Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi died this week at the age of 87. He was an intellectual hero of mine. I've read five of his books - Flow, Finding Flow, The Evolving Self, Good Business, and Creativity. I have a hobby of contacting authors and semi-famous people. Here is my email exchange with Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi.

On Monday, March 28, 2005, at 08:43 PM, Brian Fleming wrote:

Dear Dr. Csikszentmihalyi,

I hope you have a moment to consider a few points about creativity and respond to a question about complexity.

Popular music is a domain not covered in the sample set for your book, Creativity. As an amateur guitarist who lives near Nashville, I have a view of the country music industry that I thought of repeatedly while reading Creativity. The country music industry (its telling that its called an industry) has developed into a community with a high degree of specialization within its members. Behind the famous and attractive singing stars are an army of studio musicians, audio engineers, music business people, songwriters, and a city full of other folks who haven’t quite made it. Nashville lore (and its still true today) depicts those who come to town with nothing more than a song and a dream. The trick is to sell your song or your sound to the country music industry field. All the traits described in your Creativity book are required to make it big in Nashville. Unfortunately, due to the industrialization in the country music business, the songs that get radio airplay sound mass-produced and the lyrics are filled with cliche. Integrated but not very differentiated, I suppose!

Which leads to my question about complexity. You promote the merits of complexity, yet when it comes to popular music it seems the simple songs are the best. A few examples: Silent Night, Your Cheatin Heart, Over the Rainbow, Edelweiss, and Amazing Grace. Likewise, the most elegant solution to a complicated problem is often the simplest one. Consider the law of parsimony — Occam’s razor.

So my question becomes: If complexity is so desirable, why is simplicity so beautiful?

I look forward to your response!

Brian Fleming

Franklin, TN

**************************************

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi <miska@cgu.edu>

Tue 3/29/2005 1:08 PM

To: Brian Fleming

It does sound like country music is a nice example of the systems view of creativity!

My answer to the complexity issue may not be convincing, but I would argue that the simple songs you mention are actually quite complex -- i.e. differentiated and (especially) integrated. The problem is that complex and complicated appear to refer to the same organization, whereas they are often 180 degrees apart. A complex wine has hints of many flavors, but they are blended so well that the taste is so obvious and natural that it seems simple. 

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Director | Quality of Life Research Center

C. S. and D. J. Davidson Professor

Peter F. Drucker School of Management

Claremont Graduate University

1021 N. Dartmouth Avenue

Claremont, CA 91711

We Must Cultivate Our Garden

Pangloss sometimes would say to Candide: “All events are linked together in this the best of all possible worlds; for, after all, had you not been kicked out of a fine castle for the love of Miss Cunegonde; had you not been put into the Inquisition; had you not traveled across America on foot; had you not stabbed the Baron through the body with your sword; and had you not lost all your sheep which you brought from the good country of El Dorado; -- you would not be here eating preserved citrons and pistachio nuts.” 

“Excellently observed,” answered Candide; “we must cultivate our garden.” 

                                                               -- Candide by Voltaire 1793

Simplicity

Simplicity by Bob Seger 

Simplicity it works for me

It keeps me running hard and sharp and true

I focus on the basic stuff

And pretty soon I'm coming up on you

So much clutter clouds our way

Fundamentals win the day

I break you down size you up

I see a path and then I bust a move

Before you know what hit you babe

I finish and I'm on to something new

Complex theories have their place

I like throw downs in your face

It's clear when its really really near

And it's everything you need

Rise and be worthy of the prize

Get exactly what your need

Simplicity in everything

In every single thing you say and do

Don't get lost in foggy stuff

Stay on track and let it come to you

Keep your focus on your goal

Use that iron hard control

Use your power and your speed

Get exactly what you need

Bobby Charles

It all started when my son Matt went to a Tyler Childers concert in Brooklyn and heard him sing the song Tennessee Blues. Matt has a knack for knowing what music I might like so he sent me a link to the video. I replied, “If you like that song then I’ve done something right.” On investigation I learned the song was written by someone named Bobby Charles in 1972 and also covered by Kris Kristofferson, Tompall Glaser, Marshall Chapman, and several others. I learned to sing and play it. It’s a lovely country tune.

On another occasion, I went to see the California Honeydrops. They invited Lindsay Lou on stage and she sang a song called All The Money -- a funky Cajun groove. I was totally into it and learned to play that one too. Come to find out, it was written by someone named  -- Bobby Charles.  Who is this Bobby Charles guy?

Matt sent me another song, Waymore’s Blues by Waylon Jennings. I replied simply with a “?”. What I didn’t know was Matt was fixing to name his first son “Waylon.” Now that’s not a name to be taken lightly. It makes a statement.  Anyway, Shannon McNally, a singer guitarist I’ve recently discovered, just released an entire album of nothing but Waylon covers. As I was researching her career I see she did another album of covers all written by – Bobby Charles! She covered his I Spent All My Money (Loving You) and -- you guessed it -- Tennessee Blues.

