EconTalk had Tim Harford on to discuss his book about the benefits of being messy. Though we have an inclination to be neat and orderly, messy and disorderly provides a better foundation for creativity. Being uncomfortable while trying to solve a problem often results in better solutions. For example, a group of friends who decided to start an investing club were less successful than a group that included a stranger. The stranger has no qualms about hurting feelings and must be more actively sold on a stock than would a friend. His best example was jazz musician Keith Jarrett. Jarrett had agreed to perform in Germany but arrived to find a substandard piano that needed tuning and maintenance. Altering his style to make the best of what the piano offered, he produced his best selling album before or since. People who have a neat desk will often have filing cabinets full of papers that should have gone in the trash. His suggestion was to have a pile of papers on the desk but always put the last one touched on top. After a while, flip through the ones on the bottom and you will discover they can be filed in the trash. Wow, who knew my creative bent comes from my sloppy habits. Nice to have my messy desk validated.
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