Creativity and the Family Tree: Human Capital Endowments and the Propensity of Entrepreneurs to Patent
by Albert N. Link, Christopher J. Ruhm
(September 2011)
Abstract:
In this paper we show that the patenting behavior of creative entrepreneurs is correlated with the patenting behavior of their fathers, which we refer to as a source of the entrepreneurs' human capital endowments. Our argument for this relationship follows from established theories of developmental creativity, and our empirical analysis is based on survey data collected from MIT's Technology Review winners.
Text: See Discussion Paper No. 5988
Showing posts with label creativity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creativity. Show all posts
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Friday, July 02, 2010
Creativity, dopamine & fluttering one's eyelashes
I don't go round fluttering my eyelashes at just anyone, you will be pleased to hear. In fact I am quite pleased to hear it too as it turns out that a low rate of eyelash fluttering is associated with some forms of creativity.
From the BPS digest:
"An intriguing new study has found that the rate at which students blink (as measured over six minutes using electrodes placed near the eyes) is associated with both their divergent and convergent creativity scores, but not their intelligence. Divergent creativity was measured with the 'alternate uses task', which required the students to come up with as many original uses for a brick, shoe and newspaper as possible. Lower and higher eye blink rate was associated with poorer performance, whilst medium eye blink rate was associated with superior performance at this task.
Convergent creativity was tapped with the 'remote associates test', which required the students to identify the one word that matched three other words (e.g. for 'time', 'hair' and 'stretch' the answer would be 'long'). In this case, eye blink rate was negatively related with divergent creativity - the less a student blinked the better they tended to do at this task.
Why should eye blink rate be associated with creativity? The study authors Soghra Chermahini and Bernhard Hommel explained that eye blink rate is a marker for dopamine activity and in turn, dopamine has previously been linked with creativity.
The researchers pointed to evidence showing, for example, that patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, which is associated with excess dopamine, tend to have high eye blink rates. Patients with Parkinson's, by contrast, which is associated with reduced dopamine, show low eye blink rates. They also highlighted past research linking dopamine with creativity. For example, there's evidence that positive mood - which is related to dopamine levels - can enhance creativity, although the results in this area have been extremely inconsistent.
Chermahihin and Hommel said their research adds to the literature by showing that the dopamine-creativity link is far from straight-forward. There was a negative linear relationship with convergent thinking but a positive, inverted U-shaped relationship with divergent thinking.
Chermahini, S. & Hommel, B. (2010). The (b)link between creativity and dopamine: Spontaneous eye blink rates predict and dissociate divergent and convergent thinking. Cognition, 115 (3), 458-465 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2010.03.007
From the BPS digest:
"An intriguing new study has found that the rate at which students blink (as measured over six minutes using electrodes placed near the eyes) is associated with both their divergent and convergent creativity scores, but not their intelligence. Divergent creativity was measured with the 'alternate uses task', which required the students to come up with as many original uses for a brick, shoe and newspaper as possible. Lower and higher eye blink rate was associated with poorer performance, whilst medium eye blink rate was associated with superior performance at this task.
Convergent creativity was tapped with the 'remote associates test', which required the students to identify the one word that matched three other words (e.g. for 'time', 'hair' and 'stretch' the answer would be 'long'). In this case, eye blink rate was negatively related with divergent creativity - the less a student blinked the better they tended to do at this task.
Why should eye blink rate be associated with creativity? The study authors Soghra Chermahini and Bernhard Hommel explained that eye blink rate is a marker for dopamine activity and in turn, dopamine has previously been linked with creativity.
The researchers pointed to evidence showing, for example, that patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, which is associated with excess dopamine, tend to have high eye blink rates. Patients with Parkinson's, by contrast, which is associated with reduced dopamine, show low eye blink rates. They also highlighted past research linking dopamine with creativity. For example, there's evidence that positive mood - which is related to dopamine levels - can enhance creativity, although the results in this area have been extremely inconsistent.
Chermahihin and Hommel said their research adds to the literature by showing that the dopamine-creativity link is far from straight-forward. There was a negative linear relationship with convergent thinking but a positive, inverted U-shaped relationship with divergent thinking.
Chermahini, S. & Hommel, B. (2010). The (b)link between creativity and dopamine: Spontaneous eye blink rates predict and dissociate divergent and convergent thinking. Cognition, 115 (3), 458-465 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2010.03.007
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Openness - "a history of the Internet and its lessons for the future of business, politics, and society
That's the somewhat broad provisional title (though you can suggest your own to the author at his blog, linked above) of Johnny Ryan's new book. Johnny previously wrote ‘Countering Militant Islamist Radicalisation on the Internet: A User Driven Strategy to Recover the Web’ and The Next Leap: Competitive Ireland in the Digital Era, described as "Strategic Report on the Trends of Change in the Digital Sector, and Government Opportunities for Action, Based on the IIEA Digital Sector Stakeholders’ Consultation"
His new book is summarised thus:
Certainly the blog post paints an interesting picture - as well as one of the controversy about the word Openness - itself.
His new book is summarised thus:
The Internet is a centrifugal force, user driven and open. These three characteristics have asserted themselves throughout its history. Understanding them is the key to adapting to the new global commons, a political and media system in flux, and the future of competitive creativity.
Certainly the blog post paints an interesting picture - as well as one of the controversy about the word Openness - itself.
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