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(energetic music)

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I'm Todd Sampson, and I'm on a quest for a better brain.

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I've embarked on a unique three-month experiment

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to see if science can turn any brain

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into a super brain.

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After one month of training, I've already doubled

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my thinking speed, sharpened my attention,

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and dramatically increased my memory.

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I'm not changing the order of this deck ever.

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But now, I want to turbo-charge my creativity.

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Uh, now what do we do?

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So on this episode, I'll be challenged

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to expand my creative thinking, become more innovative,

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and embrace lateral thinking.

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We're all born with an enormous creative capacity,

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but now modern science has developed techniques

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that we can all use to improve our creativity.

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Over the next four weeks, I'm going to hand my brain over

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to some of the world's leading experts

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to see if they can improve my creativity.

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So get ready to be inspired, and transform your mind.

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(energetic rock music)

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(mellow music)

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The brain is the most sophisticated machine known to man,

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and creativity its most powerful asset.

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If I'm going to boost my creative skills

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in just one month, I need a creative guru to get me going.

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The California State University in San Bernadino

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is one of the leading lights in the world

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of creativity research.

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Dr. James Kaufman is a firm believer

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that not only can creativity be learned,

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it can even be measured.

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In other words, he's a maverick.

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I've written about 25 books and more than 250 papers

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and they're all at the same basic essence

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of what makes us creative, how can we become more creative?

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You've written a play, as well, haven't you?

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I've actually written about 15 plays and musicals.

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Actually, the first one that I had staged

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was staged in Australia.

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Oh, what was it called?

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It was called "Sweet as Cinnamon,"

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it was about a serial killer.

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Oh, that's good to know.

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Okay, now that we got that serial killer thing

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out of the way, let's make me more creative.

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What I like to do is to find out where you are right now

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with your creativity.

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And I'm gonna give you a little test.

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I'm used to tests.

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The first test I'm gonna give you is called

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the alternate uses test.

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It's gonna look at your divergent thinking.

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We look at divergent thinking as a component of creativity,

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where whenever you get an idea, the first thing

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that has to happen is you have to get many different ideas.

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I'm ready.

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How many different uses can you think of

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for a shoe?

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You're gonna do these tests with me, right?

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Go.

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Uh, it can be a hotel for ants.

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It could be a plant-holder.

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You could use it as a drum.

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We could use it as a new cologne, shoe odor.

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Oh, you could use it as a doorstop.

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You could use it as a weapon, as a boxing thing,

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to beat people, you can use it to kill flies.

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So I'm gonna give you a different test.

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I'm gonna draw some very basic shapes,

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and I want you to then take two minutes, go.

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Any ideas how you'd finish this?

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It's known as the Torrance Drawing Test.

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It's not about your actual drawing ability,

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but open-mindedness, and how well you can

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think outside the box.

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And your time is up, pens down.

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Let's see what you did, explain your drawing to me.

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So I've done a thing called the Circle of Life.

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So we start out as a butterfly,

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then we become a snail with a shell,

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and then we transform into a human lifting weights.

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He basically then becomes a butterfly.

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How is that going with ya?

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Does this happen to you a lot?

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(laughing) Yes, it does.

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So basically you're saying you see

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a mollusk-rooted nature of mankind.

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You've got it, that's it.

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Do you often smell cheese

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when you're not aware of anything happening?

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I don't know about cheese,

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but I think someone has been sniffing the magic markers.

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Are you ready for the next test?

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I'm ready.

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What I'd like you to do is to think of

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a different thing for each triangle

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that you might do with it.

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You can fold it, you can rip it,

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you can do whatever you want.

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Okay, let's go.

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All right.

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That's one.

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I'm gonna make some mini triangles.

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These tests may seem a bit odd,

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but they actually assess divergent thinking,

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your ability to find many solutions.

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And divergent thinking is the single

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most important component of creativity.

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Igloo, throwing star.

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That's a house with a blue door.

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Johnny Happy Face.

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A fine job, Todd, are you ready for another test?

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Oh, I'm ready.

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Okay.

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What if people could not wear clothing?

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We would be more in touch with nature.

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Animals in the wild would stay in the wild

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'cause they would be afraid to

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come out and see what they see.

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The weight loss industry would boom.

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Visiting old-age homes would be awkward.

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Shaving cream would be huge.

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Tanning, we would all, geez,

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we'd need a lot of sunscreen, actually.

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You're done, Todd, that's good.

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Well, I've no idea what James can possibly

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glean from all that, but it turns out

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the assessment is way more scientific than I imagined.

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Todd, we have your scores on how you did

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on these creativity tests.

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And what we did is we came up with scores

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for every single action, one to five.

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Averaged our scores, and then averaged the scores

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across every single item.

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First we did the alternate usage test.

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The shoe test.

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The shoe test.

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How many uses for a shoe.

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Now, with this, we're gonna have two scores.

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The first score is gonna be for your fluency,

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how much can you come up with?

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The second score is gonna be originality,

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how rare or unique are your ideas?

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So on the alternate usage, you got eight out of 10

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for fluency, and you got six out of 10 for originality,

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for a total of 14 out of 20.

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Is that okay?

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It's actually quite good.

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Okay, next stop, reshaped triangles.

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This time, only six for both fluency and originality.

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How did the mustache do, 'cause that was my favorite one.

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Well, let's turn to my helpers.

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Heather, what did you think?

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That was my favorite, I gave it a five.

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Heather's so nice.

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All right, how did my drawing do?

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You had a strong, good continuation

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and connected all the points together

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with your Circle of Life.

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I don't think you're gonna win a Nobel Prize for biology,

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but you know, butterfly to a snail to Arnold Schwarzenegger

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was pretty humorous, which added to your score.

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You got a 6.9 for both originality and fluency.

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You got some extra points for the narrative,

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and for the symbolic usage.

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So clearly there was no points for art.

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We don't care whether or not you can draw.

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We care about what's going on up here.

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And up here is nothing if not consistent,

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because my score for what if was in the exact same ballpark,

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giving me a total score of 65.5%.

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Is that score good or bad?

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65 is really quite good.

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I would say that most people would be in the

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around 50 range, but you can do even better.

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I believe creativity can be taught,

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and with the training and techniques that I'm

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going to give you, you are going to be more creative.

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Well, now he's just scaring me.

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But if James insists that creativity can be taught,

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I think I'll believe him.

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But in only one month?

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This training had better be good.

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I'm gonna give you three types of techniques to use.

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For the first technique, I want you to do

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a different divergent thinking exercise every day.

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So keep trying the types of exercises

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that we've been doing together.

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Alternate uses, shapes, what if.

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And doing that over and over again,

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it will eventually result in me naturally

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thinking more divergent or more creatively.

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It will increase your divergent thinking.

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It will not make you a better painter,

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but it will improve how you approach

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these everyday problems to solve,

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and one way it does that is by

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helping to overcome functional fixedness,

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and it helps you to change this type of a mindset.

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Changing mindsets, that makes sense.

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All right, what next?

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The second thing is every day,

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try a food that you've never tried before in your life.

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I want you to find a new way home or a new way to work

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or a new way to the park.

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These are little things.

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If it's, let's say, jujitsu, try a new move,

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learn a new move.

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Now you're talking.

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People who are open to experience are more creative.

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The third thing is the actual creative production.

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Uh-oh, here it comes.

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I want you to actually do something creative.

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Could be a performance, could be a poem,

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could be a painting, try to compose something,

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anything like that.

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The key is to be able to turn off that functional fixedness

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and allow yourself to brainstorm and

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think of new cool ideas.

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All right, that sounds fun.

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It should be fun.

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Creativity isn't always fun,

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but there is always fun to be found within creativity.

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Okay, so if I have to complete a creative challenge

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in just a few weeks' time, I'm not going to muck around.

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I want to find out how creative ideas

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originate in the brain.

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Rumor has it there's a guy in Chicago who knows.

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(upbeat music)

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(horns honking)

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Scientists have discovered that analysis

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and creative thinking work differently in the brain.

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I'm about to meet the scientist who pioneered this research

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and can demonstrate how my brain achieves creative insight.

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So you're a specialist in creativity in the brain, right?

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Right, in particular, we look at how people

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solve problems with that feeling of sudden insight,

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the sort of aha or eureka moment.

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But isn't it the un-study-able?

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I've never thought of creativity and science going together.

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Well, let me put it this way.

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Do you think some people are more creative than others?

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Yes.

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And do you think sometimes you're more creative

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than you are at other times?

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Sure.

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And wouldn't you like to know

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how to be more creative?

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I definitely would.

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Well, we're right now just trying to

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study the basic processes, but we feel like

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we have to understand those before we can

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really help people be more creative,

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and just to understand the process.

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You know how sometimes when you're trying to

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figure out a solution to something,

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and you go through it methodically and logically,

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mentally testing out different things

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to come up with an answer?

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That's analytical thinking.

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And other times, you just get that lightbulb moment

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where suddenly it pops into your head out of nowhere.

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That eureka moment is an insight experience,

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00:12:06,090 --> 00:12:07,340
according to Mark Beeman.

267
00:12:08,870 --> 00:12:11,420
He's discovered that the brain uses different pathways

268
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for the two modes of thinking,

269
00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,140
and I'm about to experience that distinction.

270
00:12:16,140 --> 00:12:17,070
Here's what we're going to do today.

271
00:12:17,070 --> 00:12:19,855
I'm going to give you just a whole bunch of word puzzles.

272
00:12:19,855 --> 00:12:21,980
And they're pretty simple puzzles.

273
00:12:21,980 --> 00:12:23,360
What you're going to do is you're going to see

274
00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:25,160
three words on a screen, so have a look here.

275
00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:27,810
For each problem, you'll want to generate

276
00:12:27,810 --> 00:12:28,980
a solution word.

277
00:12:28,980 --> 00:12:33,560
So for example, what word can go with pine, crab, and sauce?

278
00:12:33,560 --> 00:12:35,940
So it has to fit with all three words.

279
00:12:35,940 --> 00:12:37,560
Do you know the answer to this problem?

280
00:12:37,560 --> 00:12:38,610
Is it apple?

281
00:12:38,610 --> 00:12:40,670
Right, so this one is apple, good.

282
00:12:40,670 --> 00:12:42,240
How would you say you solved that?

283
00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:44,550
It was definitely not through any kind of logic.

284
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It just sort of came.

