “random article” tab on the far left side. Let’s say you look up “trees”, and when you click on the “random article” tab an article on “MV Dittisham Princess” pops up. See what sorts of associations you can make between trees and this passenger vessel!</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> <span style="font-weight: 700 !important;">Nice! Why is it important that companies, as well as individuals, begin to integrate creativity in a more robust way into their operations and culture?</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> It is widely accepted that most companies are dependent on continuous innovation to survive, and creativity lies at the core of being innovative. And while there are a lot of ways to enhance creativity in an organization with the purpose of increasing the chance for innovation, we find it most rational to start with the individuals in the organization. You can have creativity without innovation, but you can’t have innovation without creativity. And you can have a creative employee in an uncreative organization (at least for some time), but you most definitely can’t have a creative organization without creative employees!</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> <span style="font-weight: 700 !important;">Really interesting distinction!</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> <span style="font-weight: 700 !important;">How is CINC’s value proposition distinctive from other companies we see focused on creativity?</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> Very simple–we offer creativity training based on actually <em>explaining</em> what creativity is, based on our own, and other researchers’, scientific (not pseudoscientific) studies of creativity! The explanatory model we use is based on a neuropsychological and neurobiological understanding of creativity, and to our knowledge there are no other companies in the world doing the same.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> The academic <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD5" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static; text-decoration: underline !important;">literature</span> acknowledges that a sound understanding of creativity is at the core of successful creativity training. We see a lot of other companies offering creativity courses and consultancy solely based on personal experience or basic assumptions such as ‘<span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD4" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static; text-decoration: underline !important;">painting</span> expressive art will release your creativity’. Our goal is not to prove that painting is not an effective way to train creativity, but as scientists we have to base our work on what we know. There are a few other companies globally offering more scientifically based creativity training, but not based on neurocreativity.</div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> <span style="font-weight: 700 !important;">Cool- do you have any closing thoughts?</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> I think one of the biggest misunderstandings about creativity in business is that it is something fuzzy and uncontrollable… that it is only about ‘getting the good idea’ at the beginning of a process. Creativity is a <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD2" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static; text-decoration: underline !important;">crucial</span> component in any type of problem solving. It may be a secretary coming up with a new archiving system, or a production engineer optimising an injection mould to save 0.2 seconds per unit produced. Creativity is not something mystical reserved for ‘the creatives’ in front-end R&D departments.</div>

3 Easy Ways to Exercise Your Brain’s Creativity

I met  Balder Onarheim earlier this summer during a trip to  Copenhagen . We found some simpatico based on our mutual interests in helpin...

Read more »