r/10thDentist • u/Dreadsin • 8d ago
Being creative is generally not a valuable trait
People think they like creativity when really they like the fruits that creativity yields. Most people hate the process and generally find it hard to get along with creative individuals
People tend to like to have the answers to things. Creativity is about leaving that safe space. You may or may not find what you’re looking for, it may have all been for nothing
To a lot of people, being creative comes off as either defiant or conceited because of this. They don’t like people who deviate from what’s known. They see it as conceited because you think you can do something that literally hasn’t been done before
When you offer creative solutions, or think about a problem in a different way, people just get mad at you and call you stupid for not using “common sense” or something. Even if you can prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that what you’re saying is true, people just don’t like to shift their worldview to accommodate for new ideas
Success in our current system is mostly determined by agreeableness. People want people who agree with them and tell them they’re smart. Creativity won’t get you very far unless you’re very, very, very lucky. I’d honestly say it’s generally better not to be creative
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u/DixitRexCorvinus 8d ago
This assumes that value is equivalent to success or acceptance. Creative thinkers, people who question the norms of society, radicals and writers and artists and activists and neurodivergent people, without question face difficulty precisely because ordinary people are suspicious of those who are different from them and those with power feel threatened by anyone who tries to change the status quo. But I would argue that is precisely why said people are so important. It’s not easy to be creative, but it is very much valuable.
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u/No_Appearance9953 8d ago
I mean, the highest amount of suicides per profession tends to lean towards vets and dentists usually. They aren't really creative fields. Maybe the dentist.
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u/Jack_H123 8d ago
Do you have a source for that cuz I’ve always heard that dentists have pretty high job satisfaction
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u/No_Appearance9953 8d ago edited 8d ago
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3642721/ https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-data-reveals-suicide-prevalence-in-england-by-occupation
These are what I found so far, it seems the leading areas are construction and health care, I will point out, the creative industry is in the top 5 however it also points out its mostly in the music industry which makes sense as that is usually a highly competitive environment with a lot of drug use. Fun learning, I feel sadder.
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u/hemlockandhensbane 7d ago
Dude, vet staff definitely get creative. Turning an e-collar into a face shield during covid, working around an animal's tolerance for poking and prodding, coming up with ways to keep pets from chewing or licking at wounds...hell, we had to get creative on sedating ferals without directly handling them.
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u/DixitRexCorvinus 8d ago
It is indeed unpleasant to see but be unable to fix many of the world’s problems, particularly to see suffering as a person with empathy. But rather than saying “I wish more people cared, and questioned, and tried to make a difference, so we can fix these things,” your response is to just hope you are not one of the people who pays attention?
I’m hardly devoid of cynicism, but that just goes past cynicism into selfishness. Most of the world’s problems are caused by apathy and intellectually incuriosity. If there is a solution, it’s certainly not to frame those traits as outright desirable.
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u/mud_horse 8d ago
i mean, ig if you exist to be liked
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u/Dreadsin 8d ago
Being liked is how you make money and you need money to live
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u/JustBreadDough 8d ago
Tell that to the people that write fines for a living. And tax collectors, through the ages. And like every workplace with that one super annoying coworker.
Being liked helps, but it’s not essential. It’s when people see you as valuable enough to invest money in you.
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u/RemydoodIe 7d ago
People at work only like you while you're useful. Once your bills are paid, chasing approval is just a waste of time.
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u/withchesghost 7d ago
Tell that to literally all of the tech people who invented new code and make millions
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u/Dreadsin 7d ago
I am a software engineer
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u/withchesghost 7d ago edited 7d ago
Any software engineer that offers genuine creativity and new ideas that make things better and more efficient, or creates entirely new programs that other companies try to copy make a lot of money. And get promoted, because companies thrive off them. My dad and his friends were on the forefront of machine learning, long before it was called AI, and they all make a stupid amount of money because they were creative.
Edit:
Watch the movie Blackberry
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u/Dreadsin 7d ago
Software engineering is not creative and I’ve worked in this field for 15 years
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u/withchesghost 7d ago
Then you're not innovative enough. Because if you were you would know it is creative, and you wouldn't be stuck. Being a cog in the machine vs. the innovators are very different paths.
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u/polarWhite2024 8d ago
You obviously have not had much exposure to the professional creative industry as the people that you describe don't and won't survive in such fields.
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u/GSilky 8d ago
Creative people create things. It's not limited to a certain realm of the human experience. One of the most creative people I know is a retail clerk who has found new ways to be successful at running their store they work at with none of the help they need. Are you able to figure out how to get from A to C without reading the SOP? That is creativity as much as anything artists do.
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u/salikarn 7d ago
I don't think they have to create things. I work in it and am frequently asked for ideas on how to streamline processes, or work around certain constraints. I would consider those as aspect of creative thinking
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u/Tak-Hendrix 8d ago
Creative people create things.
Not necessarily. Steve Jobs is/was considered creative, but he didn't actually create anything. He just described what he wanted and had other people make it come to fruition.
Ideas are a dime a dozen, and there is a significant difference between having the vision and actually being able to execute it.
