amy tan - where does creativity hide.docx

7/27/2019 Amy Tan - Where does creativity hide.docx

1/11

Amy Tan: Where does creativity hide?

The Value of Nothing: Out of Nothing Comes Something. That was an essay I wrote when I was 11 yearsold and I got a B+. (Laughter) What I'm going to talk about: nothing out of something, and how wecreate. And I'm gonna try and do that within the 18-minute time span that we were told to stay within, and tofollow the TED commandments: that is, actually, something that creates a near-death experience, but near-death is good for creativity. (Laughter) OK.So, I also want to explain, because Dave Eggers said he was going to heckle me if I said anything that wasa lie, or not true to universal creativity. And I've done it this way for half the audience, who isscientific. When I say we, I don't mean you, necessarily; I mean me, and my right brain, my left brain andthe one that's in between that is the censorand tells me what I'm saying is wrong. And I'm going do thatalso by looking at what I think is part of my creative process, which includes a number of things thathappened, actually -- the nothing started even earlier than the moment in which I'm creating somethingnew. And that includes nature, and nurture, and what I refer to as nightmares.Now in the nature area, we look at whether or not we are innately equipped with something, perhaps in ourbrains, some abnormal chromosome that causes this muse-like effect. And some people would say thatwe're born with it in some other means. And others, like my mother, would say that I get my material frompast lives. Some people would also say that creativity may be a function of some other neurological quirk --van Gogh syndrome -- that you have a little bit of, you know, psychosis, or depression. I do have to say,

somebody -- I read recently that van Gogh wasn't really necessarily psychotic, that he might have hadtemporal lobe seizures, and that might have caused his spurt of creativity, and I don't -- I suppose it doessomething in some part of your brain. And I will mention that I actually developed temporal lobe seizures anumber of years ago, but it was during the time I was writing my last book, and some people say that bookis quite different.I think that part of it also begins with a sense of identity crisis: you know, who am I, why am I this particularperson, why am I not black like everybody else? And sometimes you're equipped with skills, but they maynot be the kind of skills that enable creativity. I used to draw. I thought I would be an artist. And I had aminiature poodle. And it wasn't bad, but it wasn't really creative. Because all I could really do was representin a very one-on-one way.And I have a sense that I probably copied this from a book. And then, I alsowasn't really shining in a certain area that I wanted to be, and you know, you look at those scores, and itwasn't bad, but it was not certainly predictive that I would one day make my living out of the artfularrangement of words.

Also, one of the principles of creativity is to have a little childhood trauma. And I had the usual kind that Ithink a lot of people had, and that is that, you know, I had expectations placed on me. That figure rightthere, by the way, figure right there was a toy given to me when I was but nine years old, and it was to helpme become a doctor from a very early age. I have some ones that were long lasting: from the age of five to15, this was supposed to be my side occupation, and it led to a sense of failure.But actually, there was something quite real in my life that happened when I was about 14.And it wasdiscovered that my brother, in 1967, and then my father, six months later, had brain tumors. And my motherbelieved that something had gone wrong, and she was gonna find out what it was, and she was gonna fixit. My father was a Baptist minister, and he believed in miracles, and that God's will would take care ofthat. But, of course, they ended up dying, six months apart. And after that, my mother believed that it wasfate, or curses -- she went looking through all the reasons in the universe why this would havehappened.Everything except randomness. She did not believe in randomness. There was a reason foreverything. And one of the reasons, she thought, was that her mother, who had died when she was veryyoung, was angry at her. And so, I had this notion of death all around me,because my mother also believedthat I would be next, and she would be next. And when you are faced with the prospect of death verysoon, you begin to think very much about everything. You become very creative, in a survival sense.

And this, then, led to my big questions. And they're the same ones that I have today. And they are: why dothings happen, and how do things happen? And the one my mother asked: how do I make thingshappen? It's a wonderful way to look at these questions, when you write a story. Because, after all, in thatframework, between page one and 300, you have to answer this question of why things happen, how thingshappen, in what order they happen. What are the influences? How do I, as the narrator, as the writer, alsoinfluence that? And it's also one that, I think, many of our scientists have been asking. It's a kind ofcosmology, and I have to develop a cosmology of my own universe, as the creator of that universe.

