Well, to tell you the truth, Holly, I'm not much of an expert on technical creativity. I remember reading something about one of the MacIntosh inventors. The article I was reading said this guy's circuit boards were considered poetry by the folks in Cupertino central. I remember thinking, "Circuit board poetry? But why not?"

So let me just say something about creativity in general. I think everyone is creative. It's just that in some of us that muscle gets atrophied through non-use. But with a little practice and exercise, it can become strong again.

As a creative writing teacher, I've seen this time and again. Somebody comes into the class who is convinced of their mediocrity. "I really don't know much about poetry. I'm really just a business major know needs a few credits" or "I've never written very much. I've never been very good at it." In a few weeks they're doing extraordinary stuff.

I'm seeing it this quarter in my Advanced Composition at Cal Poly. I've seen it when I've taught poetry writing to second graders. I've seen it in myself. When I haven't written for a while, I'm rusty. But I practice. It just takes practice to get your writing to cook, to interact, to grow. And that's creativity.

I think it's probably true with any medium. Anyone can be a "creative" poet, or a cook, or a painter, or a physicist. Of course, there are always those men and women who have been born with an extraordinary amount of creativity muscle, those Arnold Swarzeneggar's of literature, or musical compostion, or theoretical physics. But even with these people, I think that practice helps them bench press even more when it comes to those weighted leaps of inspiration (if that's not mixing metaphors too much).

And of course I don't have to tell you that I think we Ponarvians are all rather gifted when it comes to creativity. If we weren't, if we weren't "creativity practicers," I don't think we'd be true Ponarvians. Qui? Non? Comment pensez-vous?