285
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So it just popped into your head.

286
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We'll call that insight.

287
00:12:49,370 --> 00:12:51,850
And so if you solved one like that in the scanner,

288
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you'll press the outside button.

289
00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,010
So you'll have two buttons in each hand.

290
00:12:56,010 --> 00:12:57,340
And now I have absolutely no idea

291
00:12:57,340 --> 00:12:58,536
what Mark is saying any more,

292
00:12:58,536 --> 00:13:01,543
'cause I just heard the word scanner.

293
00:13:03,052 --> 00:13:07,308
Oh yes, my old friend, the FMRI machine.

294
00:13:07,308 --> 00:13:08,623
Good times.

295
00:13:09,705 --> 00:13:12,000
(beeping)

296
00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:13,943
And it just keeps on getting better.

297
00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:18,020
Mark's gonna image my brain

298
00:13:18,020 --> 00:13:19,903
as I try to solve the word puzzles.

299
00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:23,910
He doesn't care if I get them right or wrong.

300
00:13:23,910 --> 00:13:26,656
My job is to report back whether I used analysis

301
00:13:26,656 --> 00:13:29,053
or insight to find the solution.

302
00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:31,960
Okay, Todd, are you ready to go?

303
00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:32,793
Yeah, sure.

304
00:13:32,793 --> 00:13:34,970
Okay, a block of problems coming your way.

305
00:13:35,890 --> 00:13:36,893
Okay, ready?

306
00:13:38,410 --> 00:13:40,440
It's called the remote associates test.

307
00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,795
Now, I only have a few seconds to solve each puzzle.

308
00:13:43,795 --> 00:13:47,073
I believe the answer to this one is blind.

309
00:13:51,318 --> 00:13:54,240
When I press the button to say I used analysis or insight,

310
00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:57,190
Mark's assistant records the info to match up later

311
00:13:57,190 --> 00:14:00,523
with the scans that show which areas of my brain are firing.

312
00:14:03,300 --> 00:14:05,660
Try it yourself, and see if you can identify

313
00:14:05,660 --> 00:14:08,760
whether your brain used analysis or insight.

314
00:14:30,530 --> 00:14:31,990
Great, Todd, thank you very much.

315
00:14:31,990 --> 00:14:34,880
You're done, we'll come in and get you in a minute.

316
00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:36,663
Whew, glad that's over.

317
00:14:37,683 --> 00:14:40,350
(energetic music)

318
00:14:40,350 --> 00:14:42,770
The results show that an area in the right side

319
00:14:42,770 --> 00:14:45,760
of the brain, the anterior temporal lobe,

320
00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:48,360
became active when I solved a problem using insight.

321
00:14:49,318 --> 00:14:52,340
This area processes and connects ideas

322
00:14:52,340 --> 00:14:53,743
from deep within the brain.

323
00:14:55,940 --> 00:14:58,270
So this area's in the right anterior temporal lobe,

324
00:14:58,270 --> 00:14:59,360
and that's the area of the brain that's

325
00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:02,010
pulling together distantly-related information.

326
00:15:02,010 --> 00:15:04,490
So when we look at your data, we see a burst of activity

327
00:15:04,490 --> 00:15:05,920
over the right temporal lobe.

328
00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:08,100
This is just at the moment where the solution

329
00:15:08,100 --> 00:15:09,420
that was actually drawing together

330
00:15:09,420 --> 00:15:10,770
the different parts of the problem

331
00:15:10,770 --> 00:15:12,270
was coming into consciousness.

332
00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:15,970
So what to me was a eureka moment was in fact

333
00:15:15,970 --> 00:15:18,270
my right temporal lobe connecting

334
00:15:18,270 --> 00:15:20,763
distantly-related ideas in a new way.

335
00:15:21,890 --> 00:15:24,540
That's why the idea felt like it came out of nowhere.

336
00:15:25,970 --> 00:15:28,630
Analysis uses a different neural pathway

337
00:15:28,630 --> 00:15:32,363
involving the frontal cortex, which blocks eureka moments.

338
00:15:33,750 --> 00:15:36,450
So the chances of having an insight increase

339
00:15:36,450 --> 00:15:37,973
once we stop analyzing.

340
00:15:39,140 --> 00:15:40,623
And that's not all.

341
00:15:41,490 --> 00:15:44,010
So anxiety tends to impair your ability

342
00:15:44,010 --> 00:15:46,570
to solve with insight, and positive mood seems to help.

343
00:15:46,570 --> 00:15:48,820
Anxiety would probably tend to narrow your focus,

344
00:15:48,820 --> 00:15:51,520
and it would decrease activity in this anterior cingulet,

345
00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:53,580
and positive mood helps you relax that area,

346
00:15:53,580 --> 00:15:56,623
relax your degree of focus, to solve a problem with insight.

347
00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:00,221
So what's all this got to do with creativity?

348
00:16:00,221 --> 00:16:02,563
Well, consider this.

349
00:16:03,490 --> 00:16:06,867
A eureka moment forges unique connections in your brain,

350
00:16:06,867 --> 00:16:10,623
but analysis relies on existing connections.

351
00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:15,800
So if your goal is originality,

352
00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:17,813
learn to trust your insightful thinking.

353
00:16:21,466 --> 00:16:24,049
(mellow music)

354
00:16:28,300 --> 00:16:30,210
I've come to Leingarten in southern Germany

355
00:16:30,210 --> 00:16:33,853
to explore another type of blocked creativity: mindsets.

356
00:16:36,210 --> 00:16:38,860
Professor Bernd Lingelbach has spent a lifetime

357
00:16:38,860 --> 00:16:40,750
working with illusions that reveal

358
00:16:40,750 --> 00:16:42,633
how our brains get stuck in ruts.

359
00:16:43,910 --> 00:16:46,187
Hi, I'm Bernd, I would like to show you something.

360
00:16:46,187 --> 00:16:47,460
All right.

361
00:16:47,460 --> 00:16:51,170
He's built a museum of optical illusions in his barn.

362
00:16:51,170 --> 00:16:53,430
This one is his favorite.

363
00:16:53,430 --> 00:16:55,003
Now, look at this.

364
00:17:00,070 --> 00:17:00,913
Oh, wow.

365
00:17:02,379 --> 00:17:05,864
That's the most bizarre thing.

366
00:17:05,864 --> 00:17:07,197
That is amazing.

367
00:17:09,010 --> 00:17:10,520
Freaky, right?

368
00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:13,760
I'm half expecting someone to write "redrum" on the wall.

369
00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:15,720
But there are no mirrors involved.

370
00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:18,003
They're, in fact, identical twins.

371
00:17:18,930 --> 00:17:20,510
There's some kind of trick here.

372
00:17:20,510 --> 00:17:22,700
Some kind of trick, that's true.

373
00:17:22,700 --> 00:17:23,653
That's amazing.

374
00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:28,250
This room is an excellent example of how mindsets work

375
00:17:28,250 --> 00:17:30,650
and how our perception is influenced as much

376
00:17:30,650 --> 00:17:33,360
by what we expect to see as it is by

377
00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:34,713
what we actually see.

378
00:17:35,850 --> 00:17:36,763
Worked it out yet?

379
00:17:38,630 --> 00:17:39,483
This should help.

380
00:17:42,590 --> 00:17:45,730
It's the room that's freaky, not the girls.

381
00:17:45,730 --> 00:17:48,963
It's called an Ames room, and it's totally distorted.

382
00:17:50,037 --> 00:17:52,050
There are no right angles.

383
00:17:52,050 --> 00:17:55,110
The left-hand corner is further back than the right,

384
00:17:55,110 --> 00:17:57,940
so the back wall is not perpendicular.

385
00:17:57,940 --> 00:17:59,690
The floor slopes.

386
00:17:59,690 --> 00:18:00,820
It's only the angle of view

387
00:18:00,820 --> 00:18:02,470
that makes it appear rectangular.

388
00:18:04,180 --> 00:18:05,770
Nothing is parallel in here.

389
00:18:05,770 --> 00:18:06,603
Nothing is parallel.

390
00:18:06,603 --> 00:18:10,330
These walls are vertical, but not parallel.

391
00:18:10,330 --> 00:18:12,750
So your brain is lying to you.

392
00:18:12,750 --> 00:18:13,753
Yes, as usual.

393
00:18:14,890 --> 00:18:16,290
That's comforting to know.

394
00:18:17,637 --> 00:18:20,820
But what's fascinating is that even when

395
00:18:20,820 --> 00:18:24,611
you know how the illusion works, your mind is still tricked.

396
00:18:24,611 --> 00:18:28,230
Your brain is so convinced that all rooms are square

397
00:18:28,230 --> 00:18:30,270
it's willing to concede that the girls

398
00:18:30,270 --> 00:18:32,053
must be different sizes.

399
00:18:36,890 --> 00:18:39,263
All illusions take advantage of our mindsets.

400
00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:46,090
Because our brains operate by constantly finding shorctuts

401
00:18:46,090 --> 00:18:47,343
to reach a conclusion.

402
00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,010
What do you conclude from this image?

403
00:18:55,770 --> 00:18:57,203
It's yet another mindset.

404
00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,880
Mindsets block creativity, because we just continue

405
00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:04,113
to view things the same old way.

406
00:19:07,705 --> 00:19:11,037
But with the right training, some mindsets can be overcome.

407
00:19:14,274 --> 00:19:17,260
Back in Sydney, James Kaufman has put me in touch

408
00:19:17,260 --> 00:19:19,730
with a colleague whose specialty is an area

409
00:19:19,730 --> 00:19:22,230
that's all about busting mindsets.

410
00:19:22,230 --> 00:19:23,063
Innovation.

411
00:19:25,310 --> 00:19:28,930
Dr. David Cropley is an engineer, lecturer, and author.

412
00:19:28,930 --> 00:19:31,370
He's the ideal man to give me a crash course

413
00:19:31,370 --> 00:19:32,573
in innovative thinking.

414
00:19:34,550 --> 00:19:37,070
So creativity can be really abstract,

415
00:19:37,070 --> 00:19:40,670
but innovation is very practical, very useful.

416
00:19:40,670 --> 00:19:41,970
That's right, and that's why innovation

417
00:19:41,970 --> 00:19:44,670
is such an important part of things like engineering.