And you see, there's a lot of back and forth in trying to make that happen, trying to figure it out -- years andyears, oftentimes. So, when I look at creativity, I also think that it is this sense or this inability to repress, mylooking at associations in practically anything in life.And I got a lot of them during what's been goingon throughout this conference, almost everything that's been going on.

And so I'm going to use, as the metaphor, this association: quantum mechanics, which I really don'tunderstand, but I'm still gonna use it as the process for explaining how it is the metaphor. So, in quantummechanics, of course, you have dark energy and dark matter.And it's the same thing in looking at thesequestions of how things happen. There's a lot of unknown, and you often don't know what it is except by itsabsence. But when you make those associations, you want them to come together in a kind of synergy in
http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#0http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#4000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#4000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#8000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#10000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#10000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#14000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#16000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#21000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#21000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#23000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#26000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#28000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#28000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#30000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#34000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#36000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#39000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#39000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#44000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#44000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#47000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#51000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#54000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#54000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#56000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#58000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#58000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#61000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#64000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#64000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#67000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#70000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#70000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#73000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#78000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#81000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#85000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#88000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#88000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#91000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#95000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#95000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#101000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#103000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#103000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#109000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#112000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#117000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#122000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#122000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#125000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#128000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#128000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#130000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#134000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#134000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#137000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#139000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#139000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#143000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#146000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#146000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#150000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#155000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#155000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#159000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#164000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#166000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#166000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#170000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#173000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#173000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#175000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#177000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#177000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#182000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#186000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#186000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#192000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#192000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#196000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#200000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#200000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#204000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#210000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#210000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#214000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#218000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#218000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#221000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#226000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#226000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#231000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#231000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#236000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#239000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#242000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#245000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#247000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#252000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#254000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#254000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#259000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#259000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#262000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#266000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#266000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#269000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#272000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#272000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#276000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#279000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#279000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#281000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#286000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#286000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#288000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#290000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#290000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#295000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#298000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#303000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#303000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#306000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#311000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#315000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#319000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#322000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#322000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#327000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#327000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#334000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#339000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#339000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#345000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#345000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#349000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#352000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#352000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#356000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#360000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#360000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#366000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#368000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#372000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#375000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#375000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#379000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#386000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#386000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#390000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#390000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#394000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#397000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#399000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#403000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#403000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#407000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#409000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#413000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#413000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#420000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#420000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#424000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#424000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#430000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#432000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#432000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#430000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#424000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#424000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#420000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#420000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#413000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#413000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#409000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#407000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#403000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#403000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#399000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#397000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#394000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#390000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#390000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#386000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#386000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#379000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#375000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#375000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#372000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#368000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#366000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#360000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#360000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#356000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#352000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#352000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#349000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#345000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#345000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#339000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#339000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#334000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#327000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#327000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#322000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#322000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#319000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#315000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#311000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#306000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#303000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#303000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#298000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#295000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#295000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#290000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#290000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#288000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#286000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#286000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#281000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#279000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#279000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#276000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#272000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#272000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#269000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#266000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#266000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#262000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#259000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#259000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#254000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#254000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#252000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#247000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#245000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#245000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#242000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#239000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#236000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#231000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#231000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#226000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#226000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#221000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#218000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#218000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#214000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#210000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#210000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#204000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#200000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#200000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#196000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#192000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#192000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#186000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#186000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#182000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#177000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#177000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#175000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#173000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#173000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#170000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#166000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#166000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#164000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#159000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#155000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#155000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#150000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#146000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#146000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#143000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#139000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#139000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#137000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#134000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#134000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#130000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#128000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#128000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#125000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#122000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#122000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#117000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#112000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#109000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#103000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#103000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#101000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#95000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#95000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#91000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#88000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#88000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#85000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#81000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#78000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#73000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#70000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#70000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#67000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#64000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#64000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#61000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#58000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#58000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#56000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#54000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#54000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#51000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#47000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#44000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#44000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#39000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#39000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#36000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#34000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#30000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#28000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#28000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#26000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#23000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#21000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#21000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#16000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#14000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#10000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#10000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#8000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#4000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#4000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#0


