Creativity is the Engine of the World | Neurodiversity in Engineering

By Yamila Garcia

The Cambridge Dictionary defines creativity as “the ability to produce original and unusual ideas, or to make something new or imaginative.” Usually, creativity is linked to art and of course that makes sense. When you create any piece of art you want it to be innovative, original, and meaningful. However, isn’t innovation also pursued in many fields in addition to art? What would engineering be without creativity? It couldn’t even exist without innovations coming from creativity. Any discipline without creativity is just something flat, without progress or evolution. Even when solutions have already been found for certain problems, we can continue to find new ways to solve them. In some cases, we can find even more effective ways to solve them. Undoubtedly, creativity is the engine of the world.

So, why do we continue to learn in such static ways? I have had many academic experiences throughout my life and all of them were very traditional. Creativity and curiosity were not welcome in any of them. I have wondered why many times, but I can’t seem to come up with an answer for that nonsense. How absurd is it that creativity is the basis of our professions but in the academic field it is dismissed and even discouraged? Everything that is taught in the classroom comes from ideas that were once new and original. At some point, someone had a new idea and was able to share it with the world. So why can’t we be a little freer in the classroom?

From my own experience – and the experience of all the neurodivergent people I have met so far – when it is said that we cannot do something, that only means that we cannot do it in the traditional way. Many of us are very creative but, as I said before, that is not allowed in many areas. We can do everything and we can contribute greatly from our creative thought process if only we had the possibility to do so. Of course, this should include everyone, not just neurodivergent people. If we’ve come this far without encouraging creativity in the classroom, imagine how much more we could do if we were all allowed to explore whatever our curiosity prompted.