Post by deanna on May 16, 2011 14:39:23 GMT -7
Science is figuring out what we in CFA already know. Check out this article from the National Science Foundation:
*Music can spark creativity in math and science *
From records to boom boxes to CDs and iPods, music has long been part of the lifeblood of being a teenager. Learning math and science in class is not always such a priority. Parag Chordia, director of the Music Intelligence Lab at Georgia Tech, is finding ways to bring those two disparate realities together. "How can music be used to think about scientific problems, how can music be used to sort of catalyze our thinking in other areas?" asks Chordia. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Chordia is researching the neurological roots of the creative process. And music is a key ingredient. "We've never found a culture that has no language--we've never found a culture that has no music. So, music seems to be universal," he says. While music and arts programs are often the first subjects to be cut when school budgets are tight, Chordia says that may not be the best strategy. "To be a great engineer; to really produce innovative products and to advance the frontiers of science, you have to be creative. And it's not just that music is a diversion or an extracurricular, but it's actually something that's fundamental to life and mind," he says...
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..."Is creativity just the gift of a few--just sprinkled on a few people and that's it? I would argue no, that creativity is something that we all have inside of us and what it's all about is finding out, how do we unlock that creativity," he says. Using tools like electroencephalograms (EEGs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Chordia is investigating whether "real-time creativity," like improvising in a jazz band, uses the brain in a different way. "When a person is improvising, are they entering into a uniquely creative state, and if so, what is that state all about?" he asks. Brain scans show a distinct difference when professional musicians are playing composed music, versus when they are improvising. Future studies could be designed to try to home in on exactly what is happening when someone is experiencing deep creative insight....
Check out the whole article here:
www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/musiccreativity.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_51
*Music can spark creativity in math and science *
From records to boom boxes to CDs and iPods, music has long been part of the lifeblood of being a teenager. Learning math and science in class is not always such a priority. Parag Chordia, director of the Music Intelligence Lab at Georgia Tech, is finding ways to bring those two disparate realities together. "How can music be used to think about scientific problems, how can music be used to sort of catalyze our thinking in other areas?" asks Chordia. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Chordia is researching the neurological roots of the creative process. And music is a key ingredient. "We've never found a culture that has no language--we've never found a culture that has no music. So, music seems to be universal," he says. While music and arts programs are often the first subjects to be cut when school budgets are tight, Chordia says that may not be the best strategy. "To be a great engineer; to really produce innovative products and to advance the frontiers of science, you have to be creative. And it's not just that music is a diversion or an extracurricular, but it's actually something that's fundamental to life and mind," he says...
<clip>
..."Is creativity just the gift of a few--just sprinkled on a few people and that's it? I would argue no, that creativity is something that we all have inside of us and what it's all about is finding out, how do we unlock that creativity," he says. Using tools like electroencephalograms (EEGs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Chordia is investigating whether "real-time creativity," like improvising in a jazz band, uses the brain in a different way. "When a person is improvising, are they entering into a uniquely creative state, and if so, what is that state all about?" he asks. Brain scans show a distinct difference when professional musicians are playing composed music, versus when they are improvising. Future studies could be designed to try to home in on exactly what is happening when someone is experiencing deep creative insight....
Check out the whole article here:
www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/musiccreativity.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_51