Creativity and Truth

“Fear of error and fear of truth are one and the same thing” — Alexandre Grothendieck

Is there a tension between creativity and accuracy?

Yes, Michael Nielsen concludes, because of two things. Energy, and cocoons. To explain the energy, he cites Feynman:

I told myself: “They’re on the wrong track: I’m got the track!” Now, in the end, I had to give up those ideas and go over to their ideas of retarded action and so on — my original idea of electrons not acting on themselves disappeared, but because I had been working so hard I found something. So, as long as I can drive myself one way or the other, it’s okay. Even if it’s an illusion, it still makes me go, and this is the kind of thing that keeps me going through the depths.

It’s like the African savages who are going into battle — first they have to gather around and beat drums and jump up and down to build up their energy to fight. I feel the same way, building up my energy by talking to myself and telling myself, “They are trying to do it this way, I’m going to do it that way” and then I get excited and I can go back to work again.

And to explain cocoons, he cites Jobs and Ive.