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I am really interested in how we have control over our I-function. Initially in the course we were presented with this specialized box which we added to our brain function model. The I-function box was supposed to represent the experience of input, and we identified the I-function with conscious behavior. I am not sure which side of this statement that we have shaken up with this week’s discussion: that the I-function is responsible for mediating some conscious activity or if there is more than we first thought which is under unconscious control. After this week’s discussion I may need to rethink how I conceive of the I-function and what processes it is and is not involved in.

Creativity manifests itself in many different ways. The idea that creativity has little to do with the I-function is mind-boggling and reassuring all at the same time. Creativity is independent of environmental influences; it is something within us that we cannot necessary control, except to inhibit it. If we allow that creativity doesn’t have to do with the I-function then we can say that it is unconscious activity. Whoa. There are so many implications for this! Think about all those other processes which we conceive of as being unconscious: digestion, heart rate, and breathing. Is it possible then that these processes could be over-ruled by the I-function? Where are the limits of this system? I don’t know that this makes sense, but if we put creativity on the same level as these other processes, then not only does it deserve our respect, but it also deserves our attention. Think how detrimental it would be for us if we were to stop our breathing—it seems the same degree of implications could stand for stopping creativity.

Creativity is an example of variability. Variability is something which is intrinsic to the nervous system, it is a property of the nervous system itself. So then this variability is natural, it is something which is intrinsic to us as human beings. So then, why would we ever want to limit it? Why would we ever want to curb it or hinder it from being expressed? I feel like I know from my own personal experience that the act of being creative is important to helping me function properly, but what I didn’t really understand was how essential this act was to me being able to function properly. If breathing is necessary to function properly and creativity is on an equal level, then expressing ourselves creatively is a necessary part of human existence. This perspective seems much too romanticized to be science! I mean I really like the idea that coloring should be a part of the curriculum not just in pre-school but all the way through your schooling and into your life!

I think the other important aspect of creativity is to look at what it is. We have already identified creativity as variability. Within its very name we are able to allow for different ways of expressing this creativity. Different ways that I can think of expressing creativity: through art, music, dance, and writing, just to name a stereotypical selection. I am also encouraged to think of creativity more creatively (sorry about the pun!). Could emotions be a way that we express our creativity? What about through dreams? If creativity is such an inherent part of what it means for us to be ourselves and to function properly, then it seems quite logical that creativity would need to come out in some way. The nervous system has five different ways of doing one thing. It seems this variability, this ability to change and adapt and the inconsistency that may result are all intrinsically part of the nervous system, and these aspects contribute to the creative, spontaneous, unpredictable beings we find ourselves being.