Create or Consume?
Headmaster’s Routh Assembly Address
Monday 25th March 2019
Reading: Excerpts from The Element
Richard Feynman was an American physicist, famous for his ground breaking work in several fields including quantum electrodynamics and nanotechnology. In 1965 he won the Nobel Prize in Physics. He says this was partly because of a flying plate.
“One afternoon, while I was eating lunch in the cafeteria, some kid threw a plate up in the air,” Feynman said. “There was a blue medallion on the plate, and as the plate came down, the blue thing went around faster than the wobble, and I wondered what the relation was between the two. I was just playing, no importance at all, but I played around with the equations of motion of rotating things, and I found out that if the wobble is small the blue thing goes around twice as fast as the wobble goes round.”
Feynman jotted some thoughts down on his napkin, and after lunch, he got on with his day at the university. Some time later, he looked again at the napkin and carried on playing with the ideas he’d sketched out on it.
“I started to play with this rotation and that just let me back into quantum electrodynamics, which was the problem I had been working on. I kept continuing now to play with it in the relaxed fashion I had originally done and it was just like taking the cork out of a bottle – everything just poured out, and in very short order I worked the things out for which I later won the Nobel Prize.”
Creativity is a step beyond imagination because it requires that you actually do something rather than lie around thinking about it. It’s a very practical process of trying to make something original. It may be a song, a theory, a dress, a short story, a boat, or a new sauce for your spaghetti. Richard Feynman eventually won the Nobel Prize in Physics, but they didn’t give it to him for the napkin he’d scribbled on over lunch.
Good morning
The vast majority of you in this Arena lead remarkably busy lives. You pack more into your days than many pupils in other schools, certainly more than I did at your age. Your daily business is busyness. However, most of that activity involves consumption and I’m not just talking about food. You consume a staggering amount of information too; news, academic content, fresh concepts, the opinions of others, gossip, drama, scandal, jokes. And from a vast array of sources; teachers, friends of course, websites, social media posts, text books, newspapers. You might even read the odd book. Useful or useless, you devour screeds of knowledge every week.
Yet let me ask you this: When was the last time that you made something? And I don’t mean your bed. I mean the last thing that you created from scratch. Something that didn’t exist before you started. Was it yesterday? Over the weekend? Last week? Or has it been a month or more since you produced something original?
Anything original would count I suppose. An essay or some Prep, although they are fairly safe endeavours. What about a witty text? Or a withering one? That’s still fairly predictable though. Maybe something a little more unique and risqué? A jalapeno and beetroot milkshake for breakfast? Or a hairstyle that might get you arrested? Or a gift for a loved one made entirely out of sellotape?
Let me ask you another question. Two, in fact. In your head, quickly and honestly, rate yourself on a scale of 1 -10 on how intelligent you are. Done that? Now again, quickly and honestly, rate yourself on the same scale, 1 – 10, on how creative you are. Got those two numbers? Research suggests that the vast majority of you, more than 95%, rated yourself higher for intelligence than creativity. It doesn’t matter how high or low your ratings were, you likely put creativity lower. Which makes little sense, because all human beings are innately creative.
Steve Jobs once said “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things.”
There is actually nothing new under the sun. Nothing truly unique. All new things are just a combination of existing things, grouped together in a novel way. If you can link things, and all of you can, you can be creative. So why do so many of us think that we aren’t? And why don’t we try to be more often?
Some of the most creative amongst you may have some answers to that. The latest edition of Two Zero One magazine focuses on the theme of thinking outside the box. It contains some wise observations about the challenges of being creative.
In her opening editorial, Alia observes: “Outside the box’ lies boundless opportunity. But stepping outside the comfort zone in our mind is difficult, and not always appropriate. Even in our lives, ‘creative thinking’ can create more work than it’s worth, especially when it comes to the tyranny of choice. Nonetheless, original thinking is vital in the pursuit of more knowledge, more relevant work and better ways of life; it’s the antidote to complacency.”
Creativity as the antidote to complacency; I like that. As you heard in the reading about Nobel Prize winner, Richard Feynman, creativity is a step beyond imagination because it requires that you actually do something rather than lie around thinking about it. We can all imagine things, that’s what it is to be human. But how many of us actually do something with those thoughts? Make them solid? Too few, I suspect. Partly because we don’t think we are that creative. Partly because, as Alia suggests, creating means work. And partly, out of fear.
The great painter, Henri Matisse, said that creativity was courage. He was right. The more creative you are, the more you expose yourself to the scrutiny and judgement of others. Sadly, we live in a very judgemental age. Consumption of vast amounts of content, especially online and through so-called ‘reality TV’, has made us quick to criticise, slow to contribute.
Therefore, I pay tribute this morning to those amongst you who risk the most. I suppose that taking a selfie and posting it online might be considered a creative act. But unless you dyed your hair blue and were dancing naked on the back of a porpoise whilst juggling chainsaws, it is likely to be fairly similar to the gazillion other selfies that get posted every day. Not hugely creative or courageous.
