Smart or Creative?

When I was a kid, I’d ask my Mom whether it was better to have broad or deep knowledge. Her response: “It’s better to have broad, deep knowledge.”    (N4M)

My friend, Lisa Chu, asked me a similar question recently: Would you rather be called smarter or more creative?    (N4N)

I thought it was a great question, so I did a straw poll on Twitter and Facebook. The results? Overwhelmingly “creative.” In fact, only one person responded, “smarter.” A few folks avoided the question and chose both.    (N4O)

Choice responses:    (N4P)

  • Cindy Alvarez responded: “Creative, definitely. Smart w/o creative implies you function brilliantly – but only if all conditions optimal. Which they never are.”    (N4Q)
  • Leah Detlefson: “I would rather be (and be known as) creative. Smart to me implies quick and clever, but creative implies seeing a wider range of possibilities and solutions.”    (N4R)
  • Jason Lau: “IMO, no such thing as a creative dumb guy. So creative.”    (N4S)

My response? My first instinct would be to avoid the question and answer, “Both.” But if I absolutely had to choose, I would say “creative.”    (N4T)

What’s your response? And are you surprised by these results?    (N4U)