2/11

the story, and what you're finding is what matters. The meaning. And that's what I look for in my work, apersonal meaning.There is also the uncertainty principle, which is part of quantum mechanics, as I understand it.(Laughter) And this happens constantly in the writing. And there's the terrible and dreaded observereffect, in which you're looking for something, and you know, things are happening simultaneously, andyou're looking at it in a different way, and you're trying to really look for the about-ness, or what is this storyabout. And if you try too hard, then you will only write the about. You won't discover anything. And what youwere supposed to find,what you hoped to find in some serendipitous way, is no longer there. Now, I don't

want to ignore the other side of what happens in our universe, like many of our scientists have. And so, Iam going to just throw in string theory here, and just say that creative people are multidimensional, andthere are 11 levels, I think, of anxiety. (Laughter) And they all operate at the same time.There is also a big question of ambiguity. And I would link that to something called the cosmologicalconstant. And you don't know what is operating, but something is operating there. And ambiguity, to me, isvery uncomfortable in my life, and I have it. Moral ambiguity.It is constantly there. And, just as anexample, this is one that recently came to me. It was something I read in an editorial by a woman who wastalking about the war in Iraq. And she said, "Save a man from drowning, you are responsible to him forlife." A very famous Chinese saying, she said. And that means because we went into Iraq, we should staythereuntil things were solved. You know, maybe even 100 years. So, there was another one that I cameacross, and it's "saving fish from drowning." And it's what Buddhist fishermen say,because they're notsupposed to kill anything. And they also have to make a living, and people need to be fed. So their way of

rationalizing that is they are saving the fish from drowning, and unfortunately, in the process the fish die.Now, what's encapsulated in both these drowning metaphors -- actually, one of them is my mother'sinterpretation, and it is a famous Chinese saying, because she said it to me: "save a man from drowning,you are responsible to him for life." And it was a warning -- don't get involved in other people's business, oryou're going to get stuck. OK. I think if somebody really was drowning, she'd save them. But, both of thesesayings -- saving a fish from drowning, or saving a man from drowning -- to me they had to do withintentions.

And all of us in life, when we see a situation, we have a response. And then we have intentions. There's anambiguity of what that should be that we should do, and then we do something. And the results of that maynot match what our intentions had been. Maybe things go wrong. And so, after that, what are ourresponsibilities? What are we supposed to do? Do we stay in for life, or do we do something else and justifyand say, well, my intentions were good, and therefore I cannot be held responsible for all of it? That is the

ambiguity in my life that really disturbed me, and led me to write a book called "Saving Fish FromDrowning."I saw examples of that. Once I identified this question, it was all over the place. I got these hintseverywhere. And then, in a way, I knew that they had always been there. And then writing, that's whathappens. I get these hints, these clues, and I realize that they've been obvious, and yet they have notbeen. And what I need, in effect, is a focus. And when I have the question, it is a focus. And all these thingsthat seem to be flotsam and jetsam in life actually go through that question, and what happens is thoseparticular things become relevant. And it seems like it's happening all the time. You think there's a sort ofcoincidence going on, a serendipity, in which you're getting all this help from the universe.And it may alsobe explained that now you have a focus. And you are noticing it more often.But you apply this. You begin to look at things having to do with your tensions. Your brother, who's fallen introuble, do you take care of him? Why or why not? It may be something that is perhaps more serious -- as I

said, human rights in Burma. I was thinking that I shouldn't go because somebody said, if I did, it wouldshow that I approved of the military regime there. And then, after a while, I had to ask myself, "Why do wetake on knowledge, why do we take on assumptions that other people have given us?" And it was the samething that I felt when I was growing up, and was hearing these rules of moral conduct from my father, whowas a Baptist minister. So I decided that I would go to Burma for my own intentions, and still didn't knowthat if I went there, what the result of that would be, if I wrote a book -- and I just would have to face thatlater, when the time came.We are all concerned with things that we see in the world that we are aware of. We come to this point andsay, what do I as an individual do? Not all of us can go to Africa, or work at hospitals, so what do we do, ifwe have this moral response, this feeling? Also, I think one of the biggest things we are all looking at, andwe talked about today, is genocide. This leads to this question. When I look at all these things that aremorally ambiguous and uncomfortable, and I consider what my intentions should be, I realize it goes back

