Edwin Catmull Professions : Computer Scientist Born : March 31, 1945 Browse All Authors Top 40 quotes by Edwin Catmull If everyone is trying to prevent error, it screws things up. Edwin Catmull errors screws trying Creativity doesn't follow titles. It just comes from where it comes from. Edwin Catmull titles creativity If you aren't experiencing failure, then you are making a far worse mistake: You are being driven by the desire to avoid it. Edwin Catmull driven mistake desire Art isn't about drawing; it's about learning to see. What organization doesn't need this ability? Edwin Catmull drawing organization art If you give a good idea to a mediocre group, they'll screw it up. If you give a mediocre idea to a good group, they'll fix it. Or they'll throw it away and come up with something else. Edwin Catmull groups giving ideas You are not your idea, and if you identify too closely with your ideas, you will take offense when they are challenged. Edwin Catmull offense ifs ideas Success hides problems...you don't need to address problems. Edwin Catmull addresses problem needs You can give a great film idea to a mediocre team and they may screw it up, but if you give a mediocre idea to a great team, they will turn it into a great film. Edwin Catmull team giving ideas Every creative person can draft into service those around them who exhibit the right mixture of intelligence, insight, and grace. Edwin Catmull mixtures creative grace We start from the presumption that our people are talented and want to contribute. We accept that, without meaning to, our company is stifling that talent in myriad unseen ways. Finally, we try to identify those impediments and fix them. Edwin Catmull unseen trying people It's pretty popular today to say that everybody should learn to fail and that failure's a good thing. Intellectually, it's an obvious thing. But in fact, it gets conflated with another meaning of failure, so when we grow up as kids, failing in school was a really bad thing. Edwin Catmull growing-up kids school For me, creativity includes problem-solving. That's the broad definition of it. Edwin Catmull creativity definitions problem I love solving the problems of having groups work together and removing barriers. But to actually turn around and be in the center of that is an awkward place to be. Edwin Catmull awkward groups working-together I actually feel awkward being at the center of attention. Edwin Catmull center-of-attention awkward attention Creativity has to start somewhere, and we are true believers in the power of bracing, candid feedback, and the iterative process - reworking, reworking, and reworking again until a flawed story finds its through line or a hollow character finds its soul. Edwin Catmull creativity soul power character We encourage our people to build their ideas from scratch, and we give them the resources - and, crucially, the candid feedback - that are required to transform the first wisps of a story into a truly compelling film. Edwin Catmull story candid people ideas Sometimes a leap of faith doesn't pan out. Edwin Catmull leap leap-of-faith faith sometimes We have to evolve, we have to change, and in order to do that, we have to initiate the change. Edwin Catmull initiate evolve change order Encourage people to mingle, meet, and communicate. Edwin Catmull mingle encourage meet people When I was in high school in the early 1960s, I wanted to be an animator and even took art classes. But by the time I was in college, I realized I couldn't draw well enough. Edwin Catmull high-school time art school Similar Authors Bill Joy computer-scientist Butler Lampson computer-scientist Brian Reid computer-scientist Brian Kernighan computer-scientist Andrew S. Tanenbaum computer-scientist Andy Hertzfeld computer-scientist All Authors
