Writers Must Surrender Certainty

Creativity is born of inefficiency and uncertainty.

Unfortunately, your brain does not welcome uncertainty. Because the human brain, which makes up only 3% of the body’s mass, uses 20 to 30% of the body’s oxygen and glucose, it evolved to be as energy-efficient as possible.

Uncertainty is simply not efficient. Why question what you already know? Why keep looking for more solutions when the one you have is good enough?

The first solution you find may not be the best, but once you make a decision, your brain sticks with it. Second-guessing takes energy and time away from other vital brain functions.

The brain also tends to interpret new information to fit decisions you’ve already made. It’s more efficient than identifying and comparing a multitude of new decision possibilities. 

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior highlights the dangers of “diagnosis bias,” the tendency to ignore information that doesn’t fit your initial categorization or to manipulate that information until it does fit.

Diagnosis Bias at Work

To illustrate diagnosis bias, imagine two urbanites on a day trip to the country, looking over a green hill dotted with white shapes.

“Are you sure those are all sheep?”

“Yep. No horns, not a goat among them.”

“But that one looks different.”

“You get individual differences even with sheep. It’s white and fluffy in a flock of white and fluffy animals grazing, it’s a sheep.”

“But it’s barking.”

“Sheep don’t bark. It’s coughing.”

“It’s leaving the flock.”

“So it’s an independent sheep.”

“It’s chasing something.”

“Don’t be silly. Sheep don’t chase things. It’s just frolicking.”

“That’s not a sheep.”

“So you’re a sheep expert now?”

“It doesn’t have hooves.”

“Like you can tell from this distance. All sheep have hooves. It’s probably a sheep with a hoof disorder that’s causing the coughing and the aberrant running.”

“It’s a dog!”

Note: The Bedlington Terrier was bred to look like the sheep it guards from predators. The fact that it gives shepherds so many opportunities to laugh at city slickers is just a bonus.

Curious Counter-balance

The brain’s preference for certainty aligns with the myth that knowledge is power. That might be true for diplomats and CEOs, but for creatives, curiosity is power.

The myth equates not knowing with stupid. When we have to admit we don’t know something, we believe we are diminished. On the contrary, not knowing is a creative opportunity!

Fortunately, the brain has evolved to be curious as well as energy-efficient. When we learn or experience something new, the brain gives itself a squirt of dopamine, the feel-good neurotransmitter.

We seek novelty. Hence the addictive qualities of Facebook, Twitter, video games, etc. – every new status update, every tweet, every shift in the game gives us a shot of “I feel good!”

Beyond Efficient to Effective

We are wired for both creativity and efficiency, but for most of us, efficiency-seeking is the default. That’s why we need to consciously remind ourselves to question our own certainty, to throw ourselves off-balance, and to expose ourselves to foreign ideas from time to time.

As writers, as creative people, we need to push ourselves beyond our brain’s efficient but limiting default patterns. We need to intentionally adopt the curiosity that comes so naturally to children, question our assumptions, and revel in the creative possibilities only uncertainty can offer. We need to put ourselves in places to be pushed beyond certainty.

Who or what challenges your worldview, your beliefs about writing, your writing skills?