418
00:19:44,670 --> 00:19:47,750
You can build the world's most novel bridge,

419
00:19:47,750 --> 00:19:49,990
but if people can't use it to get across a river

420
00:19:49,990 --> 00:19:52,850
or if traffic can't go on it because it's not strong enough,

421
00:19:52,850 --> 00:19:54,520
then it's not really innovation.

422
00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:57,810
It's got to both be novel and interesting and surprising,

423
00:19:57,810 --> 00:19:58,990
but useful as well.

424
00:19:58,990 --> 00:20:00,690
Now I want you to build me something.

425
00:20:00,690 --> 00:20:02,380
Okay, we're gonna go and get some materials,

426
00:20:02,380 --> 00:20:05,160
I'm gonna set you a little challenge to test you.

427
00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:05,993
I'm actually gonna build something!

428
00:20:05,993 --> 00:20:06,826
Yep.

429
00:20:06,826 --> 00:20:07,820
Oh, okay, brilliant.

430
00:20:09,650 --> 00:20:11,410
Okay, Todd, you've got some materials here,

431
00:20:11,410 --> 00:20:14,480
and using only a maximum of four of these things,

432
00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:16,010
I want you to make a homemade knife.

433
00:20:16,010 --> 00:20:17,830
So that's your challenge.

434
00:20:17,830 --> 00:20:19,970
So this is like Jamie Oliver meets MacGuyver.

435
00:20:19,970 --> 00:20:21,493
A little bit, yeah.

436
00:20:23,620 --> 00:20:26,440
Okay, so make a knife using no more

437
00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:29,103
than four of these basic household items.

438
00:20:31,568 --> 00:20:32,823
Hmm, what do you reckon?

439
00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:42,400
Tests like this encourage the brain

440
00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:45,370
to break free of preconceived mindsets.

441
00:20:45,370 --> 00:20:49,940
So I'm selecting the toaster, because of the heat.

442
00:20:49,940 --> 00:20:51,242
I'm gonna use this, 'cause it's the only

443
00:20:51,242 --> 00:20:54,570
sort of solid thing that I have.

444
00:20:54,570 --> 00:20:57,873
Water, in case I burn the house down, and these.

445
00:20:59,137 --> 00:21:00,830
And the only reason I chose these is because

446
00:21:00,830 --> 00:21:03,070
this at least looks like something that can be melted.

447
00:21:03,070 --> 00:21:06,320
Okay, your suggestion was pretty good and pretty close.

448
00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:09,270
There's really only three materials that I need to do this.

449
00:21:12,660 --> 00:21:14,490
All right, kids, look away now.

450
00:21:14,490 --> 00:21:16,920
I don't want any angry parent emails.

451
00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:18,860
What we need to do is just fold this into

452
00:21:18,860 --> 00:21:22,560
a bit of a point, get it into the right kind of shape,

453
00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:24,910
which in this case is gonna be a sort of poker.

454
00:21:26,125 --> 00:21:29,550
I reckon David would be a popular man in prison.

455
00:21:29,550 --> 00:21:32,693
It starts to get a little bit sticky and more pliable.

456
00:21:33,996 --> 00:21:35,490
What I normally do is sort of knead it,

457
00:21:35,490 --> 00:21:36,787
twist it a little bit so we start to get

458
00:21:36,787 --> 00:21:38,633
a kind of pointy shape.

459
00:21:40,113 --> 00:21:44,750
So now a little bit, you can see that's

460
00:21:44,750 --> 00:21:46,773
really getting fairly solid now.

461
00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:50,280
And if you keep at it long enough,

462
00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:53,140
eventually you'll come up with this.

463
00:21:53,140 --> 00:21:55,200
Okay.
Wow.

464
00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:57,880
Puncture there.
Look at that.

465
00:21:57,880 --> 00:21:59,520
So I reckon as a homemade knife,

466
00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:00,480
it does a pretty good job.

467
00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:02,660
That's amazing, this really works well.

468
00:22:02,660 --> 00:22:05,633
Toaster, bag, poor tomato.

469
00:22:07,254 --> 00:22:09,837
(mellow music)

470
00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:15,130
David has another innovation test for me

471
00:22:15,130 --> 00:22:18,363
that involves building something, well, kinda bizarre.

472
00:22:19,310 --> 00:22:21,860
So I've designed a concept and bought all the gear.

473
00:22:23,350 --> 00:22:25,403
Fingers crossed it'll actually work.

474
00:22:26,570 --> 00:22:28,060
The task is you've gotta make a

475
00:22:28,060 --> 00:22:30,420
mousetrap-powered wheeled vehicle.

476
00:22:30,420 --> 00:22:33,040
The sole source of power is the mousetrap,

477
00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:35,890
otherwise you can do pretty much anything you like.

478
00:22:35,890 --> 00:22:39,310
We'll give you two hours, and let's see what happens.

479
00:22:39,310 --> 00:22:40,460
You're really strict.

480
00:22:41,870 --> 00:22:42,703
Okay.

481
00:22:44,300 --> 00:22:48,440
That's right, a mousetrap-powered wheeled vehicle.

482
00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:49,273
Go figure.

483
00:22:54,226 --> 00:22:56,809
Okay, so that's the basic idea.

484
00:22:57,790 --> 00:22:58,623
Sorry, David.

485
00:22:58,623 --> 00:23:00,523
That one, uh, it works.

486
00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:05,416
Since I'm being scored on this, I'm taking no chances,

487
00:23:05,416 --> 00:23:08,380
and if there's one thing I learned in high school wood shop,

488
00:23:08,380 --> 00:23:10,473
it's measure twice, cut once.

489
00:23:11,610 --> 00:23:14,240
And keep your hair away from the drill press.

490
00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:15,613
I hope this thing holds.

491
00:23:17,767 --> 00:23:19,293
It seems pretty solid, actually.

492
00:23:22,180 --> 00:23:24,180
Okay, so that's a little bit concerning.

493
00:23:28,830 --> 00:23:31,153
Todd, you've got one hour to go.

494
00:23:31,153 --> 00:23:32,333
One hour to go?

495
00:23:32,333 --> 00:23:33,973
The aesthetics are going out the window.

496
00:23:36,542 --> 00:23:38,070
(laughing)

497
00:23:38,070 --> 00:23:41,533
Well, I can kill a mouse at long range.

498
00:23:45,330 --> 00:23:47,980
I think I made a poor choice in string, but.

499
00:23:49,150 --> 00:23:50,993
Get that wheel in there!

500
00:23:54,270 --> 00:23:55,600
That's good.

501
00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:56,738
How am I doing on time?

502
00:23:56,738 --> 00:23:57,571
You've got five minutes left.

503
00:23:57,571 --> 00:23:59,120
Five minutes?

504
00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:02,960
Okay, if I can't make it fast using physics,

505
00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:05,680
I'm gonna use Ferrari-red paint.

506
00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:06,530
That should help.

507
00:24:09,290 --> 00:24:11,390
And that's the direction it's gonna go in.

508
00:24:12,946 --> 00:24:15,620
It doesn't look very good,

509
00:24:15,620 --> 00:24:17,890
but I reckon it'll actually move,

510
00:24:17,890 --> 00:24:20,530
and there'll be a lot of nervous mice

511
00:24:20,530 --> 00:24:23,900
when they see this big contraption coming their way.

512
00:24:23,900 --> 00:24:24,850
Let's give it a go.

513
00:24:26,890 --> 00:24:28,980
You better be careful down that end,

514
00:24:28,980 --> 00:24:30,870
'cause this might go straight through ya.

515
00:24:30,870 --> 00:24:33,050
Okay, let's line it up.

516
00:24:33,050 --> 00:24:35,300
At an absolute minimum, this things has to

517
00:24:35,300 --> 00:24:36,890
reach the end of the table.

518
00:24:36,890 --> 00:24:38,963
Ready, here we go.

519
00:24:43,287 --> 00:24:45,250
Okay, success.
Yes!

520
00:24:45,250 --> 00:24:47,730
It works, it moved!

521
00:24:47,730 --> 00:24:49,960
Well done, that's a good solution.

522
00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:53,940
I think that's high praise coming from David.

523
00:24:53,940 --> 00:24:55,990
But let's find out.

524
00:24:55,990 --> 00:24:59,770
Seems he's invented a fancy formula for scoring innovation,

525
00:24:59,770 --> 00:25:02,343
the Creative Solution Diagnosis Scale.

526
00:25:03,711 --> 00:25:06,070
Now, the first end in my view,

527
00:25:06,070 --> 00:25:07,540
and from an engineering point of view

528
00:25:07,540 --> 00:25:09,430
the most important criterion, really,

529
00:25:09,430 --> 00:25:11,540
is relevance and effectiveness, in other words,

530
00:25:11,540 --> 00:25:13,770
does the product that you've created

531
00:25:13,770 --> 00:25:15,350
do what we wanted it to do?

532
00:25:15,350 --> 00:25:17,270
In this case, how far this thing can move.

533
00:25:17,270 --> 00:25:19,765
Now, I said that getting to the end

534
00:25:19,765 --> 00:25:21,020
of the test track was the sort of minimum target,

535
00:25:21,020 --> 00:25:22,440
and you've achieved that, so I'd give it

536
00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:25,176
a pretty good score for relevance and effectiveness.

537
00:25:25,176 --> 00:25:29,730
Maybe, let's say, 18 out of 25.

538
00:25:29,730 --> 00:25:30,830
That's a good score?

539
00:25:32,510 --> 00:25:35,900
Uh-oh, this is not starting out well.

540
00:25:36,910 --> 00:25:39,560
So let's look at the novelty of your solution.

541
00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:43,250
Now, this is where there's still some room for improvement.

542
00:25:43,250 --> 00:25:45,850
The fact is, using the energy stored in the spring

543
00:25:45,850 --> 00:25:47,320
in the way that you've done and maybe

544
00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:49,520
extending it with a lever the way you have,

545
00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:51,630
using a piece of string to turn the axle,

546
00:25:51,630 --> 00:25:53,560
is a very conventional solution.

547
00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:55,778
It doesn't have that sort of surprise, aha,

548
00:25:55,778 --> 00:25:58,130
I never would have thought of that reaction.

549
00:25:58,130 --> 00:25:59,240
Okay?

550
00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:01,660
So from the point of view of scoring this,

551
00:26:01,660 --> 00:26:04,703
I would give it, say, five out of 25.

552
00:26:04,703 --> 00:26:06,370
Five out of 25?

