Creativity vs. Rigor

To be successful in nearly any scientific field you need both a creative and a detailed rigorous mind.

When we are first learning a subject it would beneficial to approach the subject in a detailed and rigorous manner. The reason is that when we are first learning a subject we are prone to understanding and applying the concepts in an erroneous fashion, hence our first priority should be detail and rigor.

Now once we understand the concepts and know how to apply them, in order to advance our respective fields, our main priority should shift to creativity. This is actually more difficult than being detailed and rigorous, for true genius lies not in perfection but in originality, and it is very difficult to have a truly original idea in modern times. There are some methods to "increase" one's creativity but since creativity is subjective they are bound by one's own thinking.

John G.