E. Paul Torrance

"The Beyonder"

Dr. E. Paul Torrance’s (1919-2003) contributions to the field of creativity are significant and long lasting. He was an exceptionally productive researcher on the Psychology of Education & Creativity. He published more than 1800 articles, books, presentations during his lifetime. Got up every morning at 4 am to write. He was devoted to his field and received many awards, honors and citations. He coined the term “Beyonder” as those who were ultra-achievers with a remarkable record that almost seems superhuman.

A Manifesto for Adults (Torrance & Millar) synthesizes his findings: Being a Beyonder means doing your very best, going beyond where you have been before, and going beyond where others have gone.

• They are tolerant of mistakes by themselves and others.

• The beyonders take delight in deep thinking.

• They are able to feel comfortable as a minority of one.

• They love the work that they do and do it well.

• They have a sense of mission and have the courage to be creative.

• They do not waste needless energy trying to be well-rounded.

Highlights of his accomplishments:

Torrance tests of Creative Thinking

Torrance Incubation Model (TIM)

Manifesto for children

Future Problem Solving Problem

Creativity skills

To read more on TIM:

An Instructional Model for Enhancing Incubation, by E. Paul Torrance, in the Journal of Creative Behavior, 13(1), pages 23-35 (1979)

The Incubation Model of Teaching: Getting Beyond the Aha! by E. Paul Torrance and Tammy Safter (Bearly Limited, 1999)