553
00:26:06,370 --> 00:26:08,650
You are kidding me.

554
00:26:08,650 --> 00:26:10,560
But again, that's--
Five out of 25.

555
00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:13,930
There's middle, which would be 12 1/2,

556
00:26:13,930 --> 00:26:15,060
and then there's five.

557
00:26:15,060 --> 00:26:16,130
Yep.

558
00:26:16,130 --> 00:26:17,310
Five out of 25.

559
00:26:17,310 --> 00:26:20,990
Yep, because like I said, it's not original

560
00:26:20,990 --> 00:26:23,383
and surprising, it's an obvious solution.

561
00:26:23,383 --> 00:26:25,770
(sighing) Moving on.

562
00:26:25,770 --> 00:26:29,020
One aspect of elegance is, in simple terms,

563
00:26:29,020 --> 00:26:31,400
whether or not it looks like a finished product.

564
00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:34,540
For example, the axle is fairly loose,

565
00:26:34,540 --> 00:26:35,600
so that could be improved.

566
00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:39,860
The string rubs on the wood here, so that creates friction.

567
00:26:39,860 --> 00:26:41,720
Clearly, the visual appear could be better,

568
00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:45,550
but you've made some attempt to sort of make it look nice.

569
00:26:45,550 --> 00:26:47,170
For that reason, I think you're scoring

570
00:26:47,170 --> 00:26:50,235
somewhere in the middle, so I'm gonna give you 12 1/2.

571
00:26:50,235 --> 00:26:52,607
Oh, wow, look at that.
Out of 25 on this one.

572
00:26:52,607 --> 00:26:54,570
All right, so who said

573
00:26:54,570 --> 00:26:57,080
lipstick on a pig doesn't work?

574
00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:58,550
All right, Todd, the last criterion,

575
00:26:58,550 --> 00:27:01,630
it's the toughest one and the most abstract one,

576
00:27:01,630 --> 00:27:03,563
is what I call genesis, and it relates to

577
00:27:03,563 --> 00:27:05,690
whether or not your product opens up

578
00:27:05,690 --> 00:27:09,870
new perspective and sort of generates new ideas.

579
00:27:09,870 --> 00:27:12,953
I'm going to give it 10 out of 25 for genesis.

580
00:27:12,953 --> 00:27:17,390
And 10 out of 25 is about how I'm feeling right now,

581
00:27:17,390 --> 00:27:22,390
leaving me with the enviable score of 45.5 out of 100.

582
00:27:23,043 --> 00:27:24,440
I love this guy.

583
00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:28,286
He's just insulted me for the last 10 minutes,

584
00:27:28,286 --> 00:27:29,320
and he's done it with a smile.

585
00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:31,005
It's like, sure, you're unoriginal,

586
00:27:31,005 --> 00:27:33,960
you're useless at making things in two hours,

587
00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:35,170
it actually looks pretty ugly,

588
00:27:35,170 --> 00:27:38,200
and it's got no novelty, so I'll round that off

589
00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:39,193
to a 45 out of 100.

590
00:27:40,950 --> 00:27:42,600
Anyway, I'll take it on the chin.

591
00:27:47,790 --> 00:27:51,090
Okay, so my innovation skills obviously need a boost.

592
00:27:51,090 --> 00:27:53,893
So David set me up with 30 minutes of daily training.

593
00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:00,623
Now it's back to my gym for the brain to do my homework.

594
00:28:02,790 --> 00:28:05,743
Innovative thinking can be learned, but it takes practice.

595
00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:09,970
David wants me to keep thinking outside the box,

596
00:28:09,970 --> 00:28:12,123
and free my mind of rigid rules.

597
00:28:14,060 --> 00:28:17,173
So he's sent me a task called functional descriptions.

598
00:28:20,270 --> 00:28:23,030
Firstly, I have to find an everyday object,

599
00:28:23,030 --> 00:28:24,513
let's say a screwdriver.

600
00:28:25,420 --> 00:28:28,450
I define its function using a verb and a noun.

601
00:28:28,450 --> 00:28:30,643
So in this case, applies torque.

602
00:28:31,690 --> 00:28:33,430
I then come up with other objects

603
00:28:33,430 --> 00:28:35,233
that could also do the same job.

604
00:28:39,490 --> 00:28:40,950
Have a go, and see how quickly

605
00:28:40,950 --> 00:28:42,903
you can come up with four alternatives.

606
00:28:43,876 --> 00:28:46,459
(mellow music)

607
00:29:10,380 --> 00:29:13,830
Despite the lessons learned from my creativity gurus,

608
00:29:13,830 --> 00:29:16,843
my impending art challenge is weighing heavily on my mind.

609
00:29:18,700 --> 00:29:20,330
I need some advice from someone

610
00:29:20,330 --> 00:29:22,380
who's renowned for her creative thinking.

611
00:29:28,890 --> 00:29:31,260
Installation artist Janet Echelman

612
00:29:31,260 --> 00:29:34,650
is a globally acclaimed sculptor, lateral thinker,

613
00:29:34,650 --> 00:29:36,633
and most importantly, innovator.

614
00:29:42,890 --> 00:29:45,663
Janet is the creator of works on a grand scale.

615
00:29:46,910 --> 00:29:49,050
Massive urban art installations that

616
00:29:49,050 --> 00:29:52,553
fluidly respond to wind, rain, and light.

617
00:29:54,180 --> 00:29:57,610
These feats of engineering are exhibited around the world.

618
00:29:57,610 --> 00:30:01,263
From Phoenix to Madrid, Vancouver to Sydney.

619
00:30:04,250 --> 00:30:05,430
Welcome to the studio.

620
00:30:05,430 --> 00:30:07,430
This is a cool space.

621
00:30:07,430 --> 00:30:10,000
Wow, it feels like we're underwater, with these nets.

622
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,330
And actually, I'll pull that down for you.

623
00:30:12,330 --> 00:30:15,355
We use a very high-tech system here.

624
00:30:15,355 --> 00:30:17,811
Yeah, it's great.
There you go.

625
00:30:17,811 --> 00:30:22,020
And it's actually for this model, is a campus,

626
00:30:22,020 --> 00:30:23,690
and it's going to interconnect

627
00:30:23,690 --> 00:30:26,320
the three buildings of the campus.

628
00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:28,710
These areas needed to be tied together

629
00:30:28,710 --> 00:30:31,900
and they needed a focal point that lifted your eyes

630
00:30:31,900 --> 00:30:33,690
upward to the sky.

631
00:30:33,690 --> 00:30:35,950
So it's intuition, you looking at it,

632
00:30:35,950 --> 00:30:37,580
getting a feel for what it needs.

633
00:30:37,580 --> 00:30:41,520
That is the most important information source I have

634
00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:45,710
is just how I feel when I am walking through the place.

635
00:30:45,710 --> 00:30:47,110
That's where I start.

636
00:30:47,110 --> 00:30:48,900
What's interesting is part of my training

637
00:30:48,900 --> 00:30:50,960
is to try and figure out how to get in touch

638
00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:54,910
with that insight or intuition or feeling side,

639
00:30:54,910 --> 00:30:56,410
because logic seems to take over,

640
00:30:56,410 --> 00:30:58,991
and the scientists have studied this in great detail

641
00:30:58,991 --> 00:31:01,620
and logic can often get in the way.

642
00:31:01,620 --> 00:31:05,910
My sense is that we all are getting this intuitive

643
00:31:05,910 --> 00:31:08,070
information from our body.

644
00:31:08,070 --> 00:31:11,240
I think it's like a quiet voice that says something,

645
00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:14,980
but is not paid attention to, so it just dissipates.

646
00:31:14,980 --> 00:31:17,380
And I have actually trained myself

647
00:31:17,380 --> 00:31:19,323
to pay more attention to them.

648
00:31:21,310 --> 00:31:23,440
But Janet's got more than one trick up her sleeve

649
00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:25,050
for transforming her intuition

650
00:31:25,050 --> 00:31:27,893
into a fully-blown, scientifically-engineered project.

651
00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:33,160
So I made this time lapse of a complete day,

652
00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:36,690
day and night, and then from each of those images

653
00:31:36,690 --> 00:31:41,690
we batch analyzed the color in each of those moments

654
00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:46,110
of the sky, and then we graft it radially,

655
00:31:46,110 --> 00:31:50,490
and that's where we got the form that we're modeling today.

656
00:31:50,490 --> 00:31:54,230
So your work is as much intuition and inspiration

657
00:31:54,230 --> 00:31:56,183
as it is science, isn't it?

658
00:31:56,183 --> 00:31:58,760
That looks like you've done a weather chart

659
00:31:58,760 --> 00:31:59,980
for a science program.

660
00:31:59,980 --> 00:32:03,045
So for me, there's no separation.

661
00:32:03,045 --> 00:32:07,106
Intuition, science, research, thinking, feeling,

662
00:32:07,106 --> 00:32:09,900
I don't know where one of those things ends

663
00:32:09,900 --> 00:32:10,860
and the other begins.

664
00:32:10,860 --> 00:32:13,640
We just do whatever we are inspired to do

665
00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:17,290
and follow those directions.

666
00:32:17,290 --> 00:32:19,653
Okay, let's try 1.75.

667
00:32:21,730 --> 00:32:23,890
Janet's multidisciplinary approach

668
00:32:23,890 --> 00:32:26,320
means she often has to innovate techniques

669
00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:27,863
to bring her pieces to life.

670
00:32:28,990 --> 00:32:31,190
So what are you proposing?

671
00:32:31,190 --> 00:32:33,560
I need to collaborate and learn and work

672
00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:36,880
with all kinds of people with different expertise.

673
00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:41,880
Engineers, architects, fabricators, hand workers.

674
00:32:42,370 --> 00:32:46,363
They expand my work to something I could never do.

675
00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:51,240
One of her biggest innovative breakthroughs

676
00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:53,710
came when designing this mobile festival piece

677
00:32:53,710 --> 00:32:55,423
which came to Sydney in 2011.

678
00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:01,860
With its shape born out of data analysis of a tsunami wave,

679
00:33:01,860 --> 00:33:04,860
getting it off the page was proving tricky.

680
00:33:04,860 --> 00:33:09,860
We realized that the form was too complicated

681
00:33:10,470 --> 00:33:13,520
to make the way I had made every other sculpture before,

682
00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:16,930
with a steel ring that held its form.