to this identity question that I had when I was a child -- and why am I here, and what is the meaning of mylife, and what is my place in the universe?It seems so obvious, and yet it is not. We all hate moral ambiguity in some sense, and yet it is alsoabsolutely necessary. In writing a story, it is the place where I begin. Sometimes I get help from theuniverse, it seems. My mother would say it was the ghost of my grandmother from the very firstbook, because it seemed I knew things I was not supposed to know. Instead of writing that the grandmotherdied accidentally, from an overdose of opium, while having too much of a good time, I actually put down inthe story that the woman killed herself, and that actually was the way it happened. And my mother decidedthat that information must have come from my grandmother.There are also things, quite uncanny, which bring me information that will help me in the writing of thebook. In this case, I was writing a story that included some kind of detail, period of history, a certain
http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#432000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#436000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#440000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#440000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#444000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#449000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#449000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#451000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#455000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#455000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#458000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#460000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#463000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#463000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#465000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#469000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#469000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#473000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#476000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#479000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#479000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#481000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#484000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#487000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#487000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#489000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#492000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#495000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#495000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#498000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#501000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#501000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#505000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#509000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#512000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#512000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#518000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#520000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#520000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#524000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#527000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#531000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#534000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#536000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#536000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#540000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#540000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#543000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#546000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#546000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#550000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#554000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#554000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#559000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#562000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#564000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#567000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#570000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#570000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#574000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#577000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#582000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#582000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#585000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#588000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#588000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#591000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#595000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#595000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#597000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#601000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#601000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#605000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#605000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#609000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#614000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#616000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#616000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#621000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#623000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#623000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#626000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#626000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#631000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#633000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#635000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#635000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#640000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#646000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#646000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#648000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#652000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#652000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#654000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#661000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#661000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#663000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#666000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#666000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#669000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#669000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#676000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#680000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#682000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#682000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#687000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#687000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#692000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#694000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#694000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#697000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#700000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#703000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#707000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#710000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#713000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#713000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#716000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#718000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#722000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#722000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#725000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#725000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#729000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#732000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#735000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#735000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#737000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#740000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#740000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#743000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#748000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#748000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#750000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#755000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#755000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#758000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#761000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#761000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#765000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#770000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#770000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#775000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#779000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#779000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#786000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#789000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#789000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#792000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#795000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#795000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#800000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#802000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#802000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#807000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#807000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#810000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#812000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#815000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#820000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#820000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#824000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#828000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#828000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#832000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#832000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#835000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#838000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#838000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#841000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#844000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#844000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#849000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#851000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#851000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#856000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#859000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#859000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#863000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#865000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#865000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#863000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#859000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#859000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#856000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#851000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#851000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#849000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#844000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#844000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#841000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#838000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#838000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#835000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#832000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#832000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#828000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#828000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#824000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#820000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#820000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#815000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#812000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#810000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#807000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#807000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#802000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#802000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#800000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#795000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#795000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#792000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#789000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#789000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#786000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#779000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#779000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#775000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#770000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#770000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#765000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#761000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#761000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#758000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#755000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#755000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#750000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#748000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#748000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#743000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#740000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#740000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#737000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#735000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#735000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#732000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#729000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#725000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#725000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#722000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#722000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#718000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#716000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#713000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#713000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#710000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#707000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#703000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#700000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#697000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#697000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#694000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#694000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#692000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#687000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#687000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#682000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#682000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#680000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#676000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#669000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#669000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#666000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#666000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#663000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#661000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#661000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#654000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#652000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#652000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#648000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#646000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#646000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#640000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#635000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#635000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#633000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#631000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#626000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#626000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#623000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#623000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#621000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#616000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#616000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#614000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#609000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#605000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#605000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#601000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#601000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#597000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#595000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#595000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#591000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#588000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#588000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#585000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#582000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#582000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#577000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#574000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#570000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#570000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#567000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#564000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#562000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#562000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#559000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#554000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#554000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#550000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#546000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#546000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#543000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#540000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#540000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#536000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#536000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#534000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#531000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#527000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#524000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#524000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#520000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#520000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#518000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#512000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#512000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#509000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#505000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#501000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#501000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#498000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#495000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#495000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#492000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#489000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#487000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#487000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#484000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#481000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#479000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#479000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#476000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#473000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#469000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#469000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#465000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#463000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#463000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#460000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#458000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#455000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#455000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#451000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#449000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#449000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#444000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#440000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#440000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#436000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#432000


