Creativity is as central to mathematics as it is to art. The act of creation involves diametrical opposites ‒ working intensely and relaxing; frustration of failure and delight of discovery and satisfaction of seeing all the pieces fit together. It requires imagination, intui­tion, and aesthetic about the rightness of things. Mathematical creativity is not only related to the novel work of mathematicians but also discovering something not already known by one, even if the result is hitherto known to others. At the school level, creativity in mathematics is generally related to problem-solving and/or problem-posing.

(2) Mathematics requires a good memory

Memorising things has little to do with mathematics. In fact, students who rely heavily on memory, without understanding pro­perly the concepts involved and asking why they are doing something that way, in turn cannot make much progress when attacking a similar but not identical problem. It is the why, as opposed to the how, which gives one the right confidence and abilities to adapt and apply knowledge to questions that were not seen before and build on them to develop more difficult concepts in the future.

(3) Mathematics requires logic and not intuition

Few people are aware that in­tuition is the cornerstone of doing mathematics and solving problems. Mathematicians always think intuitively first. “The only real valuable thing is intuition.” (A. Einstein, 1879 – 1955).

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