How frustration can make us more creative | Tim Harford

Challenges and problems can derail your creative process ... or they can make you more creative than ever. In the surprising story behind the best-selling solo piano album of all time, Tim Harford may just convince you of the advantages of having to work with a little mess.
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[@irjonesy]

"They could think outside the box because their box was full of holes." Great line.

[@erikziak1249]

+Carl Jones Agreed.

[@Hexspa]

+Carl Jones def

[@liljezta1]

+Carl Jones Yeah - that got me like... Umm... wait did you hear that outside?

[@rkarlsson6460]

Well. Who wants a box full of holes?

[@howardcohen6817]

@@rkarlsson6460 who needs a box?

[@SonaliMankaSingh]

Hope this explains why I do well when I do things last minute.

[@CLOUDSTR1FE]

+Nali Singh wouldn't doing these last minute cause you not to pay as much attention to it? Because of the time restraint? That's the opposite of the point he was making.

[@SonaliMankaSingh]

+l CLOUD l Time restraints seem like a challenge to me.

[@CLOUDSTR1FE]

Yes I agree but how does that help you be more successful in doing what it is that you're doing?

[@allenalesna]

+Nali Singh I don't think it's necessarily a last minute thing done from scratch. I have such habit too. I may have gathered all that I need at an earlier time, I'll mull over it but nothing will ever come together, not even close to half way until that 'last minute'.

[@andy4an]

in fewer words: "restrictions breed creativity" i love TED talks on creativity. It is a subject I'm passionate about. I've thrown disruption into my problems before, but I had not thought to make sure the disruption was severe enough.

[@MangoMiner]

+weesh ful I don't think "restrictions" is the right word.

[@andy4an]

"restrictions breed creativity" is the phrase used by Oech in his best selling creativity book (which I highly recommend). I was making a reference to that. Also, it does apply here. Not being able to use the high notes, or being forced to use an unfamiliar instrument are restrictions. All the self-imposed challenges in this talk are restrictions.

[@MangoMiner]

+weesh ful Ah I get what you're saying now. Good points.

[@marley1256]

"They could think outside the box because their box was full of holes" I think that is officially one of my favorite quotes now

[@rkarlsson6460]

Yes, it sounds good, though, after further reflection, it suggests something is broken? And something that is broken is not creative.

[@howardcohen6817]

@@rkarlsson6460 What ya gotta do to sing the Blues?

[@FlowEckurt]

Thank you for telling us about this wonderful moment that led to one of the best improvisation evenings. As a big Jarrett fan I would like to add the following. A "Bösendorfer Imperial", one of the best grand pianos, was planned for the concert and was also in the opera. But it was behind fire doors, so they couldn't find it. Jarrett imitated the gong of the Cologne opera with the opening notes, so you can hear people laughing at the beginning of the recording.

[@DMTFLTV]

amazingly eerie that I should watch this on a morning of frustration, considering that I'm obsessed with the ECM label and just downloaded a Keith Jarrett album as the first album to christen the new computer (the source of frustration). full circle synchronicity

[@ewknees]

Well, it's pretty natural to go after a task that is within our own comfort zone. I think what reinforces that even more now is the fact that we cannot afford time (and the vapid educational system) in this ever-industrializing world. Everything is about efficiency, about how the most can be achieved within the shortest period of time. Precisely because we "cannot" afford the time - we experience no frustration since everything is running in accordance to your plan and therefore, there is no need to think of alternatives or be creative.

[@Paula-cj2gj]

As someone with adhd this is utterly beautiful. We are constantly trying to fit in with everybody else's definition of hapiness, success, performance and productivity. We can't and we definitely shouldn't. This TED Talk just made my day, thank you!

[@lynne7741]

I absolutely love this Ted talk! Thank you Tim Harford. Embrace my lack of ability to filter, as a gift.... ♥ in my creative process. Stupid things that shouldn't work.... Welcome!

[@MrC0MPUT3R]

What I learned from this video: my code isn't a mess, it's just creative :D

[@k3nny111]

+MrC0MPUT3R So the people debugging your code don't hate your bad style, but are secretly jealous of your creativity.

[@MrC0MPUT3R]

k3nny111 They don't need to debug. I only write features. ;)

[@NYCWIZARD]

+MrC0MPUT3R Oh cut it out everyone has to debug occasionally 😼 the longer the code more complex the alphameric variables are and even I sometimes forget to switch

[@TomHamRomero]

It's not frustration, it's the fact that you're limited - if your palette is restricted, which can be an instrument, (condition of the instrument in this case) theme / motif - time, sound, colour of paint, type of medium etc etc, basically whatever, you become more creative.

[@jesusfrancisco4694]

Well yeah but it's the limitation that creates frustration (which leads to creativity)

[@krankerkris]

+Jesus Francisco great reply!

