Question

Directions for Summary:A paragraph is followed by four options which have summarized the passage in their own way.Pick the option that best summarizes the passage:
Creativity is now viewed as the engine of economic progress. Various organizations are devoted to its study and promotion; there are encyclopedias and handbooks surveying creativity research. But this proliferating success has tended to erode creativity’s stable identity: it has become so invested with value that it has become impossible to police its meaning and the practices that supposedly identify and encourage it. Many people and organizations committed to producing original thoughts now feel that undue obsession with the idea of creativity gets in the way of real creativity.

• A. The value assigned to creativity today has assumed such proportions that the concept itself has lost its real meaning and this is hampering the engendering of real creativity.
• B. The industry that has built up around researching what comprises and encourages creativity has destroyed the creative process itself.
• C. Creativity has proliferated to the extent that is no longer a stable process, and its mutating identity has stifled the creative process.
• D. The obsession with original thought, how it can be promoted and researched, has made it impossible for people and organizations to define the concept anymore.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

The passage discusses how creativity, which was once seen as a stable and meaningful concept, has been over-valued and over-researched. This overemphasis has led to a loss of its original meaning, ultimately hindering true creativity. Let’s analyze the options provided to summarize this main idea:

1. Option 1: "The excessive value placed on creativity has caused a loss of its true meaning, hindering real creativity."

This option accurately reflects the central theme of the passage, which explains how placing too much importance on creativity has resulted in a dilution of its meaning, ultimately hindering its genuine expression.

1. Option 2: "The industry around creativity research has destroyed the creative process itself."

This option shifts the focus slightly by suggesting that creativity research has destroyed the process itself, while the passage focuses more on the loss of meaning rather than the destruction of the process.

1. Option 3: "Creativity is no longer stable and has a mutating identity that stifles creativity."

While this option is somewhat accurate, it doesn't fully address the core idea of the passage, which is about the loss of true meaning due to overvaluation, rather than just the mutation of creativity’s identity.

1. Option 4: "The focus on defining and promoting creativity has made it indefinable."

This option conveys confusion around the concept of creativity, but it misses the deeper issue: the inflation of creativity’s value, which ultimately leads to a loss of its real meaning and impact on true creative expression.

Conclusion:

Upon reviewing the options, Option 1 is the most accurate summary. It best captures the passage’s central idea that the overemphasis on creativity has diluted its meaning, thus hindering true creativity.