Almost three years ago, I wrote a post explaining why it is better to create than consume. The reasons are still valid, I think. There’s a lot to be said for making a pizza by hand instead of purchasing something hot and expensive from your local fast-food pizza joint, as an example. But I’ve been…
Author Archives: Mark Dykeman
Click and Drag is one of the most awesomest creative things ever
Seriously. I’m not one to spend a lot of time sharing stuff on the Web, but this xkcd webcomic is one of the coolest things I’ve seen on the Web in years. It’s… creative, awesome and and lovely use of discretionary time. Note: if you can’t use the bottom part of the image to…
What Next or The Infinite Hypothesis Crisis of Writing
There’s a quote from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance which has stuck in my mind lately, although not in the way that Pirsig used it in his famous book. In this section of the book, we are given a glimpse into the mind of one of the book’s characters: a man of science…
The creative creativity of Jonah Lehrer – a cautionary tale
I’ve been wanting to write about this subject for awhile but it’s been a challenge to figure out exactly what I want to say about Jonah Lehrer – journalist, author of three books, public speaker and radio personality. Lehrer’s a young guy (31, I believe) who has built quite a career for himself in media,…
All the good stories are worth studying
I have not spent this long hiatus from Thoughtwresting coming up with new creative problem solving techniques. I’ve been spending a lot of time absorbing fiction and pop culture, especially dramatic and comedy television. It’s true, a lot of that time would be considered pure recreation. But I seem to have been bitten quite fiercely…
Author Interview – Jacques Poitras – Imaginary Line
Today at Thoughtwrestling I’m pleased to feature an interview with Jacques Poitras, Provincial Affairs reporter with CBC Radio (New Brunswick) and the author of three non-fiction books. Jacques’s most recent book is called Imaginary Line: Life on an Unfinished Border. His book describes the history of the Canada/US border between the province of New Brunswick…
Are introverts more creative than extraverts?
I was very recently reminded that I have a blog about introversion (although it’s been almost 4 years since I posted there..) There’s been discussion over the years about whether or not introverted people are more creative than extraverts. Susan Cain, in her new book Quiet, suggests that solitude may be important to the creative…
Author Interview – Riel Nason – The Town That Drowned
I’m very pleased to feature this Q & A interview with Riel Nason, whose debut novel The Town That Drowned was published in 2011. Riel is a fellow New Brunswicker and someone I had met during my university days. After getting part of the way through her novel, which I’m really enjoying, I decided to…
Wendig on creativity
Chuck Wendig’s posts are often NSFW (the language, to be sure) and, to be honest, loopy, but they are often full of usable insights. His latest 25 things post, 25 Things You Should Know About Creativity is now up at his terribleminds blog. Number 9, the Frankenstein Monster Effect, is a great little gem: The…
Toppling Dictators, Food Controversy, Political Campaigns and a Review of The Information Diet
There’s a lot of content out there about what’s happening around the world and it can make your mind fat. This content – a term that I’m using to describe words, symbols, images, audio and video clips, layout and so on – is a combination of fact and fiction that varies in accuracy depending on…