Are Creativity and Intelligence Related?

Are Creativity and Intelligence Related?

Creativity is shown to be useful when needing ideas that are out of the box. However, we have to wonder and ask, are creativity and intelligence related? It’s something worth wondering because creativity is only acknowledged in people that enjoy arts, but can people who are in analytical fields also be creative? 


A lot of people think that creativity is seen only when creating art, but that’s not the case. Creativity and intelligence are both functions of the brain that are used to solve problems. You can have both traits but that doesn’t necessarily mean that both of these traits will be expressed as highly functional. 

Since both of these things are used to solve problems, is there more to this relationship that can correlate to highly intellectual people being more creative and vice versa? 

We know that everyone has a type of intelligence, so just because you’re not the analytical type doesn’t mean that you aren’t intelligent. With creativity, we have all exhibited our capability with this, but some people don’t manifest it as often, especially when they’re not particularly inclined to veer from logical thinking. 

With that, we have to ask, are creativity and intelligence related? If you’re the type of person that is interested in both arts and science, then this article will help answer some questions that might be buzzing in your head. 

We know that these factors are related somehow, and we hope that this article clears it up for you, if you have any questions about them. 

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Intelligence vs. Creativity


Before we discuss the similarity of intelligence and creativity, let’s talk about their differences first. While creativity and intelligence are both factors that help solve problems, there’s a big difference in how they address these problems. Here are the primary differences in intelligence and creativity:


  1. Creativity refers to thinking out of the box: Creativity is being able to come up with ideas that may seem odd from a logical standpoint. While it may not be a common viewpoint, it does give you a different vision from what people normally see.

  2. Intellect refers to your ability to understand and analyze: In this case, it would seem that intellect is the polar opposite of creativity. It focuses more on what you can learn and understand rather than coming up with a solution that is out-of-the-box.

  3. There is more than one type of intelligence: We cannot deny that creativity only comes in one form, whereas intelligence comes with many variations. If you’re not the type of intelligent that most people are aware of, then you should consider checking if you fall under another type of intelligence. 

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Are Creativity and Intelligence Related?


Now that we know the difference between intelligence and creativity, we can now answer the question, are creativity and intelligence related? The differences show that people exhibiting these two characteristics have different methods when it comes to how they decide and provide solutions.

With that, we can conclude that creativity and intellect can be related. Since intelligence comes in multiple varieties, even if you aren’t necessarily book smart, it doesn't mean that you aren’t intelligent. You can still be creative, even if you love science. 

We know that you can practice both by nurturing them with activities that allow you to utilize them. It may seem useless if you’re not pursuing a career in arts, but creativity can be useful in all types of work. 

You don’t have to limit yourself to just linear thinking because there is more to work than just seeing it one way. 

Key Takeaways


We hope that we’ve answered “are creativity and intelligence related?” We know that a lot of people advertise creativity solely for artists or people who work unconventional jobs, but that’s not the case. You’re allowed to be creative and embrace linear thinking at the same time. 

However, we also want to note that just because you have both creativity and intelligence doesn’t mean that you excel in both. You can nurture these characteristics in your brain, but having both doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be too creative or too intelligent. 

This is a great chance to improve on both and understand how to be good at both types of thinking. 

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