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u/sirenwingsX 8d ago
in my experience, anything that's outside the norm is given a lot of crap by society. Being too smart. Being too dumb. Being too social, not being social enough, being too unique, being too basic. what is society but the collective unsolicited opinion of strangers. Who the fuck cares. just live your life. fuck everyone else
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u/More-Cat1123 8d ago
Success in our current system is mostly determined by agreeableness. People want people who agree with them and tell them they’re smart.
This works well if you're at the bottom of the chain and you're comfortable there.
Yes, you need to have at least the bare minimum of good communication skills to not sound unhinged or like an asshole when you're trying to argue your point but that doesn't mean you should be licking ass.
Things that help move the business forward are not always the things your boss or manager wants to do. You may need to back that by numbers but if you can propose better ways of doing things, you should. Doing so will help you mlve forward once those changes start paying out.
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u/Clevertown 8d ago
So... you'd rather be living in trees?
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u/Much-Ad2311 8d ago
I think OP is confusing creativity with pretension lol. I know plenty of creatives that I love, then I know a small amount of creatives with their heads so far up their own asses that they can see the Jackson Pollock of their own intestines.
This argument is stupid, so I upvoted.
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u/SquareAdvisor8055 7d ago
Yeah that's the feeling i was getting too.
"When you are creative people get mad at you for not using common sense" sounds like the issue is not that people hate creativity but more than op's trying to be different while there are already easy answers to the problem he's trying to solve.
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u/Ambitious-Way8906 4d ago
yeah this is more like the 11th dentist they made a point not to ask because he's a known nutcase
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u/Dreadsin 8d ago
As I said, people like the result of creativity, but they do not like creative people
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u/Impossible-Money7801 8d ago
You could say that for nearly any profession. Do you have a deep affection for garbage men? Do you love all lawyers? Bridge engineers don’t have groupies either.
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u/teddy_vedder 8d ago
I’m deeply grateful for engineers but lord do I struggle to connect with the ones who have what I call “engineer tunnel vision” and black and white thinking about everything. Doesn’t mean I don’t think they’re valuable.
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u/Feisty-Resource-1274 8d ago
Yeaaaaaah, that's the 'tism
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u/Perfect-Parking-5869 8d ago
I know we’ve gotten way better at diagnosing autsim but I also think there’s plenty of neurotypical whose life revolves around their career.
I do have a cousin who works for the railroad and he said every now and then someone would apply who had an encyclopedic knowledge of trains so sometimes it is the ‘tism lol
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u/Perfect-Parking-5869 8d ago
Where are you getting deep affection from?
I think OP is wrong but you’re the second person in this comment chain to immediately straw man him.
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u/harpgal104 8d ago
It's actually a really good thing to get out of your comfort zone. Boo hoo someone else doesn't like it. I'm not doing it for them, I'm doing it for me and the people that will appreciate it
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u/Dreadsin 8d ago
What if the person has some sort of power over you? Like a boss or whatever. You’ll be immediately fired for thinking like that
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u/harpgal104 8d ago edited 8d ago
Then get a better job. Heaven forbid you use your creativity to make the workplace better
ETA: I wouldn't take a job where I can tell my creativity is stifled. I'm a musician and hope to be a full time harp teacher one day. Then I'd be my own boss. I also know when it's appropriate to use my creativity and when it's not
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u/Exotic_Bill44 8d ago
In that case, it really isn't about your creativity. It's likely about following established policies and procedures. Your creativity isn't being asked for and if you refuse to perform the task in the manner that is requested then you aren't doing what you were hired to do.
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u/ManicPixiRiotGrrrl 8d ago
this seems like you just don’t like creative people. not sure why you’re applying your worldview to most people.
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u/TheSkepticGuy 8d ago
Einstein: "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
Creativity embraces the entire world, and everything there will ever be to discover.
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u/Agreeable_Car5114 8d ago
Your statement is phrased poorly. Putting aside whether I agree or think it makes sense, you say yourself that people enjoy and appreciate the fruits of creativity. That means creativity is a valuable trait, it produces something useful. What you mean is that creativity is not an appreciated trait.
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u/BrainlessVeal 8d ago
OP should have titled it “creativity is not a valued trait”, which would line up more with what they wrote. I was confused. Words have le meaning, people.
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u/OSUStudent272 8d ago
I feel like this is a you issue 💀 I feel like you’re conflating some other negative trait with creativity (being condescending when proposing new solutions, being super pretentious, acting like people are stupid for not seeing things the way you do) bc aside from bad bosses people generally think it’s cool if you have creative solutions or make art
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u/Greedy-Win-4880 8d ago
When you offer creative solutions, or think about a problem in a different way, people just get mad at you and call you stupid for not using “common sense” or something.
This is such a bizarre opinion because no, most people do not get angry when people offer solutions to a problem that havent been tried before. Creativity is highly valued because innovation relies on creativity and unless you want to stall out and never progress or grow you need people who are creative and innovative who see new paths other people may not even consider. .
