A study of 31 Nobel Prize winners in economics revealed that one of the creative cycles affects some scientists at the beginning of their active professional lives, while the other appears later. The research thus supported the previous work of authors who have found similar patterns in the field of art and other sciences.
"A lot of people believe that creativity is exclusively about young people, but it really depends on what kind of creativity you're talking about," said Bruce Weinberg, lead author of the study and professor of economics at Ohio State University.
In the study, Nobel laureates who produced their most acclaimed and pioneering work early in their careers tended to be "conceptual" innovators.
These types of innovators are able to think about existing frameworks and often come up with several new ideas at once. The study states that conceptual innovators also tend to peak at the beginning of their careers before delving into already accepted theories of the field.
The second creativity appears among "experimental" innovators. These innovators gather knowledge through their careers and find pioneering ways to analyse, interpret and synthesise this information into new ways of understanding. The long periods of trial and error required for important experimental innovations means they come to the fore at a later stage in their careers.
"Whether you reach your creative peak early or late in your career depends on whether you have a conceptual or experimental approach," Weinberg added.
The researchers arranged the laureates in the study from the most experimental to the most conceptual. This ranking was based on specific objective characteristics of the most important work of the laureates which testify to a conceptual or experimental approach.
It is suggested that conceptual economists tend to use, for example, more assumptions, proofs and equations. Experimental economists, in turn, rely on direct conclusions from the facts, so their work tends to have more references to specific sources, such as places, time periods, or industries.
After classifying the laureates, the researchers determined the age at which each laureate contributed most to economics and could be considered as being at their creative peak. An evaluation was made of professional contributions on the basis of academic value and influence. An article gained more influence if it was mentioned in the professional sphere and was more frequently cited.
Using two different methods, the researchers calculated that the conceptual laureates peaked at approximately the age of 25 to 29. Experimental laureates, on the other hand, peaked when they were roughly twice as old - aged around 50 to 57.
Most research from other disciplines found only small differences, and thus supported the conclusions of the current study. At the same time, it suggests that creativity is based not so much on the field in which a person works as on their approach to the work they do.
The researchers' conclusions show that these two cycles of creativity could be related to creativity in general, not only to their application in specific fields.
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