Adam Blatner

Okay, these are estimates I’ve just made up out of the blue, but the point is to wonder about how the creative process operates in the world. So, consider that creativity generates 2,409 new breakthroughs or generative ideas per minute (or second?) on this planet: 48% on re-thinking are either absurd or face overwhelming obstacles. (11% of these, it turns out, could work if a technology yet to be developed is then established in three to 200 years.) Of the other 52%, two thirds, when applied, don’t work, or only barely work. 32% of thinkers are egocentric enough to take that as validation and start to peddle their product as if it’s good. (Lots of this in the alternative healing field.)

Some—my fractions break down here—stay with it, refine, develop, re-think, re-tune. Dang! still it just doesn’t work. Ah, well, like perpetual motion, maybe creativity just hits the wall of material reality. It seemed a good idea at the time. Some few finally right off or more commonly with some or a lot of work end up really adding to the sum total of actual progress on this planet. Half of those winners end up having unintended consequences, alas, so more work on diagnosing and treating those eventuates. It’s sort of like what happens to squid eggs and embryos and tiny squidlets—99% become food for other critters but enough survive to keep the species growing.

Still, I think if creativity is liberated in ways that are happening today, with less suppression of thinking and communication, more interchange and cross-encouragement, we may double our rate of progress from 1% per year to 2%. Cumulatively, this keeps the rate of progress advancing into the postmodern upwardly curving exponential diagram of the emerging postmodern era—a symbol—a flag?—for our time. Mantra?: Yee-Haw!!