683
00:33:16,930 --> 00:33:19,677
Because this was a more complex shape,

684
00:33:19,677 --> 00:33:21,850
it just couldn't be built with steel,

685
00:33:21,850 --> 00:33:23,670
it would be too heavy.

686
00:33:23,670 --> 00:33:27,462
And so it forced me to think of a new way.

687
00:33:27,462 --> 00:33:32,020
I realized that if I put a grid of a soft mesh

688
00:33:32,020 --> 00:33:37,020
on top of it, and I could link those points with the grid,

689
00:33:37,620 --> 00:33:39,940
I could create an entirely soft

690
00:33:39,940 --> 00:33:42,970
and much lighter-weight sculpture.

691
00:33:42,970 --> 00:33:44,750
So you were in a mindset that you created

692
00:33:44,750 --> 00:33:46,650
that you've used for a majority of your art,

693
00:33:46,650 --> 00:33:48,510
and then suddenly you switched mindsets

694
00:33:48,510 --> 00:33:50,610
and created something different.

695
00:33:50,610 --> 00:33:53,760
And what seems like a limitation actually

696
00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:57,963
opened up the door to a greater innovative solution.

697
00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:01,600
Wow, that settles it.

698
00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:04,622
I want a brain more like Janet's.

699
00:34:04,622 --> 00:34:07,205
(mellow music)

700
00:34:14,047 --> 00:34:17,370
(upbeat music)

701
00:34:17,370 --> 00:34:19,960
And believe it or not, I know of just the man

702
00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:21,523
to help me bend my mind.

703
00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:25,395
I've come to Sydney University, where a scientist reckons

704
00:34:25,395 --> 00:34:28,410
he can unleash my hidden creativity

705
00:34:28,410 --> 00:34:30,900
using a piece of technology that disables

706
00:34:30,900 --> 00:34:33,633
the part of my brain that actually blocks creativity.

707
00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:37,880
While I'm uneasy about having my brain disabled,

708
00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:39,483
I'm excited by the potential.

709
00:34:42,260 --> 00:34:44,050
Todd!
Hello, Allan.

710
00:34:44,050 --> 00:34:45,260
Nice to meet you.

711
00:34:45,260 --> 00:34:47,270
Professor Allan Snyder is one of the world's

712
00:34:47,270 --> 00:34:50,630
leading experts on understanding the creative mind.

713
00:34:50,630 --> 00:34:53,640
Well, let's take a look at this one over here first.

714
00:34:53,640 --> 00:34:56,930
I mean, this looks like a Leonardo da Vinci, doesn't it?

715
00:34:56,930 --> 00:35:01,610
It's a four-year-old girl, four-year-old,

716
00:35:01,610 --> 00:35:04,780
and not only that, it's a girl who has autism.

717
00:35:04,780 --> 00:35:07,010
Wow, she's four?

718
00:35:07,010 --> 00:35:12,010
Here is, the same girl, at about five years old,

719
00:35:12,500 --> 00:35:14,600
and look at the elaboration.

720
00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:17,900
Wow, but clearly not everyone has that capability.

721
00:35:17,900 --> 00:35:18,733
Or do they?

722
00:35:18,733 --> 00:35:20,150
Well, why not?

723
00:35:20,150 --> 00:35:23,310
Nadia, this autistic savant, I believe,

724
00:35:23,310 --> 00:35:26,060
has something we all have within us.

725
00:35:26,060 --> 00:35:28,690
But she has some sort of privileged access

726
00:35:28,690 --> 00:35:30,160
to that information.

727
00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:33,260
So I'm interested, you're gonna use a piece of technology

728
00:35:33,260 --> 00:35:35,462
to disable one part of my brain.

729
00:35:35,462 --> 00:35:37,170
Inhibit a part.
Inhibit a part of my brain

730
00:35:37,170 --> 00:35:38,860
to increase the creativity.

731
00:35:38,860 --> 00:35:41,370
I'm gonna try to turn on something in you

732
00:35:41,370 --> 00:35:44,300
by turning a part of your brain off.

733
00:35:44,300 --> 00:35:45,133
Amazing.

734
00:35:45,133 --> 00:35:46,040
Let's go down to the lab, you ready?

735
00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:47,430
I'm ready, let's give it a go.

736
00:35:47,430 --> 00:35:48,347
Let's go.

737
00:35:49,530 --> 00:35:51,530
Before Allan can zap my brain,

738
00:35:51,530 --> 00:35:54,270
he first needs to test my creative ability.

739
00:35:54,270 --> 00:35:56,936
Okay, Todd, I have a little matchstick

740
00:35:56,936 --> 00:35:59,120
arithmetic test for you.

741
00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:02,020
Right now it says, in Roman numerals,

742
00:36:02,020 --> 00:36:04,970
nine equals nine plus nine.

743
00:36:04,970 --> 00:36:08,418
Can you move the matchstick, one matchstick only,

744
00:36:08,418 --> 00:36:11,363
to make this a valid equation?

745
00:36:15,947 --> 00:36:18,087
I don't think I can solve this one.

746
00:36:18,087 --> 00:36:20,594
Can you name three consecutive days

747
00:36:20,594 --> 00:36:24,040
without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,

748
00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:26,253
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?

749
00:36:28,430 --> 00:36:30,490
Good day, bad day, some day?

750
00:36:30,490 --> 00:36:31,729
That's not the answer.

751
00:36:31,729 --> 00:36:33,590
(laughing) Okay, fair enough.

752
00:36:33,590 --> 00:36:36,070
Okay, Todd, now the big moment's here.

753
00:36:36,070 --> 00:36:38,650
We're going to put the electrodes on you.

754
00:36:38,650 --> 00:36:42,400
The cathode will be on your left temporal lobe,

755
00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:44,983
and the anode, the positive, will be on your right.

756
00:36:47,163 --> 00:36:48,480
So a part of my left brain that

757
00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:50,440
interprets information will be zapped with

758
00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:53,523
enough electricity to inhibit it for two hours.

759
00:36:54,490 --> 00:36:56,560
This frees up the part of my right brain

760
00:36:56,560 --> 00:37:00,120
associated with raw perception and creativity,

761
00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:02,470
the same region that Mark Beeman identified

762
00:37:02,470 --> 00:37:04,063
as generating insights.

763
00:37:06,010 --> 00:37:09,640
Richard's going to start turning the current on,

764
00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:14,070
and what I want you to do is report any feelings you have.

765
00:37:14,070 --> 00:37:16,320
(whirring)

766
00:37:23,461 --> 00:37:24,580
Yeah, I can't, okay.

767
00:37:24,580 --> 00:37:28,633
So I'm definitely getting brighter, better color sensation.

768
00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:36,160
The feeling of being under that brain stimulation

769
00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:37,620
was a definite switch on.

770
00:37:37,620 --> 00:37:40,073
It was like someone had turbo charged my head.

771
00:37:41,100 --> 00:37:44,440
My mind became energetic, I became really optimistic.

772
00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:46,473
I felt really free.

773
00:37:49,219 --> 00:37:52,240
Okay, let's revisit the problem that

774
00:37:52,240 --> 00:37:54,303
you had so much difficulty with.

775
00:37:54,303 --> 00:37:56,650
How can you fix that up?

776
00:37:56,650 --> 00:37:58,603
Moving just one match.

777
00:38:00,250 --> 00:38:01,760
As soon as I did it the second time,

778
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:03,833
I was looking at it completely differently.

779
00:38:04,764 --> 00:38:06,337
It could be the obvious one, which is that.

780
00:38:06,337 --> 00:38:08,563
That's it, very good, you got it.

781
00:38:09,797 --> 00:38:13,770
Okay, let's return to the riddle.

782
00:38:13,770 --> 00:38:16,700
Can you name three consecutive days

783
00:38:16,700 --> 00:38:18,780
without using the words Monday, Tuesday,

784
00:38:18,780 --> 00:38:21,900
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?

785
00:38:21,900 --> 00:38:23,379
The second time around with the riddle,

786
00:38:23,379 --> 00:38:27,140
I fell like I was approaching it much more originally.

787
00:38:27,140 --> 00:38:27,993
Today.

788
00:38:29,020 --> 00:38:30,090
The only thing that was different is,

789
00:38:30,090 --> 00:38:31,040
I didn't give it up.

790
00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:36,040
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

791
00:38:36,043 --> 00:38:37,650
That's right, you got it.

792
00:38:37,650 --> 00:38:38,520
Is that actually right?

793
00:38:38,520 --> 00:38:39,680
That is right.

794
00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:42,010
So how on Earth has Allan managed

795
00:38:42,010 --> 00:38:43,763
to change my brain function?

796
00:38:45,410 --> 00:38:48,640
Well, the electrical current temporarily suppresses

797
00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:52,023
my left anterior temporal lobe, the brain's filter.

798
00:38:53,090 --> 00:38:56,610
So I get privileged access to the uncensored raw info

799
00:38:56,610 --> 00:38:58,060
from the right temporal lobe.

800
00:38:59,860 --> 00:39:01,580
I can now think more creatively,

801
00:39:01,580 --> 00:39:03,653
without being limited to my mindsets.

802
00:39:05,130 --> 00:39:07,760
There's this kind of generally accepted belief

803
00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:11,950
that the left hemisphere dominates the right hemisphere.

804
00:39:11,950 --> 00:39:15,230
We learn through the right, and we conceptualize

805
00:39:15,230 --> 00:39:17,140
that information in the left.

806
00:39:17,140 --> 00:39:21,660
And by inhibiting the left, we free up the right.

807
00:39:21,660 --> 00:39:24,680
So we got you to be more literal.

808
00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:28,750
Like any expert, right, you're blinded by your expertise,

809
00:39:28,750 --> 00:39:31,270
and that's the bottleneck to creativity.

810
00:39:31,270 --> 00:39:32,103
You're looking out at the world

811
00:39:32,103 --> 00:39:34,680
through the mindsets that you've accumulated.

812
00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:36,003
It's hard to break them.

813
00:39:38,460 --> 00:39:40,440
Well, I've got about 30 minutes left

814
00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:43,390
before this wears off, so I'm going to make the most of it.

815
00:39:44,830 --> 00:39:47,500
But I'd like a way of being open to other perspectives

816
00:39:47,500 --> 00:39:48,743
that's more permanent.

817
00:39:49,820 --> 00:39:51,003
And so it hit me.

