Los dos tipos de creatividad: jóvenes innovadores conceptuales y viejos experimentalistas

El número de Julio de Wired incluye un artículo de Daniel H. Pink sobre la creatividad titulado What Kind of Genius Are You? (que se publicará en Internet el 11 de Julio). El artículo se basa en la investigación David Galenson, profesor de economía de la Universidad de Chicago, Mediante el análisis del “valor” de las obras creadas por artistas y científicos a lo largo de sus carreras, propone la existencia de dos tipos de creatividad y de dos tipos de innovadores: aquellos que alcanzan su máximo de creatividad de un modo rápido y brusco, siendo aún jóvenes, y otros en los que la capacidad creativa crece de una forma lenta y tranquila, llegando a su máximo en edades más avanzadas. Galenson denomina “innovadores conceptuales” a los primeros y “expermientalistas” a los segundos.

Innovation Weblog ha hecho un resumen (New research suggests creativity comes in two types) del artículo de Pink y explica los detalles de la metodología y resultados de Galenson:

To reach this conclusion, he studied the auction prices of art, and charted the value of the artists' work versus their age at the time each work was painted. He discovered two distinct curves: For some artists, the curve peaked early, followed by a gradual decline. These artists - which Galenson christened "conceptual innovators" - created their most valuable masterpieces in their 20s and 30s. Think Pablo Picasso, who created his groundbreaking cubist style of painting at the ripe young age of 26.

The other type of curve rose gradually over time, peaking at a much later age. This type of creative genius Galenson calls "experimentalists." Artists in this group spend a lifetime tinkering and perfecting their style, and creatively bloom later in life. Artists in this group painted their masterworks later in life. Think Cezanne, who produced his most valuable works at age 67, the year he died.

When Galenson expanded his work to include book authors, musical composers, filmmakers and other artistic pursuits, amazingly he found the same two types of creative curves, and numerous examples of both archetypes. For example, conceptual genius Orson Welles created his breakthrough film, Citizen Kane at age 26, while experimentalist Alfred Hitchcock produced Vertigo at age 59. And Wolfgang Mozart produced The Marriage of Figaro at age 30, while Ludwig von Beethoven wrote Symphony No. 9 at age 54.

En el sitio de David Galenson se pueden consultar sus artículos, algunos de ellos directamente relacionados con el “problema de la creatividad”, como:

• David Galenson (2006). Analyzing Artistic Innovation: The Greatest Breakthroughs of the Twentieth Century. NBER Working Paper 12185.
• David Galenson (2006). And Now for Something Completely Different: The Versatility of Conceptual Innovators. NBER Working Paper 12034.
• Bruce A. Weinberg and David Galenson (2005). Creative Careers: The Life Cycles of Nobel Laureates in Economics.  NBER Working Paper 11799.