Some years ago, Jared Curhan, the Gordon Kaufman Professor and an associate professor of work and organization studies at MIT Sloan, picked up a copy of The New Yorker and began reading an article about creativity. It took only a few paragraphs before he drew back in a mix of surprise and disbelief. The journalist was describing several new scientific studies that argued criticism might be a boon to creativity. How could that be? Since first elaborated in 1948, the process of creative brainstorming has been tethered inextricably to one central commandment: do not criticize. Work smart with ...