The Arts Can Make a Difference

A "new Michigan State University study, reported in Science Daily, linked  the participation in arts and crafts activities during ages 0 - 14 to patents generated and businesses launched as adults.  The team of multidisciplinary researchers studied a group of MSU Honors College graduates from 1990 to 1995 who majored in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, or STEM.  They found of that group, those who own businesses or patents received up to eight times more exposure to the arts as children than the general public.

Musical training seems to be important.  The researchers found 93 percent of the STEM graduates reported musical training at some point in their lives, as compared to only 34 percent of average adults, as reported by the National Endowment for the Arts.  The STEM graduates also reported higher-than-average involvement in the visual arts, acting, dance, and creative writing.

In explaining these results, the researchers posited that such activity fosters out-of-the-box thinking.  In fact, the group reported using artistic skills — such as analogies, playing, intuition, and imagination — to solve complex problems.

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