[@TomHamRomero]

The frustration isn't anything to do with the process - frustration is a personal disposition, or feeling, maybe even like an opinion - It's the minimalism and limitation that inspires the creativity.

[@jesusfrancisco4694]

+Tom Romero Man I was late for this repy. But what I'm essentially saying is that more often than not, frustration is a byproduct of the limition presented to you. It's an emotion that may contribute to one's drive to work harder to "compensate" for an instrument, or lack thereof. Which is what this video is presenting. It's how frustration CAN make us more creative (implying that it's presence isn't totally insignificant to its process). But I think we're on the same page that limitations is the primary contributing factor.

[@RickJaeger]

"frustration" can refer both to the feeling, and the thing that causes the feeling, which is in this case not only the restriction on the tools, medium, process, environment, etc. So you may be talking about the same thing after all.

[@alwaysuseless]

This advice applies to everyone, not just to sensitive musicians or people who can't filter out extraneous stimulus, or have some condition such as OCD ADD, ADHD, etc. And not only is it universally applicable; it's universally difficult to do, because it requires us to do things we don't want to do and see as unnecessary. Also, the speaker is not talking about the obstacles we may habitually create for ourselves, such as not paying attention, balking at what we need to do, being over- or under-prepared, or procrastination. The randomness & unnecessary obstacles work far better when they're not any that we'd be naturally inclined to include. We need to embrace what we're resisting, and initially we may not even know what that is. In the speaker's examples, the added difficulties were imposed by a stranger &/or circumstances not of the participants' choosing. So whom are we going to turn to or how are we going to find these challenging ingredients, when we know what we want and think the most efficient route is a straight line? Well, damn, if we want to be more creative, we first need to be creative about that. We can do that, though. It's not a catch-22. Calling it that is just an excuse to stay comfortable & less creative. So, I have a couple of projects I want to pursue, and I'm tingling with the unexpected question of how to make them messier. And I already feel more alive, because life feels more like an experiment. It always was, but I'm more in the game & no longer assume I know the rules. Thanks, Tim Harford & TED talks for this!

[@howardcohen6817]

alwaysuseless : Lots of luck with your mess. Sir Isaac Newton's apple fortunately fell on his head (so the story goes). The Dolby sound-system worked that way, too. You know, straight lines do not exist. In order to draw or construct something which appears straight from one vantage point, one must use curves, thickness changes even color changes. Nothing on the body moves in straight lines as all appendages are attached as radii (radiuses?) to points so that straight lines are just a complicated combination of various curves. It's very difficult to move in a straight fashion. Skiing straight down a hill is frightening and not much fun (unless you enjoy the speed). Even then swathing (like a skate-board) will let you go faster. The mess can also be a sudden perceptual break-through. It's not only a mess. Mr. Harford might have spent some time with this concept.

[@peterchin7796]

I'm just getting started of my journey in performing arts, and this is precisely the piece of advice I needed. thanks, Tim 😃😃

[@isaachague7514]

Simply awesome. I will paint again.

[@eroliva]

"Como la frustración nos hace más creativos" es una excelente charla de Tim harford que nos ejemplifica porque no debemos evitar los obstaculos.

[@ac3arcadia]

Truly love this concept of random messiness generating creative results. It's such a great way to think outside of the box, test your own capabilities and motivation to do some rather unusual collaborations.

[@srinivasanraghunathan8656]

Contrary to the popular belief, in this talk, Tim Harford explains the how the 'disruptions' actually help us to make more creative. Citing various interesting psychological studies and real-life incidents, he gives us a riveting talk. Highly recommended.

[@Butterworthy]

"They were able to think outside the box, because their box is full of holes." Welcome to my life.

[@eliad6543]

As a person with ADHD, this explains quite a lot :D Outside of creative processes I try to avoid mess because it frustrates me, and doesn't help. But in creative processes it still frustrates me, despite being helpful in its own weird way. It's a matter of what's more important: Enjoying the creative process or having a very good outcome.

[@davidwilliama.7296]

This was good. I can relate with this. When I break a string on my guitar, it can force me to play in a different way for a while until I get a new string. I have played some things that I probably wouldn't have played if the string were there.

[@MuscleNMind]

This actually made some sense to me. I related it to creation of content on youtube

[@ambseyyy]

That was so helpful! I really needed that

[@KeatrithAmakiir]

This was an incredibly interesting talk!

[@fwd79]

Very nice TED talk, something which is rare at TED these days. :)

[@sudn3682]

Best ted talk. But make sure you don't get out of control handling frustration.

[@tristramgardner8975]

This was really interesting and enjoyable, thanks! These talks are useful, but they're like an art as well..

