Photo.net in 3rd place in Photography Forum listing

[Nick D.]

"The results indicate creative thinking is declining over time among Americans of all ages

Of course it is declining and not only among Americans, there are no more 9 to 5 secure jobs with defined benefits pension plans and early retirement option.

My personal creativity goes all way down, when I work 6 on 6 off shift with broken sleep for a month. In current gig economy people just fighting for survival.

Creativity needs peace of mind and steady income, something like Einstein's post office job.

[samstevens]

Creativity needs peace of mind and steady income, something like Einstein's post office job.

Yes, peace of mind and a steady income, much like Van Gogh had ... :rolleyes:

[Nick D.]

Yes, peace of mind and a steady income, much like Van Gogh had ... :rolleyes:

"Van Gogh was unsuccessful during his lifetime, and was considered a madman and a failure. He became famous after his suicide, and exists in the public imagination as the quintessential misunderstood genius, the artist "where discourses on madness and creativity converge". His reputation began to grow in the early 20th century",-Wiki.

[samstevens]

"Van Gogh was unsuccessful during his lifetime, and was considered a madman and a failure. He became famous after his suicide, and exists in the public imagination as the quintessential misunderstood genius, the artist "where discourses on madness and creativity converge". His reputation began to grow in the early 20th century",-Wiki.

Exactly. He was a creative genius despite his lack of recognition, his lack of income, and his lack of peace of mind. My point exactly.

 

I think what might be worth while considering is that it's quite possible that you are a person for whom peace of mind and a good income would foster creativity. I think creativity works many different ways for different people. What I think is not correct, however, is to say "creativity needs ..." this or that, especially if the this or that is peace of mind and income supposedly applying universally. Again, if those things help you be creative, then I wish them for you. Frankly, when I was working regularly (not much overtime) and earning a good income and had a lot of peace of mind, I was much less creative than I currently am. I find a bit more uncertainty in life, some tension and anxiety, some questioning, and even some pain conducive to my own creativity. And I recognize that's not and shouldn't be the case for "creativity," per se. It's the case for me.

[DavidTriplett]

when I was working regularly (not much overtime) and earning a good income and had a lot of peace of mind, I was much less creative than I currently am.

 

Historically, many of the biggest creative leaps, particularly in technology, are associated with a dire imperative, such as drought, warfare, economic downturn, illness, etc. These are not the only instigators, by far, but personal and societal anxiety can be a great motivator to invent something intended to remove that anxiety.

[samstevens]

Historically, many of the biggest creative leaps, particularly in technology, are associated with a dire imperative, such as drought, warfare, economic downturn, illness, etc. These are not the only instigators, by far, but personal and societal anxiety can be a great motivator to invent something intended to remove that anxiety.

In my case, I don’t feel so much like I’m looking for resolution or removal of anxiety so much as letting it drive me to discover things and ways worth photographing as well as about myself.

[DavidTriplett]

At the extreme, abject poverty and malnutrition are documented obstacles to creative thinking and productivity. For example, some roots of the Renaissance can be found in the adoption and cultivation of legumes in Europe, which introduced a much larger percentage of protein into the common diet, which had a very significant impact on brain development and function. This says less about any single individual than it does about overall cognitive capacity for the population. Lack of sufficient dietary protein is closely linked with diminished cognitive function.

[Nick D.]

Exactly. He was a creative genius despite his lack of recognition, his lack of income, and his lack of peace of mind. My point exactly.

 

I think what might be worth while considering is that it's quite possible that you are a person for whom peace of mind and a good income would foster creativity. I think creativity works many different ways for different people. What I think is not correct, however, is to say "creativity needs ..." this or that, especially if the this or that is peace of mind and income supposedly applying universally. Again, if those things help you be creative, then I wish them for you. Frankly, when I was working regularly (not much overtime) and earning a good income and had a lot of peace of mind, I was much less creative than I currently am. I find a bit more uncertainty in life, some tension and anxiety, some questioning, and even some pain conducive to my own creativity. And I recognize that's not and shouldn't be the case for "creativity," per se. It's the case for me.

On individual basis, situation could be completely different, no matter how society performing as a whole.

But in general, good times in art and creativity coincides with good economy and abundance of monetary stimulus from top echelons of society, even if it driven by direct slavery, Ancient Egypt, Greece and Roman Empire are examples.

Belle Époque in in France, was a period characterized by: optimism; regional peace; economic prosperity; colonial empires; and technological, scientific, and cultural innovations. In this era of France’s cultural and artistic climate (particularly within Paris) the arts markedly flourished; with numerous masterpieces of literature, music, theater, and visual art gaining extensive recognition.

And Van Gogh's living expenses were mostly paid by his brother Teo, Van Gogh sold only one own painting in his lifetime.

[pavel_l.]

