Creative Perspective on Creativity

Swarm Intelligence is a book about developing creativity. Author James Haywood Rolling, Jr. provides the reader with a new perspective on the origin of creativity. He sees creativity residing in the swarm—the social context within which one is embedded—rather than in individuals. Creativity is an emergent process that develops out of the interchanges between individuals and their social contexts, which may be families, work teams, classrooms, cultures, nations, etc. Rolling identifies the principles of how swarms in nature operate and then applies these principles to the development of creative action.

 

Rolling is an art educator and emphasizes the role of the arts in cultivating creative communities and individuals. Educators will benefit from Rolling’s explanation of how the convergence of behaviorism and scientific management in education has stifled the development of creativity in students and our society. Educators will find within the book concrete examples and ideas for cultivating student and staff creativity. Business people will also benefit from reading this book but will not find as many concrete examples for implementing the book’s principles within business settings. 

The author’s writing style sometimes makes it difficult to understand what he is trying to convey. It is also not clear how some of the stories and examples included in the book relate to the author’s message. And do not expect a book on leadership even though the subtitle mentions creative leadership. Nonetheless, this is a book worth reading. Rolling provides a different viewpoint on the origins and development of creativity. He provides us with a creative perspective on creativity.