This article starts with the lack of creativity as an engineering student, and ends with the conclusion that creativity can be shaped by a rich background and sincere effort.
There’s a question that anyone who decides to dedicate their life to engineering must have asked themselves at least once. Engineering is a discipline that creates value through science and technology. Engineering students strive to create results that are valuable to nations, societies, and individuals. They try to solve the myriad of problems that come before them. They strive to produce results faster than other academics studying the same topic, or to create products that are faster and more efficient than other companies developing products for the same consumer group. Finding creative ways to solve problems that others haven’t thought of is a simple yet challenging way to increase your value. As in any other discipline, creativity is considered the most important talent for engineering students.
I am currently a fourth-year student who is about to graduate from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Tokyo. I have long been troubled by the “lack of creativity” among my many smart friends at university. When I was working on robot design projects, I would feel frustrated when I saw my friends suggesting creative topics, easily coming up with alternatives to complex design problems, and I would think to myself, “Do I lack creativity?” Throughout high school and college, creativity was one of my biggest insecurities, as I prided myself on being the most conscientious person I knew. This was important to me because I dreamed of getting a PhD, continuing my research as a professor, and teaching students. I believe that to be successful as a professor, you need to be able to see things that others haven’t seen. This led me to believe that researchers who are not creative will eventually fail, and this idea seems to have some truth to it. So, am I creative? I couldn’t give a confident answer to this question. I’m good at solving test questions, but is that enough?” I kept asking myself. I even regretted not being gifted and talented. Similarly, I regretted not pursuing an interest in the arts earlier, such as music or art, which are said to be good for developing creativity.
So, am I not creative? I wrestled with the question throughout my college career and came up with my own answer, which I’d like to share and discuss with readers, as well as organize my thoughts.
In my sophomore year of college, while I was still struggling with my ‘lack of creativity’, I took a lecture that made a big impression on me. It was a professor’s ‘Philosophical Understanding of Science’, in which he argued that genius is not about creating something out of nothing, but rather the ability to put together ‘new things’ out of ‘old things’. For example, no matter how difficult a test question is, we can always solve it because it is within our knowledge. A genius, or someone who solves a problem ‘creatively’, is someone who can find that combination. In other words, creativity is not about solving a problem in the absence of relevant information, but is the next step you can take after you have acquired enough background knowledge to do so. This is the essence of what I remember from this lecture.
It was a big wake-up call for me at a time when I was struggling with a problem. It was a simple story: if you want to be a creative person in any field, first acquire a rich background in that field! The implication was that anyone can do it, as long as they put in the effort. Ever since I heard this lecture, to the end of my undergraduate career, I have come to the following conclusion about creativity: “Creativity comes from sincerity and purity!” It may sound familiar to hear that creativity comes from purity, but it may be surprising to hear that sincerity is related to creativity. However, in my experience, creativity, sincerity, and purity have a very close relationship with each other.
A creative thinker is someone who is always curious and constantly asking questions. “How can we solve this problem?”, ‘Is what we think is best now really the best?’, someone who asks these questions is able to see the essence of the problem. To see the essence, you need to be pure. Seeking the essence of an object without being misled by its appearance requires a pure attitude toward it. The purity of seeking truth with no other intention is fundamental to creation.
If purity is the basic condition, then the variable that has the greatest impact on creativity is sincerity. Sincerity allows you to accumulate enough background knowledge. As an engineer, you need to know enough about the subject matter to solve a problem. To solve problem B, you need to know about similar problems like B-1, B-2, and B-3, as well as other A’s and C’s that look similar but are different. By combining B-1 and B-2, you can solve B, and the A’s and C’s will save you from going down the wrong path. I learned this the hard way when I was writing my undergraduate thesis: I was researching “impedance control” and wasted a lot of time because I didn’t know the subtly different concept of “control with impedance.” It takes constant study to avoid these mistakes.
In this era of rapidly advancing technology, continuous learning is essential to survive as an engineering professor. Coming up with creative solutions to any problem requires the ability to constantly reorganize and combine the background knowledge you’ve diligently built up. As Edison said, creativity comes from 1% inspiration and 99% hard work.
This begs the question, can someone who is not conscientious be a creative thinker? There are many people around us who are seemingly insincere and yet creative, but if they produced creative results despite being insincere, imagine how much more outstanding they would have been if they were. I believe that conscientiousness is like a catalyst that maximizes an individual’s creativity.
After all, creativity requires two ingredients. After coming to this conclusion, I was able to face the subject of engineering with renewed confidence. This conclusion saved me from wandering and gave me even more momentum. Now I don’t stress about my lack of creativity. I believe that even if I don’t have an immediate flash of brilliance while studying, I will still be able to come up with new solutions with persistence. Of course, there will be times when I need the seasoning of 1% inspiration.
But this answer isn’t complete; as an engineer, as an academic, the challenge of creative thinking will always remain. If this is the conclusion I came to as an undergraduate, the conclusion I will come to as a graduate student may be different. So I will continue to ponder this issue, and I hope to further refine my thoughts through discussion with others. I hope that many discussions will be the first step in finding the right answer.
