Blogs–Creative Thinking and Innovation

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Giving a hand to creativity and innovation

[Photo credit: ajcespedes/Pixabay]

A football quarterback gets paid for “handing off” the ball.  We “give a hand” to show appreciation at an event. “Hands up” is common when seeking volunteers.  Old clothes may become “hand-me-downs.”   Needing help equals “give me a hand.”  Don’t touch means “hands off.”  A bank robber’s go-to lines are “hands up” and “hand it over.”

“Hand-y” references are plentiful in the English language. 

To fully appreciate the beauty of hands, it might be helpful to know some facts.  First, each hand consists of 29 joints, 123 ligaments, and 27 bones (not including the sesamoid bone that can vary in number to each person).  The tips of fingers are vital to the sensations of pressure, pain, and temperature and are critical in transmitting information to the brain to operate in the world.  Fingers don’t even have muscles. In essence, they are “pseudo puppets” that are moved by muscles in bottom of the hand and arm. 

Technically thumbs are not fingers, though the digit is extremely important.  About half of the hand functioning is due to thumbs, which in fact does have nine muscles in all.

I have recently become intrigued with the “hands-on” aspect of creativity.  I remember a visit to a visit to a museum in Santiago, Chile.  Artifacts dating back hundreds of years reflected creative thinking and innovation in clothing, art, and household goods. I marveled at the ideas.  Just how did people living in the 1100s, for instance, devise these items that added innovation to their cultures?

To go back even further, a handprint was recently found in an Egyptian clay dating back about 4000 years.  

This finding along with my museum visit brought a deepened appreciation of the importance of hands in turning creative ideas into tangible products.  Ideas start in our brains, yet it is the hands that frequently implement them. (Note: I do not mean to imply that hands are essential in creativity.  They aren’t.)   As Jacob Bronkowski said, “The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.”

Ever since Greek times, the hand has been seen as having creative powers.  With its agility and tactility, it can move, change, and create things.  In addition, consider the importance of hand gestures in non-verbal communication.  Simply watch a soccer match or basketball game to see how quickly messages can be sent by hand. 

Hands have truly helped humans adapt to the world, having offered people an openness to the world for millenia.  In the words of Gebauer, “…we construct a world starting with our hands, an incorporated and manipulated world.”

I sought the insight of a hand surgeon, who also echoed these points.

“The hand is a unique organ that allows us to intimately interact with our environment to create art, harvest the field, communicate with sign language, hold hands. or to caress a loved one,” said Dr. Robert Goitz, Chief of the Division of Hand, Upper Extremity and Microsurgery in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. 

“The hand can effectively allow us to interact with our environment with speed, force, and sensitivity that have allowed humans to creatively evolve above all other animals,” he told me.

This body part deserves recognition in the world of innovation.  After all, the future is in our hands.     

References:

BBC. (2025, July 28). Rare 4,000-year-old Egyptian handprint found. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpqvzevep2eo

Gebauer, G. (2019) The creativity of the hand.  Journal of Aesthetics and Phenomenology, 6(2), 185-193, DOI: 10.1080/20539320.2019.1672308

Lloyd, J., & Mitchinson, J. (2008). If ignorance is bliss, why aren’t there more happy people?  Smart quotes for dumb times.  Harmony Books.

University Orthopaedic Associates. (n.d.).  5 incredible things you didn’t know about your hands.  https://uoanj.com/5-incredible-things-you-didnt-know-about-your-hands/

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Retirement success=E+R?

[Photo credit: Anastasia Shuraeva/Pexels]

I have witnessed many people move into retirement. Some situations were voluntary, others mandatory.  Some people flourished.  Others declined.  To better understand these differences, I frequently ask people, “What advice would you have for a successful retirement?” 

After all, retirement may not bode well for the brain.  Heightened risks for cognitive decline and depression can loom for some entering this life chapter (Ravindranath, 2025).  In the older adult population, those individuals who are retired face higher levels of depression (Dang et al., 2022). 

My conclusion at the moment: Successful retirement equals E+R.  That is, “exercise” plus “relationships.” Perhaps the two things can even go hand in hand.  It is a simplified formula, of course, and a preliminary thought about well-being at this juncture.

Exercise (“E”) represents one of the pillars of lifestyle psychiatry.  However, many people fall short of the CDC recommendations for physical activity.  The National Council on Aging related that less than one-third of older Americans meet the suggested mark in this category. 

Viswanathan (2024) outlined the advantages of exercise at any age, including the release of brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), improved cognitive functioning, and an increased volume of the hippocampus.  It can also help with the reduction in the prevalence of depressive symptoms.

Another upside of exercise is its positive effect on chronic inflammation, which is a concern in both a cause and in signs of disease.  People with sedentary lifestyles tend to have higher levels of inflammation, and consistent movement often has beneficial effects (Friedman, 2025).

“R” (relationships), another pillar in lifestyle psychiatry, are equally important.  Beebe (2022) pointed to research finding that nearly 25% of people aged 65 or over are socially isolated.  “This circumstance,” she added, “is often terrible for your health, including your heart.”

The link to mental health and other areas of physical health is also clear.  Social isolation poses  health risks equal to smoking, hypertension, and obesity.  Social connections may even affect neurobiological circuitry in our brains and psychological resilience (Noordsy, Abbott-Frey, & Chawla, 2024).

Combining the “E” and “R” is one idea: Exercising with others could be a healthy option.  According to the National Council on Aging, some programs offered by community organizations have evidence-based benefits in health for older individuals. 

Another possibility—which holds for people of any age—is green space.  Walking in nature has multiple benefits from improved overall mental health and cognition to decreased mortality and cardiovascular disease, according to Peter James at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Moran, 2023). 

The hypothesis for this effect, James said, goes back to our roots: “We like being in nature because we are nature, we evolved in nature.  This is the setting we were meant to be in”  (Moran, 2023).    

Admittedly, the E+R equation is basic.  Other factors, such as diet, could be added, yet it seems to me that the exercise and relationship components are fundamental to success in retirement. 

References

Beebe, J. (2024, November 7). 10 worst habits for your heart.  AARP.  https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/avoiding-unhealthy-heart-habits/

Dang, L., Ananthasubramaniam, A., & Mezuk, B. (2022). Spotlight on the challenges of depression following retirement and opportunities for interventions.  Clinical Interventions in Aging, 17, 1037–1056. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S336301

Friedman, D. (2025, March 19). Here’s one more reason to try to exercise. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/well/move/inflammation-exercise.html

Moran, M. (2023, November). Movement emerges to include green space as a social determinant of mental health.  Psychiatric News, pp. 16, 37.

National Council on Aging. (2023, December 1). Exercise programs that promote senior fitness. https://www.ncoa.org/article/exercise-programs-that-promote-senior-fitness/

Noordsy, D., Abbott-Frey, A., & Chawla, V. (2024, March). Lifestyle psychiatry emphasizes behaviors supporting mental health. Psychiatric News, 29-32.

Viswanathan, R. (2024, July 19).  Exercise is neuroplastic medicine.  Psychiatric News.  https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.pn.2024.08.8.45

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A thank you

Yesterday I had the pleasure of presenting at the American International School in Kuwait. It was a pleasure to be there!