Scientist Invents Creativity Machine

Read and discuss the following text.

Sydney, Australia – Scientist Allan Snyder thinks that he has invented a machine to make people more creative. Actually, he says that his machine will make people more like autistic savants. Autistic savants are people who are mentally disabled but they have one remarkable ability. They can be calendar calculators (able to tell you the day of the week for any date in history); musical savants (able to play a complex piece after hearing it only once), or even accomplished visual artists.

The director of the Australian National University and Sydney University's Centre for the Mind says that his machine sends out magnetic signals. The signals stop part of the brain from working so that we can see things in greater detail. He believes that this is the key to the amazing abilities of autistic savants. But their problem is that they can't turn this ability off.

Creativity requires being able to see the details of a situation or idea, as well as the big picture, he says. However, most of us only see the big picture. For instance, if we read a book, we will probably remember what the story was about, but not particular words and passages.

Autistic savants see the detail, rather than the whole. However, for the rest of us, we try to fit the things we see and hear into the big picture in our brains. Snyder believes that creativity machines might eventually be a valuable tool in schools. "The biggest block to learning is that we only see what we know," he says.

In order to make different connections, we have to let go of the big picture – at least temporarily. Snyder says the strategy could help adults speak a second language without an accent and to improve their memory for details.

He defines creativity as being able to make connections between ideas that seem unrelated. In order to make these connections, we have to begin to see situations in a "nonautomatic way." "This is the power – and the promise – of the creativity machine," he says. Snyder argues we all have the ability to become creative. That is why he is not claiming his machine can turn people into geniuses. However, he believes that it might well reveal the genius that is inside a person, underneath layers of automatic thoughts, speech, and actions.

2) Answer the questions:

1. What is an autistic savant?

2. Are autistic savants good at seeing details or the big picture?

3. How does A. Snyder’s machine work?

4. How does he define creative ability?

5. Would you agree to be a test subject in Dr. Snyder experiments? Why (not)?

Дата добавления: 2014-12-29