Creative Thinking - Finding fascinations
I'm sure you recognise the image of the 'Tusken Raider'- that timeless jumpscare that preceded Luke Skywalker's initial meeting with Obi-Wan and his immediate need for new trousers. If you are a massive and unapologetic nerd, like me, you'll know that the weapon of choice amongst the Sand People is a 'Gaffi Stick'.
What I didn't know, until last week, was the origin of that particular piece of Star Wars history.
One of the hallmarks of a highly creative personality is insatiable curiosity. I like the fact that thanks to Schott's original miscellany, I can now identify champagne bottles and icebergs by size. Random is good, and I'd like to share an example of how this works for me, and why I know a lot of bizarre, 'stuff' that seems to have no purpose...until I need a new idea, or want to gain a deeper understanding of something.
I am highly prone to random fascinations. The more unusual and esoteric the factoid, the more my brain is likely to pay attention and archive it somewhere as 'good to know'.
Imagine my happiness when, wandering around a gift shop in Sigaotka, Fiji, I found this.
Imagine also, the eye-rolling of my very patient family. I was not allowed to buy it, perhaps with good reason.
It turns out the Star Wars prop designers got their hands on a bunch of Fijian war clubs and adapted them, (See 'Wookiepedia'). This particular club was part of the prop that made it to the screen. It's a great piece of adaptive creativity - take an esoteric piece of Island culture, and add the fletching of an arrow, and the point of a spear and there's something that looks alien.
This is, of course, a very touristy knock-off, based on a club called a 'Totokia'. Which actually looked more like this.
Me being me, I had to know a bit more. So I looked here.
Did you know:
- There are different war clubs for different environments.
- There are fighting clubs and dancing clubs for ritual purposes
- The club and oar were often the same thing.
- The totokia was a favoured weapon for murders, as its lean design meant it was much quieter to swing than the bigger clubs.
- It was good for fighting in jungles and scrublands, but not open spaces.
- The totokia's pineapple-like weighted section helped it puncture the skull easily.
- Despite appearances, the totokia was not inspired by the pineapple, which was a later import to Fiji and not an indigenous crop.
- The skull of an enemy killed with a single strike by a totokia was prized as a Kava-drinking bowl as it spoke to the skill of the warrior. A completely crushed skull made for a bad bowl.
The point is that by following a single fascination, I started to delve into a little bit of culture and history surrounding these artefacts. The rabbit-hole starts to open up and before you know it, you know a few things that few other people have as a resource.
Is this useful? Only time will tell, but you can't create on empty.
Being open to pursuing fascinations can only help you think more sideways.