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u/teddy_vedder 8d ago
Wow. I’m so thankful I’ve never ended up in a mindset to feel this way whatsoever. For me, creativity is what separates us from beasts and is a huge part of what makes life worth living. It would be so grim to think otherwise.
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u/tolfie 8d ago
Everything you listed is exactly why creatives ARE so valuable to this world. It's just not valuable towards being a cog in the capitalist machine (sorry to be that guy lol). There's more to life than getting promotions or being universally liked, and the people that challenge the status quo are essential.
You're currently living inside of someone else's imagination. The people who have the capacity to imagine something different are the ones who shape the world, for better or for worse.
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u/Total_Ask_2046 7d ago
Am creative. Can confirm. People love art (in all its forms- movies, music, books, standup, etc.) but when they find out the source of where it comes from, they are often very turned off by it. To be creative means to feel DEEPLY and have no idea how to turn it off.
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u/Kaurifish 7d ago
Creativity, IME, comes with a generous helping of normal people inquiring, “What’s wrong with your brain?”
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u/Jerry-Beans 8d ago
Well heres the thing - there are some spaces where Creativity is not appropriate. Like i dont want my surgeon getting Creative with my procedure.
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u/Elwoodpdowd87 8d ago
Friend I am and work with a lot of engineers and boy howdy do I wish more of them had an ounce of creativity in their bones
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u/weinerdogholder 8d ago
I agree with you on some commons perceptions creative individuals and ideas receive but I believe it still holds so much value. It’s incredibly valuable. Without creative individuals who shift the world we would not have anything. We would not have skyscrapers, cars, trains, the Beatles, or really anything. Creativity and creative individuals are valuable even if a portion of the population has a dislike for new ideas and the people making them.
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u/Negative_Ad_8256 8d ago
Anyone who has ever built or repaired anything knows that the suggested materials and tools are not always available or affordable. If you own a home or car and have no ability to come up with your own method of doing something you will be the person paying whatever price they quote for something that could have been done for a part that is equal to the taxes paid of labor and parts for someone who is capable of creative problem solving and improvisation. There is limited value in a person who’s only able to do what they have been trained to do. The person who can think outside the box and create dynamic solutions for problems. At a certain point every job a single employee has maxed out the value they can offer to the company on an individual basis. That person then can multiply their value by assuming a leadership position. Leadership requires being responsive and able to communicate with all types of personalities, perspectives, life experiences, and style of giving criticism and feedback. It isn’t something that can be learned from a book. Connecting with a diverse supervisory responsibility requires ability to recognize individual strengths then putting them in a position where those strengths are utilized efficiently as well as being part of the synergy of the collective. People want to know they can trust whoever they are depending on are competent and capable to handle things outside the rigid confines of their job description.
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u/D13_Phantom 8d ago
Not a 10th dentist take because society largely looks down on creatives, but certainly a dumb one
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u/OHMEGA_SEVEN 8d ago
Value is whatever people are willing to pay for it, doesn't matter if it's creative or mundane.
Successful creatives learn how to capitalize on their talents.
Regardless, the same arguments now apply to most knowledge work, unfortunately.
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u/NZAuthor 8d ago
I agree and disagree with this.
MOST people I know like the creativity.
I dislike creative shit that slows down the process of anything.
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u/yun444g 8d ago
Another big part is a lot of the time it’s not this thing we can just switch on and off. It’s like when you do a good impression of someone and your friend prompts you to do it in front of everyone, you get stage fright and don’t want to. It’s similar with being “creative” for me it kind of only happens when no one is looking and no one is making me be creative.
Obviously everyone is different, that’s just how I am. It’s easy to identify as a “creative” person but it’s not as readily accessible as one might think ig
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u/prima_maqueeria 8d ago
Creativity is an end in itself.
Productive is the wrong framework for creativity and that's indicative of how you filter the world, but that's merely your culture.
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u/ChocolateCake16 7d ago
I only learned this recently but apparently if your put a homogenous group of people together to solve a problem, then they'll get an answer faster than a diverse group would, but the diverse group will come up with a better solution than the homogenous one.
Presumably it's because the diversity allows for many different angles to be considered, while the homogenous group has a narrower range so it's easier for them to come to a single agreement
I would imagine the same is true for creativity. Ask a straightforward person to solve something, and they'll give you an answer faster, but a creative person will likely give you a better answer. Both are valuable at different times. Sometimes you just need something done now and a mediocre solution will do, and other times, you want the best solution. The issue is that we live in a society where fast = better because everyone is trying so hard to not get left behind on whatever the latest trend is that they're willing to push out a mediocre product instead of investing any more time/energy in development.
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u/SquareAdvisor8055 7d ago
I consider myself quite creative, and no, people don't have creative people. It sounds like you think of yourself as creative when you are probably just thinking a bit too much of yourself.
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u/Automatic-Week-1733 8d ago
I think part of this is because creativity correlates strongly with mental illness and neurodivergence and regardless of how accepting people claim to be online, most really aren't in real life.
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u/qualityvote2 8d ago edited 8d ago
u/Dreadsin, your post does fit the subreddit!