When you think creative pairs, for me one of the first that springs to mind is that of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. With Lennon’s melancholic notes, and McCartney’s upbeat melodies, the pair, more often than not, found a harmonious balance.

But behind such famous songs as Help, Yesterday, Come Together, and All You Need Is Love, the pair had a lot of differences. As they weaved in and out of phases of taking LSD, their varying partners, and meditative retreats, the rift between them became bigger. Interestingly enough, it was during the height of the tension between the two that they produced what is arguably their best album, The White Album, despite the extremely tense atmosphere in the recording studio.

In an article on the New York Opinions Page, David Brookes responds to a piece on The Atlantic about the creative duo of Lennon-McCartney. He looks at just how original creativity is: “Creativity rarely flows out of an act of complete originality. It is rarely a virgin birth. It is usually the clash of two value systems or traditions, which, in collision, create a transcendent third thing”.

What does all this mean? Well, while discussing your ideas with your argumentative partners, or your over-enthusiastic family members, or even your pushy friends, fear not, because any dialogue about your ideas may act as fuel for your creativity, whether it be tense and confrontational or pleasant and productive.