Creative juices

Chemistry, science in general really, is a creative endeavor, but most scientists don't think of themselves and their work as creative. As such, science training does not explicitly develop creative faculties and other soft skills needed to succeed in research. I've noticed a schism between researchers who know how to perform experiments and researchers who know how to ask questions. Those that know how to ask questions were lucky enough to fall into work in a creative lab at some point in their training.

A recent article provides a succinct list of skills that separate the creative researcher from the mere experimenter. More importantly, the perception of the creative process as a mysterious force only accessible to the elect is refuted with a clear statement that creativity is an acquired skill:

"Creativity is not a mysterious quality, nor can one simply try on one of Edward de Bono's six thinking hats to start the creative juices flowing. Rather, creativity is cultivated through rigorous training and by deliberately practicing certain core abilities and skills over an extended period of time. These include:
1. the ability to approach problems in nonroutine ways using analogy and metaphor;
2. conditional or abductive reasoning (posing "what if" propositions and reframing problems);
3. keen observation and the ability to see new and unexpected patterns;
4. the ability to risk failure by taking initiative in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty;
5. the ability to heed critical feedback to revise and improve an idea;
6. a capacity to bring people, power, and resources together to implement novel ideas; and
7. the expressive agility required to draw on multiple means (visual, oral, written, media-related) to communicate novel ideas to others."

I particularly like item 4. The root of every discovery is something that looked like a failure the first time it was seen. Embracing unexpected results as the first glimpse of discovery rather than signs of imminent failure should be the foundation of every academic laboratory.