imagination

When we think about the five senses, we often wonder about the power of our brains to use the senses in order to interpret the world around us. Touch, sight, sound, smell and taste are the underpinnings of our environmental understanding. At a deeper level, we are amazed that the recurrence of a sensory experience can stimulate a strong memory. A particular fabric might bring to mind a comforting blanket from childhood; a song on the radio might evoke an emotional recollection; a sip of espresso might instantly bring one to an early Sunday morning on St. Mark’s Square in Venice. (Hmm. What brought that to mind?)

The ability to conceive of an idea without the corollary sensate experience is called imagination. When we consider the human power of imagination, it is even more wondrous than the senses! One has but to consider an architectural marvel, the formation of a government, a symphony, or a civic club’s agenda to realize that the imagination is our most powerful tool. Walt Disney is credited with saying, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” Perhaps you agree with this idea.

Despite the magnificent advances in brain study during the past decade, our understanding of the imagination is still rudimentary. Nevertheless, it is something we value. I would assume that we are born with an imaginative capacity. You can imagine my surprise, therefore, when a cursory search of some dubious sources on the world wide web revealed that only 60% of people are imaginative. Let me quickly say that I find such a number to be highly suspect, but let me also say that I’m SURE the number of imaginative people is less than 100%, at least by the time we reach maturity. And if I’m right, we must ask “what happened?”

There is no doubt that spending in excess of 15,000 hours in the schooling process (prior to college) would have some sort of effect on a child’s imagination. A good question would be whether or not sufficient time is devoted to stimulating the imagination. A darker question might suggest that schools are responsible for stifling the imagination.

Imagination fuels innovation. Innovation, by its very definition, speaks to betterment of our lives. I am no brain scientist, but I am confident that the mind’s eye is real. Real teachers, those who “draw out” the inborn genius in their students, celebrate the imagination. Tomorrow’s world will be better if it is shaped by those who can imagine a better tomorrow.