[@nataliaventurelli7975]

Hello Ted talks and Tim, my name is Natália, i'm from Brazil. Forgive me my english's mistakes. I search for a way to send a mesage for Tim, but i can't find. I Just realy want to say thank you. I watched the vídeo about multitasking, and this changed my world. I'm a lover of phisic and math, philosofy and meditation, theater and cinema. And in my culture i can't do all this things.. never. So, i lost some years trying choose one, but i just can't do It. You changed my worldview, and opened possibities to mix the ideas. Thank you so much for that. And now, i will see all my boxes of projects and go to work. Hugs from Brazil.

[@matthewauman9131]

Excellent TED talk - "Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it".

[@duffland09]

A very interesting counterpoint. Thank you.

[@AmericanDash]

An outstanding talk!!

[@Naimaknows]

amazing and thought provoking talk!

[@tryhardofdoom7682]

This video gave me an idea for checking long texts on mistakes, just set the font to the worst to read and hopefully I will be much more successful in spotting mistakes :D

[@B.D.E.]

Best TED talk in a fair while.

[@alariaesculenta8177]

Our instincts, our intuition, are ALWAYS right. Don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise.

[@Danicuacua]

Beautiful!!!

[@JilleneLuce]

Just what I need right now! Trying to play piano with cmc joint pain, new in my life. How to play with nine fingers... Rethinking out of the box

[@melissawilliams7238]

This is the most valuable thing I have heard anyone say to me in ... I don't even know how long.

[@starlovestarlight]

Excellent.

[@peterkarsten69]

Great talk

[@chloetroub1428]

This actually helped a lot.

[@JordanTelezino]

thank you

[@raheellakhani]

It is also because of positive self-concept. A lot people just crash down in uncertainty. It is about what support systems and will power one has.

[@Axle-F]

And that pianos name? Albert Einstein.

[@Sorryscene]

+Axle : ))

[@gustavalbericchidurocher9764]

a thing that happens for me is, at regular speed of speech, i get distracted with ease. i NEED to see everything at (usually around) 2x, otherwise, outside triggers get my mind wandering far, far off. the curious thing is that if one can't concentrate easily talking to a "slow" person, one would think that he/she would have terrible problems with faster speech. so, well, i agree with the "adding some hardship can get you foccused".

[@patiakreles]

I love a good boundary restriction like budget to trigger my creativity. I can make any project for the budget I set for it. I once even built an entire extruding machine from scratch using 600 USD. I ended up using second hand motor and gear box to make it work. I love, lvoe restrictions. We are meant to thinl freely and propose solutions, but these solutions must be doable. The classic restriction when designing any machine is that the parts must be designed to be built, assembled and maintained. It is a useless machine if you can't service it.

[@EEEMUS]

Great video thank you~~|!!

[@RobertF-]

*I can't help but think of the midges I heard about in Scotland and the Scottish people dealing with them.*

[@kieranproskills]

Some of this works in tandem with my own creativity. As a creative skill (football) developer. I often find myself facing frustration at not quite being at the level I want to be at, or that a little fatigue, conditions in my environment are presenting challenges etc. From these sessions often come ideas to create a new sequence or movement. I use to think frustration was a hindrance but these days I just know it's a necessary part of the journey.

[@k3nny111]

I would like to see a link to the study that showed increased learning with worse fonts. As a user experience designer, this is utterly mindboggling to me.

[@RobertF-]

+k3nny111 *_-Yeah, that was really interesting. It makes sense though, he said the uglier and more awkward looking font made people read a little slower and therefore think a little more slowly and carefully. So maybe I should use this font for all my youtube comments now. Haha.-_*

[@ValorousFogey]

+Bob B. :' D

[@killedbydeath2]

+k3nny111 www.ted.com/talks/tim_harford_how_messy_problems_can_inspire_creativity/citations not a direct link but it should be easy enough to find from there - they really should link references in there talks...

[@k3nny111]

+killedbydeath2 Thank you very much!

[@Sorryscene]

+k3nny111 Well, while you wait for the links to the study, just know know that awful writing has helped me assimilate better what I needed to study, because I would spend an awful amount of time trying to decipher what I had written in my notes. And now, years later, those freaking notes are still impressed in my mind, along with the info contained.

[@Strix_the_wolf]

wow this is good

[@bekilturgut]

this gives me goose bumps :)

[@JT-ko2ib]

6:04 - what does this say about speed reading?

[@aakashbagaria1429]

this is thebest ted speaker

[@fenonmorrison4090]

I do this at work

[@neogovernment]

No pain no gain!

[@samuelcrees]

This is a really great talk, and he is right; BUT, what about Nicola Tesla who never built a proto type, and of his designs were a first time working product, how do we explain that?

[@bigfisheatsmolfish]

I need that deck of cards! :D

[@ADIoPrucnal]

+fish hoe There are apps for iOS and Android with these cards. Search Oblique Strategies.

[@bigfisheatsmolfish]

+segre Thank you so much!

