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In The Five Faces of Genius †, author Annette Moser-Wellman presents an insightful categorization of
five thinking styles she contends have been used by history's greatest to achieve their objectives. Each style in this schema is clearly described at outset, and there are many examples presented in illustration throughout the
book. The examples and supporting text are far more useful than the test instrument Wellman presents to identify which style(s) one uses most.‡
She argues that "[h]ighly creative individuals use all five" creative thinking styles, but that most of us pursue a "one creative skill habit" in preference to developing additional creative skills and mastering all five styles. The objective is to
"supplement your dominant creative style" by developing "a crucial portfolio of creative thinking skills", she tells us, leading to mastery of all five creative styles (p.12).
Wellman's schema is an attempt to explicate the way(s) in which we create and apprehend ideas through our capacity to imagine. She believes that everyone can learn and benefit from these creative styles, which have application in terms of personal development
and "among teams in the workplace" (p.19). The following excerpts provide basic descriptions of the five styles (citations and notes are presented below):
SEER: The power to image
Seers see pictures in their mind's eye, and these pictures become the impetus for ingenious ideas. In the same way that someone can imagine his team's final jump shot at the buzzer
or how his living room would look with a new color of paint, highly creative people use the skill of the seer to imagine new ideas. Seers are guided by the images in their mind's eye,
visualize in great detail, and are able to manipulate these images along the way to maximize their impact and expand their ideas. Mozart describes his Seer moment: "When I am, as it were,
completely myself, entirely alone, and of good cheer ... [p]rovided I am not disturbed, my subject enlarges itself, becomes methodized and defined, and the whole, though it be long,
stands almost complete and finished in my mind so that I can survey it, like a fine picture or a beautiful statue, at a glance." The image leads to the breakthrough (p.10). [1]
OBSERVER: The power to notice detail
Observers notice the details of the world around them and collect [those details] to construct a new idea. They scan their environment for interesting information and use this data to create
breakthroughs. Observers stand in awe of the world around them, and its beauty is a source of inspiration. They cherish the details and are driven by their unrelenting
curiosity. When Walt Disney took his young daughter to play in the park, he noticed [that] ... the adults looked bored, the rides were run-down, and the ride operators were unfriendly.
He thought, "Wouldn't it be fun if there [were] a place where kids and adults could play together?" And from those initial observations he hatched the idea for his theme parks. (idem) [2]
ALCHEMIST: The power to connect domains
Alchemists bring together separate domains - different ideas, disciplines, or systems of thought - and connect them in a unique way to develop breakthrough ideas. The Alchemist's insights come from
borrowing or even stealing ideas. They are motivated to invent by a broad range of interests, and they lead lives that connect work and play. The
architect Frank Lloyd Wright created the most original buildings in the history of American architecture by ... marrying the design of the building with the nature of the site...(p.11) [3]
FOOL: The power to celebrate weakness
The most complex Face, the Fool, celebrates weakness. Fools practice three related skills: excelling at inversion, seeing the sense in absurdity, and having unending perseverance.
...Scientist Roy Plunkett was trying to come up with a new configuration of a chlorofluorocarbon [and] accidentally set a can of the chemical on the laboratory radiator. When he found it in the
morning, the chlorofluorocarbon had polymerized and created a hard resistant surface on the bottom of the can. Instead of throwing it away and calling it a failure, he analyzed the accident. This mishap was the birth of a new product
called Teflon. For the Fool, invention happens through redeeming weakness. (idem) [4]
SAGE: The power to simplify
Sages use the power of simplification as the primary means to inspiration. They reduce problems to their essence and, in the process, create an ingenious idea. Simplicity is their credo.
Also, Sages look to history as a resource for creative insight. They honor the past and find insights in what has happened before. Alfred Stieglitz, ... [e]nchanted with Dutch painter Jan Vermeer, who
painted some 300 years earlier, ... drew inspiration from Vermeer's style [to create] photographs [based on what he learned] from Vermeer's compositions. (pp.11-2) [5]
‡ The test instrument devised by Wellman delivers results inconsistent with the subjective identification
of creative styles made by respondents in my limited sample. Copyright does not permit me to present the test, but it is hoped that review of the five creative styles and
their descriptors will provide the reader with sufficient information to identify which style(s) may be more dominant or require development.
Citations and Notes
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