Curbing Creativity

I just finished watching a presentation that James Cameron (yes, the Titanic director) gave about being a science fiction nut.  He specifically called out how much he read sci-fi books as a youth and how that inspired him to be interested in science and exploration because the books  he read described situations and encounters that he could only imagine- that no one had ever seen before- and that this lack of a visual inspired his creativity throughout his life.

Now, why do I care?

I don't know him.

Titanic was a good movie, but I'm not a die-hard for it.

Well, I care because he's become a bit of a hypocrite.

You see, he didn't become a scientist.

He didn't become a writer.

He became a movie producer, who produces big, special effect-ridden blockbusters, filled with Computer-Generated effects that rob minds of the bliss of imagining things themselves.

I find it so shocking that he hasn't realized this incongruity and, in fact, continues to speak about science and creativity, while his work actually creates limits of what can be imagined.  I mean, once you've seen a water-creature, that's it.  That's what it must look like.  You saw it on the movie screen. You're brain has fixed on that image or function or whatever and it immediately creates a box around your ability to imagine what could be.

This is precisely why neurological pediatricians recommend no TV for children under the age of 2 and very limited TV and computer for children under the age of 6.

So, I guess if you want to have an imagination, continue to read books, avoid movies with lots of special effects, and challenge yourself to imagine outside of the (silver) box....and especially avoid Baby Einstein video babysitting for your children.