3/11

location. And I needed to find something historically that would match that. And I took down this book, and I-- first page that I flipped it to was exactly the setting, and the time period, and the kind of character Ineeded -- was the Taiping rebellion,happening in the area near Guilin, outside of that, and a character whothought he was the son of God.You wonder, are these things random chance? Well, what is random? What is chance? What is luck? Whatare things that you get from the universe that you can't really explain?And that goes into the story,too. These are the things I constantly think about from day to day. Especially when good thingshappen, and, in particular, when bad things happen. But I do think there's a kind of serendipity, and I do

want to know what those elements are, so I can thank them, and also try to find them in my life. Because,again, I think that when I am aware of them, more of them happen.Another chance encounter is when I went to a place -- I just was with some friends, and we drove randomlyto a different place, and we ended up in this non-tourist location, a beautiful village, pristine. And we walkedthree valleys beyond, and the third valley, there was something quite mysterious and ominous, a discomfortI felt. And then I knew that had to be [the] setting of my book. And in writing one of the scenes, it happenedin that third valley.For some reason I wrote about cairns -- stacks of rocks -- that a man was building. And Ididn't know exactly why I had it, but it was so vivid. I got stuck, and a friend, when she asked if I would gofor a walk with her dogs, that I said, sure. And about 45 minutes later,walking along the beach, I cameacross this. And it was a man, a Chinese man, and he was stacking these things, not with glue, not withanything. And I asked him, "How is it possible to do this?" And he said, "Well, I guess with everything in life,there's a place of balance." And this was exactly the meaning of my story at that point. I had so many

examples -- I have so many instances like this, when I'm writing a story, and I cannot explain it. Is itbecause I had the filter that I have such a strong coincidence in writing about these things? Or is it a kind ofserendipity that we cannot explain, like the cosmological constant?

A big thing that I also think about is accidents. And as I said, my mother did not believe inrandomness. What is the nature of accidents? And how are we going to assign what the responsibility andthe causes are, outside of a court of law? I was able to see that in a firsthand way, when I went to beautifulDong village, in Guizhou, the poorest province of China. And I saw this beautiful place. I knew I wanted tocome back. And I had a chance to do that, when National Geographic asked me if I wanted to writeanything about China. And I said yes, about this village of singing people, singing minority. And theyagreed, and between the time I saw this place and the next time I went, there was a terrible accident. Aman, an old man, fell asleep, and his quilt dropped in a pan of fire that kept him warm. 60 homes weredestroyed, and 40 were damaged. Responsibility was assigned to the family.The man's sons were

banished to live three kilometers away, in a cowshed. And, of course, as Westerners, we say, "Well, it wasan accident. That's not fair. It's the son, not the father."When I go on a story, I have to let go of those kinds of beliefs. It takes a while, but I have to let go of themand just go there, and be there. And so I was there on three occasions, different seasons. And I began tosense something different about the history, and what had happened before, and the nature of life in a verypoor village, and what you find as your joys, and your rituals, your traditions, your links with other families.

And I saw how this had a kind of justice, in its responsibility. I was able to find out also about the ceremonythat they were using, a ceremony they hadn't used in about 29 years. And it was to send some men -- aFeng Shui master sent men down to the underworld on ghost horses. Now you, as Westerners, and I, asWesterners, would say well, that's superstition. But after being there for a while, and seeing the amazingthings that happened, you begin to wonder whose beliefs are those that are in operation in theworld, determining how things happen.

So I remained with them, and the more I wrote that story, the more I got into those beliefs, and I think that'simportant for me -- to take on the beliefs, because that is where the story is real, and that is where I'mgonna find the answers to how I feel about certain questions that I have in life. Years go by, of course, andthe writing, it doesn't happen instantly, as I'm trying to convey it to you here at TED. The book comes and itgoes. When it arrives, it is no longer my book. It is in the hands of readers, and they interpret itdifferently. But I go back to this question of, how do I create something out of nothing? And how do I createmy own life?

