I think people interested in creative activities can be split into 3 groups.
1) Those who like creating new things.
2) Those who like learning new things.
3) Those who like mastering new things.
I would love to be a talented creator - but I am not. I don't have the creative abilities.
So instead I get most pleasure from learning new things.
The reason I mention this is that it creates strange situations. For instance - I am a world expert in magic (studied about 10,000 magic books and publications. And my favourite magic book is 3,000 pages long) - but get very little pleasure from actually performing magic.
As such - I could teach a newbie - and in a couple of weeks they would appear to be 'better at magic' than myself.
It is something I have always pondered. And the reason I raise it is because my Dad was talking to me about his early years in computer programming (30 years ago).
Entirely unprompted by me - he told me that he loved figuring out the problems and learning new things. But as soon as the road ahead became clear and it became 'easy' - he became bored and was looking for a new area to study.
As such - he could never imagine becoming a specialist in an area of computer programming - and instead was always looking for other areas to start again as a beginner in.
That rang a big bell in my head.
Since I am the same - which suggests it may be a genetic thing. As soon as something becomes 'easy' - I am looking for a new area where I can explore and learn new things.
Of course - not everyone is like this. Some people enjoy mastering an area - and spending the rest of their life honing their skills in this area to perfection. They can practice the same magic act - music set - comedy set - for the rest of their lives.
And the rarest of all - are those genius types who only get pleasure from creating. And who would rather create something new than even spend a little time exploring their most recent discoveries.
In magic - a chap called Stewart James was like that. In his lifetime he invented about 3,000 magic tricks.
And that reminds me of those authors (and other creators) who when asked about heir favourite work - will honestly say it is whichever one they are currently working on.
Woody Allen has a similar mindset since he actually refuses to watch any of his films - since he is always entirely focused on his latest project - and as such is constantly working on a new movie.
Anyway - I thought this topic might be worthy of further discussion. The comment from my father was a real eye-opener to me.
For one thing - I sense that people's instincts in whichever creative pursuit they are interested in will tend to fall strongly into one of the three categories mentioned above.
And on top of that. I should add that the people who become most famous in the popular arts - tend to be those who derive most pleasure from becoming a master as opposed to trying to endless extend and stretch the areas of their interest.
For instance - if I was a tennis player - I would get more pleasure out of being Mansour Bahrami than Roger Federer!
Similarly - in soccer - my favourite players were always the geniuses who tried to discover new ideas and techniques as opposed to those who were ruthlessly effective. Of course - from time to time - you get players like Christiano Ronaldo who are both.
1) Those who like creating new things.
2) Those who like learning new things.
3) Those who like mastering new things.
I would love to be a talented creator - but I am not. I don't have the creative abilities.
So instead I get most pleasure from learning new things.
The reason I mention this is that it creates strange situations. For instance - I am a world expert in magic (studied about 10,000 magic books and publications. And my favourite magic book is 3,000 pages long) - but get very little pleasure from actually performing magic.
As such - I could teach a newbie - and in a couple of weeks they would appear to be 'better at magic' than myself.
It is something I have always pondered. And the reason I raise it is because my Dad was talking to me about his early years in computer programming (30 years ago).
Entirely unprompted by me - he told me that he loved figuring out the problems and learning new things. But as soon as the road ahead became clear and it became 'easy' - he became bored and was looking for a new area to study.
As such - he could never imagine becoming a specialist in an area of computer programming - and instead was always looking for other areas to start again as a beginner in.
That rang a big bell in my head.
Since I am the same - which suggests it may be a genetic thing. As soon as something becomes 'easy' - I am looking for a new area where I can explore and learn new things.
Of course - not everyone is like this. Some people enjoy mastering an area - and spending the rest of their life honing their skills in this area to perfection. They can practice the same magic act - music set - comedy set - for the rest of their lives.
And the rarest of all - are those genius types who only get pleasure from creating. And who would rather create something new than even spend a little time exploring their most recent discoveries.
In magic - a chap called Stewart James was like that. In his lifetime he invented about 3,000 magic tricks.
And that reminds me of those authors (and other creators) who when asked about heir favourite work - will honestly say it is whichever one they are currently working on.
Woody Allen has a similar mindset since he actually refuses to watch any of his films - since he is always entirely focused on his latest project - and as such is constantly working on a new movie.
Anyway - I thought this topic might be worthy of further discussion. The comment from my father was a real eye-opener to me.
For one thing - I sense that people's instincts in whichever creative pursuit they are interested in will tend to fall strongly into one of the three categories mentioned above.
And on top of that. I should add that the people who become most famous in the popular arts - tend to be those who derive most pleasure from becoming a master as opposed to trying to endless extend and stretch the areas of their interest.
For instance - if I was a tennis player - I would get more pleasure out of being Mansour Bahrami than Roger Federer!
Similarly - in soccer - my favourite players were always the geniuses who tried to discover new ideas and techniques as opposed to those who were ruthlessly effective. Of course - from time to time - you get players like Christiano Ronaldo who are both.