Quotations on creativity [improvisation]—Roy R. Behrens

Photograph by Versluis, 05.19.2010

“As mere human beings, we do not have the option of ‘creating’ things: It is not within our capacity to produce anything out of thin air. Rather, the entire range of human innovation (whether works of art and literature, design solutions, scientific discoveries, or new technologies) has come from the recombination of pre-existing components, by a process that Einstein referred to (in a famous introspective note about his own creative process) as combinatory play.” [1]

—Roy Behrens

Behrens, Roy. False Colors: Art, Design, and Modern Camouflage. Dysert, Iowa, Bobolink Books, 2002. 194-195. Print.

Footnote:

1. Behrens references Einstein’s quote in: Jacques Hadamard, The Psychology Invention in the Mathematical Field. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1949.