[@mmnissanzroadster9]

Now I know why I'm so creative. I have had a crap ton of computer problems lol

[@howardcohen6817]

Through comfortable we perpetuate the status quo. Stand on one leg, read the notes upside-down. Make mistakes (if you're not a brain-surgeon).

[@briieme]

So does this mean that making a to-do list on cards instead of one sheet will work better?

[@SangoProductions213]

interesting.

[@YukiChannelShibaInu]

2:25

[@MalteJanoschGrapentin]

Re-Upload??

[@itstoogooditswaytoogood3211]

6:40

[@jonathanjollimore4794]

It also makes me want to break this table in half with my fist but hey what 41 year of frustration anyways water under the bridge

[@marianskitter5757]

Remeber the last one they did on stress 😹

[@black.gallow]

06.15 - 07.35 He's clearly talking about highly sensitive people.

[@black.gallow]

+N LM not everything needs to be pathologized. Just because someone can't do something most other people can (or vice versa) doesn't mean they're ill and need to be cured.

[@black.gallow]

+N LM I am highly sensitive myself and I know what it's like not to be able to ignore annoying stimuli. Seeing high sensitivity as a disorder or illness is a very unhealthy way to look at it though. I am born that way and I can't do anything against it. I know of the disadvantages and learn to deal with it and I try and use the advantages. Have you ever heard of Elaine Aron? She did a lot of research on the topic. This is her blog hsperson.com/. (I'm not saying you don't have OCD. I don't know you. Be assured I don't mean to offend anyone)

[@fleXcope]

In electronics this is called dithering.

[@nasmr1234]

2500 years ago water was abundant and abundant throughout the year. Water has decreased to the point of scarcity in our time.

[@eliezersantos9948]

Por que esse vídeo tá nos meus recomendados? .-.

[@peace_dummy]

Anyone else thinking this guy looks like Dr. Who on the thumbnail?

[@erikziak1249]

This talk opened many topics, but I want to reflect the title: It just made me a mean a-hole towards communal politicians. Long story short, no more to add. And I will keep my position and despise them. Is there anybody who wants to know the whole story? Maybe they will understand afterwards. This video was so broad and I get the point, but boiled down to a single answer (to the title) it leaves just the one I gave.

[@yinchen1103]

中文錯字有點多

[@DOC7ORT]

creativity cops with frustration...

[@user-hk5ec9on2q]

سلام ملکم

[@HaroonKhan-io8ur]

Hi 3

[@daemn2754]

GGGrrreeeat talk but misleading title!! Frustration tends to make people passive, sad and just wanting to give up. He didn't even use that word. He refers to mess, adversities, challenges...

[@UnyieldQuest]

So how do you start making a jet engine by randomness? Maybe he wants to say controlled random process, and then some mutations to avoid local maxima. Looks like he is talking evolutionary process... genetic engineering way. His idea can work with music and painting etc. but for complex projects (where you have thousands of elements involved) you need a systematic approach, otherwise just randomness will take millions of years to make things happen...

[@88jpen]

U2 hasn't been putting out anything decent in years. They must not be using the cards

[@nevoyu]

It's not the tool's fault you didn't get the job done.

[@mynamefo]

First?

[@EPmessi9800]

Congratulations

[@FalloutNukaBomb]

anybody come here because of game grumps

[@xerotoninz]

My life is disruption. Flip me. (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

[@Zakkeus]

That isn't how you spell Harvard.

[@tty2020]

Nice talk content but not very good presentation, he pauses too much at unnecessary places.

[@BuzzChronicles]

lost me when you start to name drop[

[@luticia]

Somehow despite this story he couldn't touch my heart. He's an awful speaker.

[@bryanpaul2010]

luticia you should watch drama, not listen to ted talks.

[@Daniel-pu9fi]

This talk made no sense whatsoever.

[@viophile]

What a load of baloney.

[@JackSaturday]

+Vio Phile Embrace baloney. Cooked over a campfire, with some mustard and mayonnaise, it is delicious.

[@viophile]

+N LM No. This is making some performers feel good about themselves. This does no contribution whatsoever to humanity or the sciences.

[@viophile]

+Alec Watson What I see is hubris. Not that I deny adversity as a potential path to evolve and to improve. I face adversity every day in my job as a software developer. But I do not agree to as its necessity nor its importance as developing me as a person. I am and will remain as TED subcriber because I find most of the discussions useful and intriguing.

[@andy4an]

+Vio Phile you are wrong. This TED talk isn't about music. Creativity is important to MANY fields and hobbies, and embracing restrictions is a huge part of creating something unique. Even as a mechanical engineer, I find many circumstances where I must come up with creative solutions to strange problems.

[@viophile]

+weesh ful Who is talking about creativity, I am all about creativity. This talk is about adversity.