I en podcast i två delar har The Economist tittat närmare på den mänskliga kreativiteten. Bland de forskare de har talat med finns Karolinska Institutets Miriam Mosing, som berättar om sina tvillingstudier i del två. Mosing är forskarassistent vid Institutionen för neurovetenskap. Tvillingstudierna visar att kreativitet har en ärftlig komponent. Visst kan vem som helst bli bättre på vad som helst genom träning, men till och mycket hur mycket någon övar är delvis ärftligt, säger Mosing. Å andra sidan, betonar hon, betyder ärftlighet inte att alla egenskaper är förutbestämda och oföränderliga; generna befinner sig i samspel med sin omgivning.
Anne McElvoy and Lane Greene look at the current debate around creativity, and its value to our society. In this first episode, Anne tackles a Bach prelude with the help of pianist James Rhodes who believes that keyboard mastery is “just a physics problem”. Lane assesses how the brain behaves during periods of extreme creativity, and with the help of neuroscientist Aaron Berkowitz, considers how great creatives can de-activate parts of the brain to enhance performance. Concert pianist Di Wu considers the differing experiences of music teaching in China and the United States, and describes how she moved from conquering concertos to tackling business problems whilst studying for an MBA at Columbia University
Anne McElvoy and Lane Greene continue their look at the role of creativity in today’s society. They visit a London railway station to hear how commuters get their creative juices going by playing pianos in public spaces. Lane looks at how the concept of creativity is being widened to enhance the skills involved in coding or crisis management, and considers the 10,000 hour rule that sustains the belief of the universal creativity lobby. Neuroscientist Miriam Mosing tells Lane that studies of creative twins have shown that a genetic pre-disposition to creativity can’t be wholly eliminated, and Anne talks to AI researcher David Cope who has provided a frightening vision for the future of creativity. His computer generated composer “Emily Howell” can absorb existing styles, and use them to generate her own