Does good memory kill creativity?

[Cygnus]

What's your opinion? Does better memory only help you make more creative associations more quickly, or does it push you to plagiarize and continuously recycle old, remembered ideas rather than exploring your own?

 

[Avocado]

What's your opinion? Does better memory only help you make more creative associations more quickly, or does it push you to plagiarize and continuously recycle old, remembered ideas rather than exploring your own?

I would say that creativity for me comes from filling in the gaps in my memory, like filling in blanks with madlibs.

 

[baccheion]

Memory helps my creativity. I'm not the type to just blindly regurgitate, anyway, and I'd rather do something new/different, so when something pops up that's already been done, I'm likely to ignore it.

 

[Frosty]

Well, actually some of my more creative ideas are based of some tiny little bit of knowledge that I learned and then are twisted into something new. Though I would think that naturally having an amazing memory might lead to laziness because you already have so much to draw from that you dont see the point in creating anything original. It probably is pretty challanging to keep up such a large store of memory, so you would have less energy to expand towards creativity

 

[á´…eparted]

I wouldn't say so. While my short term and working memory is about average, my long term memory is very strong. Although I don't consider myself all that creative, many of those around me do, so I consider it to be a true statement overall.

I really can't see how a strong memory would impede upon creativity anyway.

 

[GarrotTheThief]

when my memory got worse my creative went up....but when my memory got way, way, way worse my creative died.

I'd say they are seperate to a degree but reliant to another...there is a critical point where more memory or less makes no difference...creativity is a thing on to itself but the two can eat each other and grow if that makes sense...like two snakes winding in a figure eight and eating their tails.

 

[Kullervo]

As an artist I can say that working memory is absolutely essential to creative success. If an idea vanishes as soon as you have heard it, how can it possibly be realised? There is a substantial amount of theory behind music, at least, that it is important to learn and retain if you want to be great as opposed to good.

Having a wide range of knowledge to draw from really helps as you can use those tools to fill in the gaps intuition can leave. It goes without saying that I can't learn well without concentrating. In fact, I find that without memory and focus, abstractions are as difficult to grasp as a cricket ball.

I do agree that overexposing yourself to other peoples' work can make it harder to create original thoughts. Still, it is better than not exposing yourself at all.

 

[Ene]

I have a fantastic memory and am highly creative. Is there a correlation? I don't know, but one thing I do know, my memory doesn't hurt my creativity in any way.

 

[Cellmold]

It's an interesting point.

It depends on how someone remembers things and what they use the information for. All memory is association of course but I think there is a difference between just throwing out a recollection you have experienced and using that recollection for the generation of something creative.

There might be a correlation between not remembering the intricate details and being creative a la MBTI style, but I don't know about that. I do know that I tend to get told off a lot for daydreaming at work or bringing up a topic that isn't directly related to work and I get stressed out really easily by being forced to just memorise things through static repetition which is why I make loads of mistakes I think.

That or just general incompetence, but I like my excuse better.

As an aside all creativity has to come from some input, so no one is more creative than nature; the sexy beast.

 

[violett]

I would think having a "good memory" would enhance creativity. Creativity being enhanced by connections made between past experience recall and current experience and expressed in the creative arts.

 

[boomslang]

Creativity involves the synthesis of currently existing ideas from different contexts and the realisation of this mixture. Good memory would aid in this.

 

[hjgbujhghg]

This is such a misleading question. It's not about how good your memory is, it is about how well you can use it.

 

[Doktorin Zylinder]

I agree with Ene. I have an incredible memory and I pull things out of thin air creativity wise that some people think are awesome but would never put them together themselves. It's as if every snippet of information I have builds upon itself and rearranges itself in a three dimensional matrix constantly making new connects with one another. The more information I have, the more connections are made and a made connection becomes information in and of itself creating, essentially, and exponentially growth model.