So I looked up Bobby Charles. Robert Charles Guidry is from Abbeville in rural Louisiana. As a young man he wrote See Ya Later Alligator. Fats Domino declined it but Bill Haley & the Comets made it a huge hit. Now "after while crocodile" is an automatic response. Fats Domino invited Bobby to a show in New Orleans. But Bobby had no way to get there, which prompted him to write Walkin’ To New Orleans. Fats Domino recorded that one – another big hit. While Bobby was not much for traveling and preforming, he did find his way to Wookstock, NY where he jammed with Dr. John, members of The Band, and others. After settling down back in Louisiana, his house burned down and then the next one got blown away in a hurricane. Bobby Charles died of cancer in 2010 at that age of 70.

Full disclosure, part of my interest in Bobby Charles is his name. My father was Robert (Bob) Edward Fleming. My father-in-law is Bobby Clayton McKinney. And I am Brian Charles Fleming. See Ya Later Alligator!

Pissing Contests

In Matthew McConaughey’s book Greenlights, he tells the story of a pissing contest involving his dad and brother. Not a figurative pissing contest, mind you -- a literal one. 

“You see that mark on the wall Mr. Fred just left?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Think you can piss over it?”

“Hell yeah,” Pat replied, then dropped his tighty-whities below his knees, put both hands on his pecker, aimed it at the mark, and let if fly. Pat cleared Fred Smither’s six-seven mark by two feet.

“That’s my boy!! I told y’all my boy could piss over Fred’s head!”

Now that I am a man of a certain age, I wont be challenging anyone to a pissing contest. My stream aint what it used to be. It’s sad when a young man beside me at the urinal starts blasting away with his fire hose, finishes, and then the next guy starts and finishes while I’m still dribbling.

Yeah I’m seeing a urologist about it. And I’ve seen the future and it aint pretty. When my dad got old he couldn’t completely empty his bladder. So he had a procedure done to fix it. Now my father-in-law is having plumbing problems. He gets backed up for days, goes to the ER, gets a catheter, and then walks around with a bag of piss strapped to his leg. Gettin’ old aint for cowards!

I complained when my wife bought a new garden hose without my input. But I gotta say it’s a good one. Now most evenings you will find me slinging my hose around watering the flowers, shrubs, and trees – even seeing how high up the side of my house I can spray. Who me overcompensate? Nah, just keep livin’!

Secular Addiction Recovery

My last hurrah as a volunteer with SMART Recovery and Recovering from Religion is a talk I gave about Secular Addiction Recovery, which you can see here: https://youtu.be/PdxYIcJjbMA.

Serenity Prayer

I propose a new version of the wonderful Serenity Prayer: 

“Develop serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” 

I replaced “God grant me” or “Grant me” with “Develop.” Here’s why. Serenity, courage, and knowing the difference between things I can and cannot change require learning through study, contemplation, practice, and experience – they are not granted.

Background

American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote the Serenity Prayer in 1932, used it in a sermon in 1943, first published it in 1951, and in 1955 it appeared in Alcoholics Anonymous publications. It has been widely used in addiction recovery, psychotherapy, posters, and medallions ever since.

Focusing on things within our control is a key feature of modern mental health therapy techniques. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was developed in the 1960s & 70s by Aaron Beck, Albert Ellis, and others. CBT techniques are applied to irrational beliefs and cognitive distortions, such as control and fairness fallacies. Control fallacies are distorted thoughts about things that happen due to external forces or due to your own actions. The distortion involves assigning them incorrectly.  Fairness fallacies afflict those who are overly concerned about fairness. The person who goes through life looking for fairness in all their experiences may end up resentful and unhappy.  But as as we all know, life is not always fair. Sometimes things go our way, and sometimes they don’t, regardless of how fair it may seem. Similarly, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) teaches us to accept not only our circumstances, but also our feelings about them. Then focus on things within our control and act accordingly. Along these lines you will also find mindfulness meditation practices.

Steven Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (1989) covers the circle of concern and the circle of influence, with ideas on how to expand the circle of influence. Others have added a circle of control. Covey mentions things under our direct control, indirect control, and no control. In any event, it is wise to recognize that even though the Serenity Prayer is presented as a simple dichotomy (things we can or cannot control), our ability to control things vary by degree. So our developed wisdom is our guide.

All these ideas can be traced back 2000 years to stoic philosophers Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca, and others in ancient Greece and Rome.

“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control." – Epictetus, Discourses, 2.5.5-5

“Some things are in our control, while others are not. We control our opinion, choice, desire, aversion, and, in a word, everything of our own doing. We don’t control our body, property, reputation, position, and, in a word, everything not of our own doing.”  ― Epictetus, Enchiridion, 1.1-2

“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

“Floods will rob us of one thing, fire of another. These are conditions of our existence which we cannot change. What we can do is adopt a noble spirit, such a spirit as befits a good man, so that we may bear up bravely under all that fortune sends us and bring our wills into tune with nature’s.” – Seneca, Letters from a Stoic

My wife Laura is my favorite stoic. Without going into great detail, she has overcome more than her fair share of tragedy. I often hear her say, “You know what? That is beyond my control so I might as well just get on with it.”  The day after the Harpeth River flooded our house in 2010, she put on her “WHATEVER” T-shirt and got to work cleaning up.

“May have to do it. Don’t have to like it.” - Song written by Mike Stinson, performed by Jesse Dayton

“You don’t have to like it. You just have to do it.” - Navy SEAL Training