818
00:39:53,060 --> 00:39:56,923
That's my next skill to master, lateral thinking.

819
00:39:59,301 --> 00:40:02,384
(upbeat jazzy music)

820
00:40:12,050 --> 00:40:14,340
I've come to this amazing building in Melbourne

821
00:40:14,340 --> 00:40:16,910
called the RMIT Design Hub.

822
00:40:16,910 --> 00:40:18,690
This is where people come to collaborate

823
00:40:18,690 --> 00:40:20,610
and think more creatively.

824
00:40:20,610 --> 00:40:21,850
I'm going to meet an expert here

825
00:40:21,850 --> 00:40:24,403
who's going to teach me about lateral thinking.

826
00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:27,190
Hi, I'm Susan.

827
00:40:27,190 --> 00:40:28,350
Welcome to the design hub.

828
00:40:28,350 --> 00:40:29,183
Did you choose this place?

829
00:40:29,183 --> 00:40:30,040
This is amazing.
I did.

830
00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:31,023
Isn't it beautiful?

831
00:40:32,171 --> 00:40:36,328
Susan Mackie is the CEO of Melbourne's De Bono Institute,

832
00:40:36,328 --> 00:40:38,353
founded by the legendary Edward de Bono,

833
00:40:38,353 --> 00:40:42,530
who coined the term lateral thinking in the '70s.

834
00:40:42,530 --> 00:40:45,630
But Susan's also living proof expanding your thinking

835
00:40:45,630 --> 00:40:47,495
can change your personal circumstance,

836
00:40:47,495 --> 00:40:50,303
even in the face of adversity.

837
00:40:51,620 --> 00:40:53,080
And it's also a practical thing for you,

838
00:40:53,080 --> 00:40:55,250
'cause if I'm not mistaken, I hope I got this right,

839
00:40:55,250 --> 00:40:56,437
you had a stroke when you were 30

840
00:40:56,437 --> 00:40:59,450
and you actually used brain training to overcome that.

841
00:40:59,450 --> 00:41:00,630
Yes, I did.

842
00:41:00,630 --> 00:41:02,610
So I was in a wheelchair for quite a while,

843
00:41:02,610 --> 00:41:04,620
and I just decided that this was not workable.

844
00:41:04,620 --> 00:41:05,950
So I did an awful lot of training

845
00:41:05,950 --> 00:41:09,290
to be able to learn how to walk again, write again.

846
00:41:09,290 --> 00:41:10,450
I think the last thing I've just

847
00:41:10,450 --> 00:41:12,060
learned how to do is stairs.

848
00:41:12,060 --> 00:41:12,893
That's amazing.

849
00:41:12,893 --> 00:41:15,360
So you're a real-live version of neuroplasticity.

850
00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:17,830
I am, but I think there's lots of us that are,

851
00:41:17,830 --> 00:41:20,050
that, I think that's the beautiful thing about

852
00:41:20,050 --> 00:41:21,900
knowing how much we know now about the brain

853
00:41:21,900 --> 00:41:24,491
that we can overcome all these limitations

854
00:41:24,491 --> 00:41:26,113
through good training.

855
00:41:29,820 --> 00:41:32,090
Everyone's heard the phrase lateral thinking,

856
00:41:32,090 --> 00:41:34,380
but I don't really know what it means.

857
00:41:34,380 --> 00:41:35,370
What does it mean?

858
00:41:35,370 --> 00:41:37,763
Okay, well, there's probably a simple way to describe it,

859
00:41:37,763 --> 00:41:39,840
and the notion is actually bumping your mind

860
00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:41,510
out of its thinking patterns or thinking ruts

861
00:41:41,510 --> 00:41:43,446
to take a new pathway.

862
00:41:43,446 --> 00:41:45,580
I've been doing a lot of training on mindsets,

863
00:41:45,580 --> 00:41:47,550
changing mindsets, being aware of mindsets.

864
00:41:47,550 --> 00:41:48,383
It's similar, isn't it?

865
00:41:48,383 --> 00:41:49,216
Very similar.

866
00:41:49,216 --> 00:41:50,890
It is a mindset, because a mindset is

867
00:41:50,890 --> 00:41:53,760
about shifting a pathway, and actually shifting

868
00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:55,133
a particular way of seeing something or

869
00:41:55,133 --> 00:41:56,340
a particular way of looking.

870
00:41:56,340 --> 00:41:58,630
So it's about shifting your perception.

871
00:41:58,630 --> 00:42:01,570
You know they did, like, cranial shock on my brain,

872
00:42:01,570 --> 00:42:03,760
to get me to get out of my mindset.

873
00:42:03,760 --> 00:42:04,593
And?

874
00:42:04,593 --> 00:42:05,680
It actually worked.

875
00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:06,680
I saw things differently.

876
00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:08,530
So you bumped your mind out of its ruts.

877
00:42:08,530 --> 00:42:11,566
Yeah, so it wasn't more of a bump, it was more of a fry.

878
00:42:11,566 --> 00:42:12,687
(laughing) Well, maybe we should rather teach you

879
00:42:12,687 --> 00:42:14,610
how to bump your mind out of its ruts

880
00:42:14,610 --> 00:42:16,290
just using a bit of lateral thinking.

881
00:42:16,290 --> 00:42:17,700
So no electricity, all right?

882
00:42:17,700 --> 00:42:18,540
I promise.

883
00:42:18,540 --> 00:42:20,890
I still get funny when I walk by a microwave.

884
00:42:24,030 --> 00:42:26,950
Studies show that being creative keeps the brain healthy

885
00:42:26,950 --> 00:42:29,363
by laying down new neural pathways.

886
00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:33,280
The De Bono Institute teaches a range of skills

887
00:42:33,280 --> 00:42:36,520
to open up the mind, but their most renowned technique

888
00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:39,325
is an oldie but a goodie, used by many institutions

889
00:42:39,325 --> 00:42:40,893
all around the world.

890
00:42:41,750 --> 00:42:43,763
It's called the six thinking hats.

891
00:42:45,210 --> 00:42:47,010
The idea is that metaphorically,

892
00:42:47,010 --> 00:42:49,040
you switch hats from one type of thinking

893
00:42:49,040 --> 00:42:51,980
to another type of thinking, and through switching,

894
00:42:51,980 --> 00:42:55,964
you then start to break up the thinking into easy paths.

895
00:42:55,964 --> 00:42:59,110
The beauty of the six thinking hats is that

896
00:42:59,110 --> 00:43:02,310
instead of jumping to the first solution that comes to mind,

897
00:43:02,310 --> 00:43:04,200
it forces you to look at a problem

898
00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:05,693
from many different angles.

899
00:43:06,680 --> 00:43:09,683
But I'm not really a hat man, so.

900
00:43:10,900 --> 00:43:13,590
Blue is like the conductor of an orchestra,

901
00:43:13,590 --> 00:43:15,960
defining your goals and the types of thinking

902
00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:17,460
you need to solve the problem.

903
00:43:19,070 --> 00:43:22,000
White is for information, gathering your facts.

904
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:23,073
It's for pure data.

905
00:43:24,480 --> 00:43:28,050
Green is for ideas and letting your imagination go wild.

906
00:43:28,050 --> 00:43:31,170
It's about putting your inner critic on hold.

907
00:43:31,170 --> 00:43:34,630
Red signifies feelings and emotions,

908
00:43:34,630 --> 00:43:37,634
using your gut instinct or intuition.

909
00:43:37,634 --> 00:43:39,820
Yellow is for optimism.

910
00:43:39,820 --> 00:43:42,220
What are the benefits, and what's the potential?

911
00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:46,770
Black is the flip side, spotting the risks, dangers,

912
00:43:46,770 --> 00:43:49,200
and where things might go wrong.

913
00:43:49,200 --> 00:43:50,940
It's the black thinking that most of us

914
00:43:50,940 --> 00:43:52,383
are a bit too expert at.

915
00:43:53,537 --> 00:43:56,633
Okay, I wanna generate some ideas.

916
00:43:58,136 --> 00:44:01,010
So by ensuring you view any problem

917
00:44:01,010 --> 00:44:03,380
from multiple perspectives, you radically

918
00:44:03,380 --> 00:44:06,640
increase your chances of finding an original solution.

919
00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:09,654
So we're gonna try and get the global stats.

920
00:44:09,654 --> 00:44:12,050
Susan wants me to practice applying it

921
00:44:12,050 --> 00:44:14,460
to a wide range of issues,

922
00:44:14,460 --> 00:44:16,537
and I'm already using it to structure my ideas

923
00:44:16,537 --> 00:44:19,034
for my upcoming art challenge.

924
00:44:19,034 --> 00:44:23,053
Maybe an idea will be to visualize the words.

925
00:44:24,083 --> 00:44:26,265
But before I can pull that off,

926
00:44:26,265 --> 00:44:28,493
I better get a move on with my training.

927
00:44:29,919 --> 00:44:32,502
(upbeat music)

928
00:44:36,950 --> 00:44:38,570
One of the things I've been tasked to do

929
00:44:38,570 --> 00:44:41,660
is try ordinary, everyday activities in a different way.

930
00:44:41,660 --> 00:44:43,025
You may find it surprising to know

931
00:44:43,025 --> 00:44:45,318
that one of the best brain training activities you can do

932
00:44:45,318 --> 00:44:48,843
is brushing your teeth with your weaker hand.

933
00:44:50,920 --> 00:44:53,074
Oh, this is not good.

934
00:44:53,074 --> 00:44:54,400
Whoa, whoa!

935
00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:56,490
Science shows that you can force new connections

936
00:44:56,490 --> 00:44:58,643
in your brain just by having new experiences.

937
00:45:01,741 --> 00:45:04,680
And that can make you up to 15% more creative.

938
00:45:05,690 --> 00:45:06,890
That looks like a brain.

939
00:45:09,829 --> 00:45:11,854
That brain was quite good.

940
00:45:11,854 --> 00:45:14,460
Mm, dried fish snack.

941
00:45:14,460 --> 00:45:16,803
All in the name of creativity.

942
00:45:21,430 --> 00:45:24,110
So has the pain been worth the gain?

943
00:45:24,110 --> 00:45:25,760
There's only one way to find out.

944
00:45:27,290 --> 00:45:30,330
I'm off to meet David Cropley at my gym for the brain

945
00:45:30,330 --> 00:45:32,893
for another exercise in humiliation.

