Creativity leaps forward with limitations, not blank with pages.

When Profession Andrew Maynard from Arizona State University created a course on AI in education, he didn’t start with exploring its possibilities—he started with understanding its limitations.

“One of the things we really focused on in the course was its limitations,” he said, “simply because you can’t use it effectively until you understand the boundaries you’re working within.”

At first, students felt frustrated he observed. LLMs make mistakes. They’re not all-knowing. They had to test its limits. But then something shifted.

“Because the students understood what the limitations of the system were,” Maynard explained, “they began to get incredibly creative in what they could do with it.”

“And so from that point in disillusionment, they just grew in leaps and bounds.”

Here’s the science: neuroscience shows that when our brain is given fewer options, the prefrontal cortex—the part responsible for focus and problem solving—engages more deeply. Psychologically, constraints reduce decision fatigue and increase cognitive clarity, freeing up mental energy to think creatively.

Thoughtful constraints don’t limit creativity—they focus it. If you’re wanting your team to think more creatively, don’t start with a blank whiteboard.

Start with, “here’s what we’ve got to work with.”