I recently had a discussion about creativity with a colleague. We were discussing music and how creative many bands and groups are. At the end of our conversation, my friend told me, half-sarcastic-half-serious, how much more creative the people in the music industry are than him and that he just cannot find good ideas in his area of research even though he tried so hard for such a long time. I was a bit surprised because I thought of him as someone very creative. However, it is not uncommon to hear scientists lament about their lack of creativity compared to academic superstars. I think about creativity in academia is a bit distorted and a straight view can help to feel less bad about one’s own creativity.