946
00:45:34,650 --> 00:45:36,470
So what we'd like to do today is retest you

947
00:45:36,470 --> 00:45:38,770
to see what sort of impact that training has had,

948
00:45:38,770 --> 00:45:40,500
and we're gonna start with the shapes test,

949
00:45:40,500 --> 00:45:42,450
to generate as many ideas as you can

950
00:45:42,450 --> 00:45:45,243
using these different shapes.

951
00:45:48,830 --> 00:45:49,713
TV.

952
00:45:52,090 --> 00:45:54,433
That's my house.

953
00:45:55,500 --> 00:45:57,383
That's Jessi.

954
00:45:59,060 --> 00:45:59,893
Coaster.

955
00:46:02,100 --> 00:46:03,400
That's it, time up.

956
00:46:03,400 --> 00:46:05,280
I'd like you to come up with as many

957
00:46:05,280 --> 00:46:07,750
alternative uses as you can for that plastic cup.

958
00:46:07,750 --> 00:46:10,240
It could be used for catching bugs.

959
00:46:10,240 --> 00:46:12,810
It could be used as a drum.

960
00:46:12,810 --> 00:46:16,361
We could use it as a patch for an eye.

961
00:46:16,361 --> 00:46:19,980
Luke, I am your father.

962
00:46:19,980 --> 00:46:21,726
We could use it as a muzzle.

963
00:46:21,726 --> 00:46:23,437
We could smash it.

964
00:46:23,437 --> 00:46:26,270
We could use it as a sound device.

965
00:46:29,612 --> 00:46:33,230
Okay, what if gravity was half as strong as it is now?

966
00:46:33,230 --> 00:46:36,920
I would be able to run a lot faster,

967
00:46:36,920 --> 00:46:38,900
'cause there would be less pulling me to the ground.

968
00:46:38,900 --> 00:46:40,770
The moon would be further away from us.

969
00:46:40,770 --> 00:46:43,053
I have no idea if I'm doing well.

970
00:46:44,036 --> 00:46:47,900
But one thing I do remember is half my score

971
00:46:47,900 --> 00:46:50,530
will be fluency, or number of ideas,

972
00:46:50,530 --> 00:46:52,920
and the other half for originality.

973
00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:54,710
People working in tall buildings

974
00:46:54,710 --> 00:46:58,055
might get a bit more motion sickness.

975
00:46:58,055 --> 00:47:00,380
Remember this one?

976
00:47:00,380 --> 00:47:02,870
The Torrance, or incomplete drawing test.

977
00:47:02,870 --> 00:47:03,703
Look out.

978
00:47:10,218 --> 00:47:12,409
(beeping)

979
00:47:12,409 --> 00:47:13,840
Okay, time's up, Todd.

980
00:47:13,840 --> 00:47:15,520
Okay, so the whole thing exists

981
00:47:15,520 --> 00:47:17,662
within an old-school television with the antennas

982
00:47:17,662 --> 00:47:21,090
and buttons, but it's called "The Morning After Show."

983
00:47:21,090 --> 00:47:23,550
They come out in the morning after a big night,

984
00:47:23,550 --> 00:47:25,890
and the sun is so hot, which of course

985
00:47:25,890 --> 00:47:27,890
results in a bad reaction.

986
00:47:27,890 --> 00:47:29,490
Okay, what's this over here, Todd?

987
00:47:29,490 --> 00:47:31,788
Oh, that's the director's cut.

988
00:47:31,788 --> 00:47:33,810
(mellow music)

989
00:47:33,810 --> 00:47:35,794
I'm a bit skeptical that my divergent thinking scores

990
00:47:35,794 --> 00:47:38,715
might have actually improved.

991
00:47:38,715 --> 00:47:41,090
All right, David, I know I can rely on you

992
00:47:41,090 --> 00:47:42,920
to give it to me straight.

993
00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:46,579
Now, for the overall, combining those tests together,

994
00:47:46,579 --> 00:47:49,140
there's a 37 out of 50 for fluency,

995
00:47:49,140 --> 00:47:52,480
36 1/2 out of 50 for originality, and so that was

996
00:47:52,480 --> 00:47:55,780
a total score of 73 1/2 out of 100.

997
00:47:55,780 --> 00:47:57,625
And that's a really excellent score.

998
00:47:57,625 --> 00:47:59,840
My old scores were good,

999
00:47:59,840 --> 00:48:02,033
but it was originality that let me down.

1000
00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:04,850
But this time, both my fluency

1001
00:48:04,850 --> 00:48:07,660
and originality scores have improved.

1002
00:48:07,660 --> 00:48:11,453
Not bad for one month of training, for just an hour a day.

1003
00:48:12,789 --> 00:48:16,373
But there's still the innovation test left to do.

1004
00:48:16,373 --> 00:48:17,910
So Todd, your task is once again

1005
00:48:17,910 --> 00:48:20,010
to do a mousetrap-powered wheeled vehicle.

1006
00:48:20,010 --> 00:48:21,360
Oh, my old friend.

1007
00:48:21,360 --> 00:48:22,840
There's your old friend.

1008
00:48:22,840 --> 00:48:26,403
And by friend, I of course mean arch nemesis.

1009
00:48:27,260 --> 00:48:29,910
Okay, mousetrap, game on.

1010
00:48:29,910 --> 00:48:32,743
(energetic music)

1011
00:48:34,160 --> 00:48:36,190
Better make it good this time, Sampson.

1012
00:48:36,190 --> 00:48:38,870
None of that five out of 25 rubbish again.

1013
00:48:46,567 --> 00:48:48,567
That's it, look at that.

1014
00:48:50,110 --> 00:48:51,527
Success, kind of.

1015
00:48:53,380 --> 00:48:55,157
Yeah, I know what you're thinking.

1016
00:48:55,157 --> 00:48:56,523
Uh, mousetrap, Todd?

1017
00:48:58,080 --> 00:49:00,053
But just bear with me on this one.

1018
00:49:07,389 --> 00:49:10,056
So I need to put the car on top,

1019
00:49:11,550 --> 00:49:14,863
then as the balloon expands, the car lets go.

1020
00:49:15,710 --> 00:49:17,923
That's pretty cool if that actually works.

1021
00:49:18,813 --> 00:49:21,063
(laughing)

1022
00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:25,670
Watching Todd do the mousetrap exercise,

1023
00:49:25,670 --> 00:49:28,464
it's clear that he's thinking in a novel sense,

1024
00:49:28,464 --> 00:49:32,513
taking risks and doing things differently from the obvious.

1025
00:49:34,120 --> 00:49:36,550
So he recognized that the energy stored in the mousetrap

1026
00:49:36,550 --> 00:49:39,070
is not just in the spring, but it's also embodied

1027
00:49:39,070 --> 00:49:40,950
in the chemical structure of the mousetrap,

1028
00:49:40,950 --> 00:49:42,630
and that's a big shift in thinking,

1029
00:49:42,630 --> 00:49:43,980
that's a big creative step.

1030
00:49:46,760 --> 00:49:49,173
Okay, let's test the theory.

1031
00:50:03,770 --> 00:50:04,900
Here it goes.

1032
00:50:04,900 --> 00:50:06,811
Oh, yes!

1033
00:50:06,811 --> 00:50:08,010
Well done, it's worked.

1034
00:50:08,010 --> 00:50:12,060
We have fire, and we have car, gone!

1035
00:50:12,060 --> 00:50:15,783
Wow, okay, uh, now what do we do?

1036
00:50:18,840 --> 00:50:20,390
This thing doesn't go out, man.

1037
00:50:23,579 --> 00:50:25,806
(laughing) That was awesome.

1038
00:50:25,806 --> 00:50:27,210
Okay, Todd, look, that's really great,

1039
00:50:27,210 --> 00:50:30,920
and I think we've seen some real creativity here today

1040
00:50:30,920 --> 00:50:32,180
and you've really put into practice

1041
00:50:32,180 --> 00:50:33,510
the things we've talked about.

1042
00:50:33,510 --> 00:50:36,997
In terms of effectiveness, you certainly did a good job.

1043
00:50:36,997 --> 00:50:40,261
I gave you a score of 20 this time, in comparison to 18

1044
00:50:40,261 --> 00:50:42,652
last time, that's out of 25.

1045
00:50:42,652 --> 00:50:44,870
Okay, now for novelty, last time,

1046
00:50:44,870 --> 00:50:47,250
you only used the energy stored in the spring,

1047
00:50:47,250 --> 00:50:48,660
and this time, you actually used

1048
00:50:48,660 --> 00:50:50,310
a combination of several different things,

1049
00:50:50,310 --> 00:50:52,320
which is something that really impressed me.

1050
00:50:52,320 --> 00:50:53,950
So 20 out of 25 for novelty.

1051
00:50:53,950 --> 00:50:55,220
Oh, much better than the five.

1052
00:50:55,220 --> 00:50:56,053
Yeah, absolutely.

1053
00:50:56,053 --> 00:50:58,890
I'm still recovering from the five.

1054
00:50:58,890 --> 00:51:01,460
We cut some jokes, but I no longer care

1055
00:51:01,460 --> 00:51:02,827
about the other two scores.

1056
00:51:02,827 --> 00:51:06,840
But for the record, for elegance, I got 15,

1057
00:51:06,840 --> 00:51:09,440
and for genesis, another 20.

1058
00:51:09,440 --> 00:51:14,160
That's 75% compared to 45.5% the last time.

1059
00:51:14,160 --> 00:51:16,360
So well done, it's an excellent piece of work,

1060
00:51:16,360 --> 00:51:18,110
and it's particularly good to see--

1061
00:51:19,470 --> 00:51:20,850
Wow, shucks, Dave.

1062
00:51:20,850 --> 00:51:22,850
I guess that training has really worked.

1063
00:51:24,530 --> 00:51:27,360
So I've got no more excuses.

1064
00:51:27,360 --> 00:51:29,830
It's time to put my money where my mouth is

1065
00:51:29,830 --> 00:51:31,823
and face my creative art challenge.

1066
00:51:33,490 --> 00:51:35,550
I'm interested in urban public art,

1067
00:51:35,550 --> 00:51:37,840
and have often thought that derelict buildings

1068
00:51:37,840 --> 00:51:40,333
are a real opportunity to do something cool.

