Assisting Techniques to Get Creativity
b. Incubation, i.e. the period when people perceive some frustration because the methods used in the preparation stage have not worked and then these
eventually lead them to move away to other things. c. Illumination, i.e. a stage in which people suddenly find the answer in their
subconscious mind. d.
Verification , i.e. a stage where people’s reasoning powers take over when
they analyze the answer of problems, and they assess its feasibility.
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Moreover, Lau reveals some other additional explanations related to the four stages or cycles of creativity above as follows:
a. Preparation This stage is started with the process of gathering information about the
problems encountered. This is conducted through a number of ways, such as going to the library, searching the web, talking to people, or collecting data or
other items. Then, after the information had been collected, these are kept in some places that may be easily accessed, such as in a notebook, a box, or a
computer. This stage constitutes merely collecting things that might be relevant without too much have some filtering or analyses. This is not an easy
matter for people because many of them may feel impatient while they do not have adequate knowledge so that sometimes they meet some failure.
Therefore, broadening mind and thinking about all possible sources that might help in doing tasks should be considered in this stage.
b. Exploration This stage cover a number of activities comprising classifying the material,
reorganizing them, looking at them from different perspectives, and trying to make a connections of the ideas and drawing conclusions. The aim of this
stage is to create and find new and useful ideas. To succeed in this stage, a lot of concentration, analysis, and patience as well as avoiding distractions and
devoting the attention fully to the task are required.
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Philip Carter and Ken Rusell, loc. cit.
c. Incubation This stage constitutes the time on which people get some rest or put aside their
task, relax, and forget for a while what they have been doing, and just wait the answer. In this case, a period of inactivity after intensive thinking may be
believed to promote creativity. It is believed that this stage gives a chance for the unconscious mind work on the problem. In this case, it can be considered
that the answers of the problems are found because some break time assist people to see the problems with a fresh eye.
d. Verification It is a stage in which people have found the answers or ideas related to the
problems; they recheck their work and see whether the answers or ideas can be improved further. It is done to avoid some mistakes that lead to the failure.
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In conclusion, to obtain some creative works, people are required to follow a number of stages comprising preparation, exploration, incubation, and
verification. Furthermore, one thing that can be drawn from all the stages or cycles of creativity above is that one stage to other stages connect as well as is
hierarchical one another. For instance, after the data gathered in the preparation stage, then these are continued to be classified and categorized in the exploration
stage, which then is followed with incubation to get some ideas through putting aside the problem for a while, and these were rechecked in the verification stage.