And I think it is by questioning, and saying to myself that there are no absolute truths. I believe in specifics,the specifics of story, and the past, the specifics of that past, and what is happening in the story at thatpoint. I also believe that in thinking about things -- my thinking about luck, and fate, and coincidences andaccidents, God's will, and the synchrony of mysterious forces -- I will come to some notion of what that is,how we create.I have to think of my role. Where I am in the universe, and did somebody intend for me to be

that way, or is it just something I came up with? And I also can find that by imagining fully, and becomingwhat is imagined -- and yet is in that real world, the fictional world. And that is how I find particles of truth,not the absolute truth, or the whole truth. And they have to be in all possibilities, including those I neverconsidered before.So, there are never complete answers. Or rather, if there is an answer, it is to remind myself that there isuncertainty in everything, and that is good, because then I will discover something new. And if there is apartial answer, a more complete answer from me, it is to simply imagine. And to imagine is to put myself inthat story, until there was only -- there is a transparency between me and the story that I am creating.

And that's how I've discovered that if I feel what is in the story -- in one story -- then I come the closest, Ithink, to knowing what compassion is, to feeling that compassion. Because for everything, in that questionof how things happen, it has to do with the feeling. I have to become the story in order to understand a lot of
http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#865000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#869000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#872000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#872000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#874000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#880000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#880000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#883000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#887000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#887000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#890000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#893000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#897000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#897000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#901000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#901000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#903000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#906000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#906000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#908000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#912000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#914000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#914000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#917000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#922000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#922000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#926000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#930000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#930000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#934000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#938000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#940000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#940000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#942000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#945000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#945000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#951000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#951000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#954000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#961000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#961000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#964000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#964000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#969000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#972000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#976000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#978000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#978000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#981000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#984000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#984000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#988000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#993000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#993000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#998000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1000000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1000000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1004000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1007000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1007000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1014000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1017000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1017000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1020000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1022000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1022000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1026000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1029000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1032000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1032000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1038000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1038000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1040000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1043000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1043000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1045000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1050000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1050000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1055000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1055000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1059000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1062000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1062000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1068000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1070000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1074000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1074000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1078000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1080000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1086000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1086000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1090000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1093000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1093000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1097000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1097000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1101000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1104000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1104000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1114000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1114000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1119000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1127000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1127000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1131000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1131000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1134000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1137000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1137000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1140000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1140000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1145000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1148000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1151000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1151000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1155000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1158000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1158000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1160000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1165000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1165000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1168000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1172000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1172000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1177000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1177000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1181000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1187000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1187000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1190000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1192000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1197000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1197000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1201000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1204000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1204000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1208000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1211000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1211000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1215000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1219000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1219000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1225000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1229000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1229000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1234000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1234000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1242000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1245000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1245000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1253000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1255000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1255000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1258000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1261000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1266000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1266000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1270000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1275000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1275000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1279000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1282000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1282000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1286000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1292000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1298000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1298000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1304000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1308000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1310000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1310000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1314000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1314000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1310000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1310000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1308000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1304000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1298000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1298000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1292000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1286000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1282000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1282000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1279000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1275000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1275000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1270000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1266000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1266000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1261000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1258000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1255000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1255000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1253000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1245000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1245000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1242000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1234000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1234000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1229000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1229000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1225000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1219000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1219000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1215000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1211000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1211000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1208000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1204000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1204000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1201000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1197000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1197000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1192000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1190000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1187000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1187000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1181000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1177000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1177000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1172000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1172000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1168000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1165000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1165000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1160000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1158000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1158000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1155000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1151000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1151000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1148000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1145000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1140000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1140000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1137000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1137000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1134000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1131000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1131000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1127000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1127000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1119000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1114000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1114000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1104000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1104000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1101000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1097000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1097000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1093000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1093000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1090000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1086000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1086000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1080000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1078000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1074000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1074000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1070000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1068000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1068000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1062000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1062000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1059000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1055000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1055000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1050000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1050000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1045000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1043000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1043000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1040000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1038000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1038000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1032000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1032000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1029000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1026000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1022000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1022000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1020000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1017000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1017000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1014000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1007000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1007000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1004000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1000000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1000000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#998000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#993000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#993000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#988000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#984000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#984000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#981000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#978000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#978000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#976000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#972000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#969000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#969000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#964000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#964000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#961000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#961000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#954000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#951000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#951000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#945000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#945000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#942000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#940000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#940000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#938000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#934000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#930000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#930000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#926000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#922000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#922000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#917000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#914000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#914000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#912000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#908000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#906000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#906000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#903000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#901000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#901000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#897000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#897000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#893000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#890000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#887000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#887000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#883000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#880000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#880000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#874000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#872000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#872000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#869000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#865000


