Creativity & Innovation
Changing the world...
The Role of Creativity in the Dialectical Evolution of Ideas.
By Robert J. Sternberg. Yale University
In this article, Rober Sternberg "...address the question of what role does creativity play in the evolution of cultures, and argue that intelligence, creativity, and wisdom are dialectically related. In essence, intelligence is a largely conservative force within a culture that serves to help individuals in adapting to already existing environments. Creativity is a largely radical force within a culture that serves to help individuals in shaping and redefining these environments. And wisdom is a balancing force that seeks an equilibrium between intelligence (adaptation) and creativity (shaping)"
'You've got to find what you love,'
Jobs says
This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005... "...It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it... read more
...None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later..." Read more
Creative Collaborations From Afar: The Benefits of Independent Authors
Charlan Jeanne Nemeth and Jack A. Goncalo. University of California, Berkeley
Abstract: The number of times that an article is cited has served as an indicator of both its creativity and impact. In this study, we investigated the relationship between citations and 2 very simple variables—the number of authors and the number of separate locations. Previous research, on balance, would support the notion that an increased number of collaborators would increase the quality of the product, at least to some asymptote. Research on the effect of separate locations is more sparse. Most work favors collaborations at the same locale, given a sharing of perspective and benefits in terms of coordination and motivation. However, research from the minority influence literature documents the stimulating effects of independent and differing views, leading to the conclusion that independent locations would be an asset. Results from an analysis of 6 journals and 5,113 articles over a 10-year period show the benefit of both the number of authors and the number of independent locations. Journals also differed in their citation average, Psychological Review being cited significantly more often than any of the other 5 journals.
Articles and Presentations on Creativity and Innovation.
This website is for understanding and exploring creative thinking and application and contains links and a discussion board. This is a not for profit site. creative thinking, creativity, innovation, creative ideas, thinking, ideas, discussion, suggestion schemes, idea generation.
Beyond the Business Curriculum: Expanding Student Perceptions of Entrepreneurship as a Social Change Agent
Sheila Danko, Cornell University
Abstract: What is the role of business in society? That question was posed to a diverse group of over 100 students on the first day of class in a course entitled Making a Difference by Design – a course centered on issues of leadership, creative problem solving, and social change. While the students varied widely in their subject expertise and age, their views of the role of business in society did not. Business, one of the most powerful institutions on earth, was perceived by only 15% of the students as a transformational force, one that shapes and benefits society through innovation. What are the implications of such responses for entrepreneurship education? The creative and domaintransforming leadership that entrepreneurs often demonstrate was not part of these students’ perceptual framework, let alone part of their personal goals.
Empirical Studies of Creative Cognition in Idea Generation
Steven Smith, Texas A&M University
Abstract: The basic cognitive processes, as well as the elemental components of creative generation methods in conceptual design, were examined experimentally. The flexibility, novelty, and practicality of ideas generated in both laboratory and engineering settings were examined as a function of such factors as task alternation, frame-of-shifting, incubation, critical judgment, and biasing examples. The results of these experiments, well as the concept of alignment in experimental methods is discussed in the chapter.
Fierce beauty
This doctoral essay is exploring radical innovation for a complex networked planet. What is required for such wide and deep change is a grabby, persuasive story that can guide action in a time of uncertainty. The claim made is that parables for these times will tend not to follow familiar narrative guidelines of setting, crisis, characters, plot, theme and message, and save-the-day heroes. Instead, a new improvisational kind of story needs to be created and a new kind of audience that can listen and hear improvisationally also needs to be created. Stories are ecological objects: that is, they require listening as much as telling, if genes are to be propagated forward in time and the day is to be saved.
Evaluating of Creative Thinking of Students and Creativity Development at Southeast University, China
Li Jiazeng, Li Yanbao, Chen Yi. Southeast University. China.
Abstract: On the basis of creative thinking test of students at Southeast University, characteristics of students’ creative thinking and their relations to creativity are summarized in this paper. The main characteristics of students’ creative thinking evaluated in the test are fluency, flexibility and elaboration. Generally speaking, marks of fluency and flexibility have direct relations to the general grade of creative thinking. Thus, it is important to train fluency and flexibility of thinking in order to develop students’ creative thinking ability.
The above understanding led to the reform in engineering education. First, the authors set up a course of creativity development for students. In the course known as Creative Studies or Creatology, students took part in various exercises of fluent thinking and flexible thinking, especially divergent thinking, to facilitate their creative thinking ability. Second, the authors improved their teaching methods in class. The chief reform included self-comment, mutualcomment, debating, discussion on special items, exercisecorrecting mutually and creativity-compensated examination, etc. In a word, the above reform in class meant an attempt of creative education. The investigation showed that most of the students increased their creativity effectively through creative education.
Fierce beauty
This doctoral essay is exploring radical innovation for a complex networked planet. What is required for such wide and deep change is a grabby, persuasive story that can guide action in a time of uncertainty. The claim made is that parables for these times will tend not to follow familiar narrative guidelines of setting, crisis, characters, plot, theme and message, and save-the-day heroes. Instead, a new improvisational kind of story needs to be created and a new kind of audience that can listen and hear improvisationally also needs to be created. Stories are ecological objects: that is, they require listening as much as telling, if genes are to be propagated forward in time and the day is to be saved.
Assessment of Creativity (1994 - )
Extensive bibliography with annotations or PDF full text documents. Some examples from this site:
Bermejo, Mari Garcia. (2004). "How to improve a five-day course in facilitating creative problem solving to maximise impact"; An executive summary of J .Vehar's 1994 master's project (). Buffalo, NY: State University of New York- College at Buffalo, International Center for Studies in Creativity.
Myers, Sharon A. (2004). Predicting effectiveness in CPS facilitation: An executive summar of Foucar-Szocki's 1982 master's project (). Buffalo, NY: State University of New York- College at Buffalo, International Center for Studies in Creativity.
Noetzel, Lisa M. (2004). Investigating the investigators: An executive summary of Balance's 1986 master's thesis (). Buffalo, NY: State University of New York- College at Buffalo, International Center for Studies in Creativity.
Gardner, Howard. (1998). A multiplicity of intelligences. Scientific American Presents: Exploring Intelligence, 9 (4), 14-23.)