What I admire is creativity which ventures all. Those of you who write for Two Zero One. Those who weave prose or shape poems. Who sit in front of an empty Word document and conjure up words that convey your innermost thoughts and feelings. Who then allow those words to be published under your name, accepting the risk of criticism or ridicule.
I admire those of you who train for sports teams, mastering hundreds of skills and drills, then go out onto the field or court and pull a move that wasn’t in the play book. That moment of inspired insight, mid-game, when you fire a pass that was never rehearsed in any training and, for that very reason, make something new and unexpected happen. Is that creativity? You bet it is.
I admire those of you moving into the final phases of completing your coursework in Design Technology or portfolios in Art in the coming weeks. Who took risks with paint or fabric, steel or timber. Put yourselves and your creative talents out there.
So too those of you who have composed original scores for your Music courses. You, too, studied the same content, mastered the same set of skills, but then combined what you learned in fresh and original ways. Like the magazine writers, or those who debated for their Houses recently, or the CAS team who crafted an event for local old folk, or the play-makers in the Senior Netball team. Or the other type of play-makers, Aaron, Anya and Serene, who created original scripts for House Drama recently.
If any one of those people, in fact if any one of you at all, rated yourselves low on that creativity score, shame on you. You are all creative. I urge you not just to take risks and make stuff, but to also try to create more than you consume. Maybe start this coming Sunday by making a gift for your Mum on Mothers Day. Although perhaps not out of sellotape.
Presentations
Young Enterprise:
Congratulations to the School’s Young Enterprise team (Nations) who were awarded the Best Teamwork award and the Best Company presentation at the North Worcestershire finals.
Junior House Netball
Cup competition
3rd Thomas Cookes
2nd Oakley
1st Hazeldene
Plate competition
3rd Hazeldene
2nd Mary Windsor
1st Thomas Cookes
Girls Squash House competition
3rd Housman Hall
2nd Oakley
1st Thomas Cookes
Cross Country
The cross country team performed well, running inthe sunny grounds of Burghley Hall. Orla Walker finishing 7th for Seniors and the U16 Boys stole the show, with Seb Purvis finishing 2nd individual in the league, and the team coming 2nd overall.
Seb Purvis
William Hobs
Dan Goodwin
Callum Wilkinson
Paul Pohl
Stepan Bobrenev
Review
Athletics
Well done Hannah Sahota who competed in the national indoor combined events where she was ranked 25th in UK and won a Bronze medal for the Midlands.
Basketball
In the last match of the season, the senior boys’ team had a convincing 73-41 victory over Old Swinford Hospital School.
Football
The Senior teams finished their season in style with the 2nd XI winning 3-1 and the 1st team playing some scintillating football to win 6-2.
Hockey
The U16 team played extremely well but lost narrowly against Repton School in a national last 16 match.
Great results for the boys teams on Saturday, winning 7 and drawing 2 of the 10 matches played.
Netball
Another successful day for our netball teams with all 9 teams winning their matches against Malvern College.
Squash
KS4 Squash Team qualified for the Nationals on Thursday at Nottingham. The team consisted of William Hobbs, Daniel Grove, Leo Mellor, Michael Malam and George Lamb, who fought hard but in the end were narrowly defeated on points, 132-128. However, all played extremely well and the team finished 15th in the country.
Golf
The golf team beat Malvern College 3-0.
Service
Finally, I commend the IB CAS group, who organised the annual tea and crafts afternoon for local elderly people on Friday in Housman Hall. Well done to all involved.
Preview
Today there is the Fourth Form assembly in Routh.
There are a number of external practical examinations this week, formally commencing the examination season.
I wish the Chapel Choir all the very best as head to Coventry Cathedral tomorrow to sing Evensong.
OB Aled Luckman returns on Tuesday for the third part of his legal writing skills workshop. If you are interested in a career in Law please contact Dolly Xu or Grayson Leversha to sign up to the Law Society and make sure you don’t miss out on similar events. The workshop is at 1.20pm in the Lecture Theatre.
OB Dr Will Bolton will be giving a presentation on about how surgery and technology can achieve universal health coverage. This will be held at 5.30pm on Thursday 28th March in the Lecture Theatre. Open to all senior pupils, not just for those wishing to take medicine. This is a great opportunity for all scientists and those interested in technology, politics, economics, philosophy and law. Please email Miss Leech for a seat.
Lancaster University is currently ranked 6th in the Times Good University Guide, above UCL, Bath, Bristol and LSE. It is a great university and Futures is encouraging more pupils to research it as an option. This Thursday 28th March, a representative will be talking to offer holders and answering any queries. She will be based in Futures form 1.20pm, please come along.
A reminder that the House Challenge final takes place this Friday at 4 pm in Routh Hall.
Our very best wishes and the pride of the School will be with the senior Netball Team as they compete in yet another National Final tomorrow. They already have a First and a Third place under their belts and our hopes are high for more trophies – play well ladies.
Finally, as I have already mentioned, this Sunday is Mother’s Day in the UK. All are welcome to attend the Mothering Sunday Service in chapel at 10.30am, but even if you can’t attend that, do be sure that you acknowledge you Mum in some special way. If you make nothing else, make some time for her.
Please stand for the Grace