At the extreme, abject poverty and malnutrition are documented obstacles to creative thinking and productivity. For example, some roots of the Renaissance can be found in the adoption and cultivation of legumes in Europe, which introduced a much larger percentage of protein into the common diet, which had a very significant impact on brain development and function. This says less about any single individual than it does about overall cognitive capacity for the population. Lack of sufficient dietary protein is closely linked with diminished cognitive function.

 

I may admit this correlation as causation only when I'll find thousands of Newton, Galileis, Descarteses, da Vincis.

[Moving On]

Prosperity has its pitfalls.......

[pavel_l.]

Creativity is the courage to brake the accustomed rules.

[Moving On]

Or the product of necessity.....

[Supriyo]

Are u guys competing to be the next Ralph Waldo Emerson! :D

[samstevens]

Where is Waldo, anyway?

[Supriyo]

Nowadays, he can be found on an iPad.

Where's Waldo and I Spy For iPad: Worth Seeking Out

[samstevens]

Do I have to be rich and well fed to find him?

[Moving On]

Do I have to be rich and well fed to find him?

Probably not....

 

[Nick D.]

Probably not....

 

That movie is really funny, love it.

[Moving On]

Somehow I think Emerson would have appreciated it.....

 

[Nick D.]

Somehow I think Emerson would have appreciated it.....

 

Second one was the best.

[hjoseph7]

I'm not sure if this new website achieved what it was it was supposed to do, that is recruit more Users ? Maybe there should have been a Pilot/Beta model where users would have some type of input on how the site should perform. I noticed a marked downward difference between the traffic that use to be on this site prior to the conversion and after. The only people who remain are the die-hard photo.net fans but many have disappeared, or like myself have stopped posting as much. I think it might have to do with the once very popular Critique Page which was a little bit more free wheeling and less complicated.

[arthur_gottschalk]

Surprised to see that APUG, now Photrio, didn't make the list.

[Ricochetrider]

Hmmm, Well back to PN as a viable entity. I like this forum, and visit other forums (motorcycle) with some regularity although my usage has fallen off lately, for one reason or another. I believe, in general, that the prevalence of many forums' once secondary representation on social media sites like f@c3b00k gives greater ease of access, so many folks simply choose that route rather than sitting down at a computer (be it desktop, laptop, pad or whatever) to "access" an *actual* forum. At least one forum I know of has experienced a somewhat serious decline in "internet" hits but its fb page is booming- to cite one admittedly anecdotal example.

 

To address some of the other topics in this discussion

 

School uniforms.

I get that stripping people of anything that sets them apart from one another (clothes do this effectively) tends to "level the playing field".

Nudity achieves this perhaps even more effectively than uniforms - but I wouldn't recommend it for schools. The militarism of society, along with the purpose-built expectation of near-constant war also leads us to accept uniforms on school children who are almost certainly going to have the armynavyairforcemarines as their most viable "option" in "life".

 

Van Goh.

Crazy as a loon, perhaps- but wow. As an aside, I visited Amsterdam a couple years ago. Just a few days, a short pop in & out. By chance, I happened to meet a young Van Goh (directly related to Theo) who is finding his own voice as a painter and artist.

 

Creativity.

Creativity is actively discouraged because now, more than ever, The World-Machine needs blind, deaf, and incoherent drone/worker bees who have no interest in education and art. It needs desperate people who aspire to meaningless and menial and endless work for slave level wages in return for little or nothing, and who are driven to compete against each other at all costs, driving up heavy debt loads with the end-goal of achieving their "freedom"...

....to go home & watch TV.

 

Curiosity.

Who needs curiosity when you have The Internet In Your Hand?

 

Professors, tenure, and degrees.

The world needs professors, but also needs them to be emotionally stable and accessible. Then again, professors need much the same from their students. AND their administrators as well.

Tenure is no measure of greatness, it seems largely political. Yet it remains plausible that many tenured professors are indeed great at their job.

A degree isn't what it once was. Funny how something that costs so much has become so devalued. I am old enough to recall the days when a degree was relatively inexpensive and a certain pathway to financial stability and a secure future!

 

 

ha ha ha, apologies for all the doom & gloom!

 

Much more seriously, I really appreciate Photo dot net and all its people. You all are helping me learn and grow as a photographer and I enjoy hanging out with you folks.

Edited March 4, 2020 by William Michael

[samstevens]

I get that striping people of anything that sets them apart from one another (clothes do this effectively) tends to "level the playing field".

Nudity achieves this perhaps even more effectively than uniforms

I think you may find nudity NOT leveling the playing field as much as you think! :)

apologies for all the doom & gloom!

Don't apologize. Use it to become the next Van Gogh! :cool:

[Ricochetrider]

I think you may find nudity NOT leveling the playing field as much as you think! :)

 

 

LOL yeah.

"humanity" is not always pretty.

I always said there's about 2% of society that anyone actually WANTS to see naked

the rest is just plain ol folks