According to an analysis of over 300,000 results from one popular measure of creativity, the Torrance Test, divergent thinking, or the ability to connect seemingly unconnected ideas, has declined significantly since 1990 even thought IQ scores have continued to rise.
[W]hile IQ levels have been rising owing to enriched environments (the Flynn effect), creativity scores have actually been falling over time. After analyzing up to 300,000 Torrance scores from children and adults (the gold standard in creativity measurement), it has been discovered that although creativity scores rose along with IQ scores until 1990, creativity scores have since dropped significantly.
Why should this matter? According to Fast Company, there is a much stronger correlation between future creative accomplishments and chilrdrens' scores on this test than there is for creative accomplishments and childhood IQ. In other words it's not only what you know, but what you can do with what you know, that matters when it comes to creativity.
