Creativity Isnt Intelligence

07 Feb 2013

Professor Kyung Hee Kim has made waves, first in Europe and now in South Africa, about her unique philosophy of education.  A William & Mary Professor, Kim is taking her research on creativity to international audiences. Her next stop is Thailand.

Professor Kim’s basic premise is that creativity and intelligence are different streams and independent of each other.  Creativity does not depend on intelligence and vice versa.

Kim is a professorial celebrity and her publications have appeared in most leading magazines, including a cover story on Newsweek.  She finds a “creativity crisis” in America. She cites the falling Torrance Tests of creative thinking since 1990 as indicative of the crisis there.  The contradiction which suits her premise is IQ scores of Americans continue to rise. With regard to America, where President Obama has been consistently saying math and science of American Children are weak, Kim is rather silent. Are math and science also independent of creativity?  While philosopher Kim will have to answer such questions, the point is perhaps tradition. 

South African leaders, too, are crying hoarse about weakness of the children here in math and science.  Prof Kim’s programs in Africa with teachers are expected to come out with solutions, which will be useful to many developed countries as well.