Beware the Ivory Tower…a looming creativity decline in an era of no travel?

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There are some super creative guys out there who are always on the go…always traveling across the globe–without so much as a worry.   I have lived in 4 countries and I stay pretty mobile in my current role.  And, yes, I recognize the benefits of being a nomad (keeps your mind open, brings new perspectives).  But, there is another level of mobile nomadic creatives who seem to crisscross the globe with reckless abandon (gone half of the week sometimes, or more).   Some of these guys (and girls) have apartments in 2 or 3 different cities.  Have you ever known someone like this and asked yourself–why SO mobile?

Well, it looks like we have a new study to validate the benefits of living abroad.  According to the American Psychological Association (you guessed it) living abroad expands people’s minds.  The research consisted of five studies involving students at Sorbonne University, INSEAD and the Kellogg School of Management in the US…researchers said that they discovered a strong relationship between living abroad and creativity (see this article for details). Reuters notes, with some caution, however, that while the links seem clear, they have not proven that living abroad is the cause of increased creativity.

What these studies tell me is that companies need to continue giving employees assignments abroad whenever possible if they want to keep a strong level of employee creativity and a healthy international cross pollination within their organizations.   This will be a tall order, however, in an era of declining budgets and carbon emissions tracking/reduction (which is a good thing)…

Will creativity start to decline a bit in an era of no travel?

In a recent GOOD article, the futurist Ray Kurzweil says that  “By the late 2020s, nanobots in our brain will create full-immersion virtual-reality environments from within the nervous system. That will replace most travel. Yikes!  What will happen when we don’t ever have to leave the office for anything–ever again?  Talk about an ivory tower issue!

Nanobots in our brain?  By the late 2020s?  That seems pretty far fetched to me.  I can easily see using a virtual-communication system that allows one to appear at a venue in three dimensions and in real time, but nanobots?  But will these freaky bots really be able to replace the hands on experience one gets when living in the real world–with real people.

What the new research from the American Psychological Association seems to tell me is that traveling and living abroad will still be important for creativity stimulation in humans.  I don’t believe that we will all be living in the matrix by 2020…maybe I’m wrong though, what do you think?

P.S.:  Here is a good link to another review of the recent study from the Social Entrepreneurship blog (tks for the tip!)

P.S.S:  Here is a Good blog on Creativity

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