4/11

that. We've come to the end of the talk, and I will reveal what is in the bag, and it is the muse, and it is thethings that transform in our lives, that are wonderful and stay with us. There she is. Thank you verymuch! (Applause)

Nilai dari ketiadaan: dari ketiadaan muncullah sesuatu. Ini adalah esai yang saya tulis ketika saya berumur

11 tahun dan saya mendapat B+. (Tawa) Apa yang akan saya bicarakan : ketiadaan yang muncul darisesuatu, dan bagaimana kita mencipta. Dan saya akan coba melakukannya dalam jangka waktu 18 menityang kita diminta untuk mematuhinya, dan untuk mengikuti perintah-perintah suci TED : yang,kenyataannya, adalah sesuatu yang menciptakan suatu pengalaman hampir-mati, tetapi hampir-mati itubagus untuk kreativitas. (Tawa) OK.Jadi, saya juga ingin menjelaskan, karena Dave Eggers berkata dia akan mengganggu sayajika sayamengatakan apapun yang merupakan suatu kebohongan, atau tidak benar menurut kreativitas yanguniversal. Dan saya telah melakukannya dengan cara ini untuk separuh dari audiens, yang merupakankomunitas ilmuwan. Ketika saya berkata kita, saya tidak bermaksud anda, secara khusus; Sayamemaksudkannya diri saya, dan otak kanan saya, otak kiri saya, dan yang berada di antaranya yaitusensordan menyatakan pada saya apa yang saya katakan adalah salah. Dan saya juga akanmelakukannya dengan melihat pada apa yang saya pikir sebagai bagian dari proses kreatif saya, yang

termasuk sejumlah hal yang terjadi, kenyataannya -- ketiadaan bermula bahkan lebih awal daripadamomentumnya dimana saya menciptakan sesuatu yang baru. Dan itu termasuk alam, dan perawatan, danapa yang saya sebut sebagai mimpi-mimpi buruk.Sekarang dalam area alami, kita melihat apakah benar atau tidak kita dilengkapi secara pembawaan lahirdengan sesuatu, mungkin dalam otak-otak kita, beberapa kromosom abnormal yang menyebabkan efekmirip-renungan ini. Dan beberapa orang akan berkata bahwa kita dilahirkan dengannya dalam beberapacara lain, dan orang-orang lain, seperti ibu saya, akan berkata bahwa saya mendapat bahan bakunya darikehidupan-kehidupan sebelumnya. Beberapa orang juga akan berkata itulah kreativitas mungkinmerupakan suatu fungsi dari beberapa keanehan neurologis lainnya -- sindrom van Gogh -- yaitu bahwaanda punya sedikit dari, anda tahulah, psikosis, atau depresi. Saya harus berkata, seseorang -- sayamembacanya baru-baru ini bahwa van Gogh sebenarnya tidak benar-benar psikotik,bahwa dia mungkinmengalami kejang lobus temporal, dan itu mungkin menyebabkan percikan kreativitasnya, dan saya tidak --

