Limits of Creativity

I’m back from a trip to Huntspatch for Emily’s twelfth birthday. It was one of the best times I’ve ever had with her. One of the things I noticed is just how much more agile her creativity is.

Emily innovated her tactics in Hive and won despite my best efforts. Her use of the spider to isolate and pin my pieces was particularly novel. In Super Paper Mario she came up with a technique for flipping enemies into a new 2d orientation that I’d never thought of.

We each brought a camera to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga. After looking over the pictures we took hers are so much better. She found much more interesting angles. She compensated better for the difficult lighting situations. Mine have a much more documentary and static feel.

I think some of it comes from the holistic school program she’s been in, and the virtue of being young. Next year she starts at a Catholic school and I fear this may spark a decline since they have a different mission that is limited by what the Catholic Church allows. However, I sometimes wonder if the limits Emily has (financial resources, tools) actually stimulate the creativity.

I might do better with more limits.