The Creative Curve summary

Why do we consider some people geniuses? Charles Darwin, for instance, is often considered a genius for discovering natural selection. But dig a little deeper into the history of his discovery, and all is not as it seems. Despite what you may have heard, Darwin was not the only person to develop the theory of natural selection. That honor also goes to one of Darwin’s contemporaries, Alfred Wallace. But unfortunately, history has all but forgotten Wallace, while Darwin is celebrated for his genius.

This should give us pause for thought. Are those we deem geniuses really so unique and special? Arguably, there were other factors that give them their lauded status.

What makes us like some things, and turn away from others? The answer to this difficult question might be found by looking at the fortunes of a clothing brand. In 2009, popular tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy sold the rights to his designs to a fashion company, and soon Ed Hardy clothing became the must-have celebrity item. Before the end of the year, the brand had sold $700 million in clothes and accessories. Everyone everywhere seemed to be wearing Ed Hardy.

But then something strange happened. By the end of 2009, Ed Hardy clothing had become an embarrassing cliché and sales had tanked. Why did it go so wrong?

In 1982, a small video rental store in Arizona became wildly popular with film enthusiasts. But the long queues that formed every night weren’t down to its stellar selection of movies. The store was so popular because movie buffs wanted film recommendations from its 18-year-old clerk, Ted Sarandos. Fast forward 30 years and Ted Sarandos is now the chief content officer at Netflix – responsible for commissioning shows such as Stranger Things and Orange Is the New Black.

Why have people always been so interested in Ted’s opinions? In fact, Ted Sarandos’ success is all thanks to his in-depth knowledge of the creative curve.

Ask around for long enough and you’ll soon find people who dream of writing a novel. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll also find that many of these folk would shy away from ever putting pen to paper. Why? Because they don’t think they have what it takes to become a successful author. Either they don’t think they have a way with words, or just don’t think they’re smart enough to manage it.

But what if writing a successful novel had much less to do with writing ability or smarts than we assume, and everything to do with where the book falls on the creative curve? If this is true, then that spot on the bestseller list might not be so out of reach.

When we think of a creative genius, we often imagine an inspired individual, feverishly working away. They might be slaving away on a creative project in a remote cabin, or in a futuristic office, but one thing’s for sure – the genius of our imagination usually works alone. This idea of the isolated genius is handed down to us through popular culture. Consider the character of Tony Stark – the hero of the Iron Man films – a solitary genius who single-handedly builds his eponymous robotic suits.

But when we take a closer look at reality, our notions of the lone creative genius quickly fall apart.