Saya rasa itu menyebabkan sesuatu pada bagian otak anda. Dan saya akan menyebutkan bahwa sayapada dasarnya mengalami kejang lobus temporal beberapa tahun lalu, tetapi itu pada saat saya menulisbuku terakhir saya,dan beberapa orang berkata bahwa buku itu cukup berbeda.Saya berpikir bahwa bagian itu juga dimulai dengan suatu perasaan krisis identitas: anda tahulah, siapasaya, mengapa saya seperti ini, mengapa saya bukan orang kulit hitam seperti orang-orang lain? Danterkadang anda dilengkapi dengan keahlian-keahlian tetapi mereka mungkin bukan jenis-jenis keahlianyang memungkinkan kreativitas. Saya dulu menggambar. Saya dulu berpikir saya akan jadi seorangseniman. Dan saya dulu memiliki sebuah miniatur anjing pudel. Dan itu bukanlah sesuatu yang buruk,tetapi itu tidak benar-benar kreatif. Karena semua yang saya lakukan adalah merepresentasikan sesuatuseperti apa adanya. Dan saya memiliki suatu perasaan bahwa saya mungkin menyalin ini dari sebuahbuku. Dan kemudian saya juga tidak benar-benar cemerlang dalam beberapa area tertentu yang sayainginkan. dan anda tahulah, anda melihat pada nilai-nilai itu, dan itu tidaklah buruk, tetapi itu tidaklah

secara jelas memprediksikan bahwa saya suatu hari akan memperoleh penghasilan saya dari pengaturankata-kata yang berseni.Juga, satu dari prinsip-prinsip kreativitas adalah memiliki sedikit trauma masa kecil. Dan saya memiliki hal-hal yang saya pikir banyak orang lain miliki. dan itu adalah, anda tahulah, saya menerima harapan-harapanyang diletakkan pada diri saya Boneka di sana, omong-omong, boneka di sana dulunya adalah sebuahmainan yang diberikan kepada saya ketika saya berusia sembilan tahun, dan boneka itu untuk membantusaya menjadi seorang doktor dari usia yang sangat dini. Saya punya beberapa boneka yang cukupbertahan lama: dari usia lima sampai 15, ini seharusnya menjadi pekerjaan sampingan saya, dan itumembawa kepada suatu perasaan gagal.Tetapi kenyataannya ada sesuatu yang cukup nyata dalam hidup saya yang terjadi ketika saya berusiasekitar 14 Dan ditemukan bahwa kakak lelaki saya, pada 1967, dan kemudian bapak saya, enam bulankemudian, memiliki tumor otak. Dan ibu saya percaya bahwa suatu kesalahan telah terjadi, dan beliau akan

mencari tahu apakah kesalahan itu. Dan beliau akan memperbaikinya. Bapak saya adalah seorangpendeta Baptis, dan beliau percaya pada mukjizat-mukjizat, dan bahwa kehendak Tuhan akanmenanganinya. Tetapi tentu saja, akhirnya mereka menghembuskan nafas terakhirnya, terpisah enambulan. Dan setelahnya, ibu saya percaya bahwa ini adalah takdir, atau kutukan-kutukan -- beliau mencarisemua alasan di alam semesta kenapa hal ini harus terjadi. Semuanya kecuali keacakan. Beliau tidakpercaya pada keacakan. Ada suatu alasan untuk segala sesuatu.Dan satu dari alasan-alasan tersebut,beliau berpikir, adalah bahwa ibunya dulu, yang telah wafat ketika beliau masih sangat muda, marah padadirinya. Dan kemudian saya memiliki gagasan kematian ini di sekeliling saya karena ibu saya juga percayabahwa sayalah yang berikutnya, dan beliau yang berikutnya Dan ketika anda dihadapkan dengankemungkinan kematian yang sangat dekat, anda mulai berpikir sangat banyak tentang segalasesuatu.Anda menjadi sangat kreatif, dalam suatu perasaan bertahan hidup.
http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1314000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1320000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1322000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1326000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1326000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1329000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1339000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1340000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1340000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#1342000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#0http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#4000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#4000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#8000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#10000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#10000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#14000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#16000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#16000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#21000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#23000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#23000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#26000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#28000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#28000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#30000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#34000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#36000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#39000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#39000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#44000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#44000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#47000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#51000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#51000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#54000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#54000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#56000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#58000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#58000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#61000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#64000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#64000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#67000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#67000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#70000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#73000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#78000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#78000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#81000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#85000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#85000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#88000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#91000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#91000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#95000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#95000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#101000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#103000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#103000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html#109000http://www.ted.com/talks/amy

amy tan - where does creativity hide.docx

Documents