# Ignorance and Creativity By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2024-04-16 Repetition makes creativity challenging. Knowing what to do and how to do it allows one to execute work efficiently. This efficiency isn’t conducive to creativity. Ignorance is. Not knowing what to do or how to do it provides an opportunity to create something new. People seldom take this opportunity. Most people in a professional environment who are ignorant are afraid. They don’t want to be found out. They want to do the assigned project as it is expected. As a result, they will ask others in the office what to do. They will look for historical examples to use as templates. They will do anything but be creative. If management valued creativity, they would tell the individual that the project is being assigned because the person does not know how to do it but that the manager has confidence in the individual’s knowledge and creativity. Ideally, the manager would also convey a hope that the person has fun with the assignment. Again, these things seldom happen. For all its potential economic benefits, efficiency is overvalued. Making things more efficient is sold as the path toward prosperity. It seems to lead as often to drudgery. Creativity is needed. Deconstructing the status quo and improving things will require creative solutions and approaches to long-established problems. Doing so will require us to make more effective use of our ignorance. #### Related Items [[Work]] [[Ignorance]] [[Creative]] [[Management]] [[Efficiency]] [[Prosperity]]