1069
00:51:41,690 --> 00:51:43,720
So I want to install an art piece

1070
00:51:43,720 --> 00:51:47,483
in a heritage workshop on Sydney's historic Cockatoo Island.

1071
00:51:50,440 --> 00:51:53,670
And if this works, hopefully it can inspire others

1072
00:51:53,670 --> 00:51:56,990
to give abandoned city buildings another life.

1073
00:51:56,990 --> 00:51:58,590
Well, that's the theory, anyway.

1074
00:52:01,210 --> 00:52:02,630
But to turn this around quickly,

1075
00:52:02,630 --> 00:52:04,343
I'm going to need a collaborator.

1076
00:52:06,139 --> 00:52:08,722
(lively music)

1077
00:52:09,700 --> 00:52:11,950
Mike Hewston is a painter, photographer,

1078
00:52:11,950 --> 00:52:14,430
and installation artist who specializes in

1079
00:52:14,430 --> 00:52:16,273
large-scale urban works.

1080
00:52:19,380 --> 00:52:21,490
Mike's philosophy is to create something that allows

1081
00:52:21,490 --> 00:52:23,993
the beauty of the original space to shine through.

1082
00:52:25,827 --> 00:52:26,900
So he's the perfect man to help

1083
00:52:26,900 --> 00:52:28,413
bring my vision into reality.

1084
00:52:37,250 --> 00:52:40,720
Together, we've designed a concept, created a print,

1085
00:52:40,720 --> 00:52:42,630
and are headed out to Cockatoo Island

1086
00:52:42,630 --> 00:52:44,213
for the final installation.

1087
00:52:47,170 --> 00:52:48,970
Now I'm getting nervous, because if this idea

1088
00:52:48,970 --> 00:52:50,840
doesn't come off, I'm gonna have

1089
00:52:50,840 --> 00:52:53,203
scary James Kaufman to answer to.

1090
00:52:54,900 --> 00:52:57,430
It's pretty full on.
Yeah.

1091
00:52:57,430 --> 00:53:00,090
I reckon we might've bit off more than we can chew here.

1092
00:53:00,090 --> 00:53:02,080
Yeah, possibly.

1093
00:53:02,080 --> 00:53:04,137
It'll be pretty cool once we get the work up there.

1094
00:53:04,137 --> 00:53:07,690
You know, it's our chance to show these spaces

1095
00:53:07,690 --> 00:53:10,390
can be amazing, by taking an element of it

1096
00:53:10,390 --> 00:53:12,350
and reflecting it back on itself.

1097
00:53:12,350 --> 00:53:13,920
I just wish we would've chosen

1098
00:53:13,920 --> 00:53:16,423
a smaller building to do it in.

1099
00:53:17,760 --> 00:53:19,527
Do you think I'm kidding?

1100
00:53:19,527 --> 00:53:22,540
Yeah, all right, let's raise this dead body here.

1101
00:53:22,540 --> 00:53:25,910
This piece is 80 kilos' worth of our creative inspiration,

1102
00:53:25,910 --> 00:53:28,097
innovation, and lateral thinking,

1103
00:53:28,097 --> 00:53:32,130
and we just have to get all 190 square meters of it

1104
00:53:32,130 --> 00:53:33,680
suspended from the roof.

1105
00:53:33,680 --> 00:53:34,513
It's big.

1106
00:53:35,550 --> 00:53:37,680
So you know what this means?

1107
00:53:37,680 --> 00:53:40,183
Somebody's going 20 meters up.

1108
00:53:41,170 --> 00:53:43,050
And that would be me.

1109
00:53:43,050 --> 00:53:45,097
He just said "Nice knowing you."

1110
00:53:45,990 --> 00:53:48,640
With my new innovation skills, Mike and I devised

1111
00:53:48,640 --> 00:53:51,990
a rope and pulley system to hoist it into place.

1112
00:53:51,990 --> 00:53:53,560
So you want it here, hey?

1113
00:53:53,560 --> 00:53:54,780
You gotta make sure that it's--

1114
00:53:54,780 --> 00:53:56,580
There's a bit more at stake than

1115
00:53:56,580 --> 00:53:58,870
a mousetrap-powered car.

1116
00:53:58,870 --> 00:54:00,673
I just hope we got the maths right.

1117
00:54:01,763 --> 00:54:02,596
Yee-ha!

1118
00:54:04,419 --> 00:54:07,002
(mellow music)

1119
00:54:07,980 --> 00:54:10,730
Art is often thought of as you put your stamp on it.

1120
00:54:10,730 --> 00:54:11,563
We're not doing that.

1121
00:54:11,563 --> 00:54:13,390
We're going to reflect the beauty, the history,

1122
00:54:13,390 --> 00:54:17,590
the DNA of the place, and celebrate it through art.

1123
00:54:17,590 --> 00:54:19,680
Three, two, one, up.

1124
00:54:19,680 --> 00:54:21,943
Just try and keep even tension on it.

1125
00:54:23,520 --> 00:54:25,970
In my mind, the most relevant way to do an artwork

1126
00:54:25,970 --> 00:54:29,900
is to use the inherent beauty in what's already here,

1127
00:54:29,900 --> 00:54:32,070
and then reflecting it back on itself.

1128
00:54:32,070 --> 00:54:35,250
You see what's already there with new eyes,

1129
00:54:35,250 --> 00:54:37,387
and you can get input or really look at it

1130
00:54:37,387 --> 00:54:38,867
and make something new.

1131
00:54:39,850 --> 00:54:41,193
Wow, woo-hoo!

1132
00:54:42,790 --> 00:54:45,470
It's starting to get a bit of that ramp effect where

1133
00:54:45,470 --> 00:54:48,493
you feel the, like, ceiling coming down on you.

1134
00:54:48,493 --> 00:54:50,133
It looks like the ceiling's falling.

1135
00:54:51,027 --> 00:54:53,810
But it's not quite finished yet.

1136
00:54:53,810 --> 00:54:55,155
Looks pretty finished to me.

1137
00:54:55,155 --> 00:54:57,029
No, we got one more thing.

1138
00:54:57,029 --> 00:54:57,862
What's that?

1139
00:54:57,862 --> 00:54:58,695
To do to finish it.

1140
00:55:00,010 --> 00:55:01,220
You're gonna add something?

1141
00:55:01,220 --> 00:55:02,520
I'm gonna add something.

1142
00:55:03,530 --> 00:55:05,230
What, what are you gonna do?

1143
00:55:05,230 --> 00:55:07,480
For some instant divergent thinking,

1144
00:55:09,090 --> 00:55:10,113
just add water.

1145
00:55:12,300 --> 00:55:14,910
For me, adding the water really completed the work.

1146
00:55:14,910 --> 00:55:17,110
It was the obvious feature that was lacking.

1147
00:55:18,220 --> 00:55:20,360
By wetting the floor, it both darkened the space,

1148
00:55:20,360 --> 00:55:22,230
so you could feel the height of the structure,

1149
00:55:22,230 --> 00:55:24,030
but it also doubled the work,

1150
00:55:24,030 --> 00:55:25,892
in that you could see the print itself

1151
00:55:25,892 --> 00:55:28,156
reflecting in the water, and you've got the skylights

1152
00:55:28,156 --> 00:55:30,227
reflecting in the water, which added a

1153
00:55:30,227 --> 00:55:32,433
whole nother dimension to the work.

1154
00:55:47,470 --> 00:55:48,710
Wow, we did it!

1155
00:55:48,710 --> 00:55:50,783
Look at that.

1156
00:55:50,783 --> 00:55:54,410
That is amazing, and we hit the brief.

1157
00:55:54,410 --> 00:55:55,270
Well done with the water.

1158
00:55:55,270 --> 00:55:56,390
All right.

1159
00:55:56,390 --> 00:55:57,633
It works really well.

1160
00:56:03,730 --> 00:56:04,750
I'm really proud of what we

1161
00:56:04,750 --> 00:56:07,183
managed to achieve with our urban art.

1162
00:56:09,360 --> 00:56:11,370
It's a simple, elegant concept

1163
00:56:11,370 --> 00:56:13,050
that could easily be translated

1164
00:56:13,050 --> 00:56:15,053
to enhance any significant space.

1165
00:56:20,220 --> 00:56:23,573
But there's one final touch I've given it for extra appeal.

1166
00:56:25,730 --> 00:56:27,590
Ultraviolet light.

1167
00:56:27,590 --> 00:56:29,523
Now that's lateral thinking.

1168
00:56:36,460 --> 00:56:38,400
Creativity is the driving force

1169
00:56:38,400 --> 00:56:40,173
behind everything we've ever built.

1170
00:56:42,010 --> 00:56:44,220
The next generation of leaders will be the ones

1171
00:56:44,220 --> 00:56:45,820
that learn how to harness creativity

1172
00:56:45,820 --> 00:56:47,823
in themselves and others.

1173
00:56:49,480 --> 00:56:52,466
Humanity's future will rely not just on technology

1174
00:56:52,466 --> 00:56:55,317
but on how creative we all become.

1175
00:56:55,317 --> 00:56:57,340
Thanks, Todd!

1176
00:56:57,340 --> 00:57:00,060
I spent my entire career working the creative industries,

1177
00:57:00,060 --> 00:57:01,514
but the tools and techniques I've learned

1178
00:57:01,514 --> 00:57:04,110
over the last month will stay with me

1179
00:57:04,110 --> 00:57:05,720
for the rest of my life.

1180
00:57:05,720 --> 00:57:07,054
I really look forward to the next phase

1181
00:57:07,054 --> 00:57:08,613
of my mental journey.

1182
00:57:10,740 --> 00:57:12,860
In the final episode of "Redesign My Brain",

1183
00:57:12,860 --> 00:57:15,520
I want to strengthen my mind-body connection.

1184
00:57:15,520 --> 00:57:18,310
I'll learn the new science of body intelligence.

1185
00:57:18,310 --> 00:57:19,590
I don't know how to breathe.

1186
00:57:19,590 --> 00:57:21,090
Just a small thing.

1187
00:57:21,090 --> 00:57:23,173
And the importance of visualization.

1188
00:57:24,700 --> 00:57:26,340
I'll attempt a superhuman challenge

1189
00:57:26,340 --> 00:57:28,803
that not even Houdini could manage.

1190
00:57:29,999 --> 00:57:33,740
And I'll find out if my brain has physically changed

1191
00:57:33,740 --> 00:57:35,390
with only three months' training.