In exercise science- there are 2 classification of muscles- fast twitch muscles and slow twitch muscles .
Fast twitch muscles respond well with heavy weights, explosive movements, fewer repetitions. It activates for sudden bursts. Weightlifting, sprinting generally activates these types of muscle fibers.
While slow twitch muscles respond well with moderate to low weights, a very controlled tempo and many repetitions. Slow-twitch muscle fibers are all about endurance or long-lasting energy. Marathon, cycling ,swimming generally requires these types of muscle fibers.
I have observed this phenomena that similar to fast and slow-twitch muscles there are 2 types of creative brain work:
- Fast twitch creativity- one that requires all your attention in the moment, one that you have to quickly learn and execute. iT thrives under pressure
2.Slow twitch creativity- one that can not be hurried, one that requires a months, years or even decades of persistent effort to have a deeper understanding of things. It takes its time to flourish
There is a reason , I observed this phenomena: Because, I really struggle with the first one. Fast twitch creativity, requires staying vigilant about the details. You have to quickly figure out the requirements, hastily figure out the solution and ship the solution. The speed of learning execution matters more, than the quality of the delivery. But, eventually the quality picks up. Seems like, most of the jobs & businesses of modern world require this kind of creativity and execution.
It feels like, you are a mercenary , hired to kill five people in ten minute.
There is this 2nd form of creativity, slow twitch creativity. You cannot rush this. Think of Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece, the Monalisa . If Da Vinci was a modern day art influencer, posting daily on reels, shorts, tiktok, youtube, facebook- about his art updates, do you think- he could have made masterpieces like Monalisa. I don’t think so. Da Vinci was famous for taking years, sometimes decades to finish his drawings. He was also infamous for abandoning many of his work mid-way, and only resuming years later when he had some inspiration or insight.
Or, think of Charles Darwin. He went to the Galapagos islands at 26 year old. However, he wrote his groundbreaking book “On the Origin of Species”- that laid out theories of evolution by natural selection- much later, when he was 50 years old.
It took him 24 years, to refine his ideas, crystallize his observations and write that book.
This sort of creativity, feels like a missionary – while the fast creativity feels more like a mercenary .