In this article, I discuss two kinds of giftedness, transactional and transformational. "Transformational giftedness" is giftedness that is transformative. Transformationally gifted individuals seek positively to change the world at some level--in their own way, to make the world a better place. "Transactional giftedness" is…

IQs increased by about 30 points in the 20th century. Part of this increase may have been the result of increased standardized testing because testing improves the skills on which students are tested. But although these practices may increase general intelligence, they may impede the development of creativity and wisdom. As a result, our society…

In this article, I consider relationships between creativity and ethics, and how they apply in society. I argue that ethical reasoning requires creative thinking at various junctures. I present an 8-step model of ethical reasoning, delineating how creativity can be applied at various steps. Finally, I draw conclusions about how the model can be…

"Everyone else was turning the page but I had not yet finished the first item." That is how the author remembers the beginning of his interest in intelligence. For whatever reason, he decided while in elementary school that intelligence is modifiable, and every year he authored a work book with exercises children could complete to increase their…

The propulsion theory of creative contributions is a theory that focuses on how a creative act or product builds on and adds to knowledge in various fields. In this article, we apply the propulsion theory of creative contributions not to creative discoveries or inventions, but rather to late-career decisions about future directions in which one…

This study addressed whether prior successes with educational interventions grounded in the theory of successful intelligence could be replicated on a larger scale as the primary basis for instruction in language arts, mathematics, and science. A total of 7,702 4th-grade students in the United States, drawn from 223 elementary school classrooms in…

In this article, I consider three general issues raised by Haier and Jung (2008). First, I discuss the use of drugs for intellectual enhancement. Second, I reflect on prediction of performance based on biological measures. Third, I query whether biology can tell us what intelligence and creativity are. I conclude that biological assessments raise…

This article analyzes an essay by Joseph Renzulli reviewing his work on gifted models by using the career of Renzulli himself as a case study of the components of creative, productive giftedness. It finds that creatively gifted individuals must face challenges that are formalized in the Sternberg and Lubart investment theory of creativity.…

Argues that the cognitive mechanisms in human creativity are, for the most part, sighted rather than blind. Reviews attempts to apply evolutionary ideas to psychology and argues that these ideas do not apply to the psychology of human creativity. An alternative sighted-variation framework is then proposed. (Author/CR)

This article presents WICS as a model of giftedness. WICS stands for Wisdom, Intelligence, Creativity, Synthesized. The article considers the relation between giftedness and expertise, and argues that giftedness is, ultimately, expertise in development. One cannot clearly distinguish between giftedness and expertise, because all measures of…

Who are the people who become positive educational leaders? This essay presents WICS as a model of positive educational leadership. WICS stands for "w"isdom, "i"ntelligence, "c"reativity, "s"ynthesized. Each of these elements is asserted to constitute one of the elements of educational leadership. Regrettably, our society is organized around a…

Creatively gifted individuals propose ideas that initially seem odd, but they "invest" in these ideas, bring them to fruition, and convince other people of their worth. Creatively gifted individuals display a combination of six resources that function interactively: intelligence, knowledge, styles of thinking, personality, motivation, and…

The 25 strategies described in this book can be used to develop personal creativity, student creativity, and creativity in colleagues and staff members. The strategies are based on investment theory, a psychological theory of creativity, but any one strategy is consistent with many other theories. The investment theory of creativity asserts that…