A6ColinRiegerJanuszStrzepek

A6ColinRiegerJanuszStrzepek

To Do

• please work as a group (minimum: 2 members; max: 6 members) and submit one answer as a group (clearly identifying the members of your group)
• read Fischer, G., Giaccardi, E., Eden, H., Sugimoto, M., & Ye, Y. (2005) "Beyond Binary Choices: Integrating Individual and Social Creativity," International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS) Special Issue on Computer Support for Creativity (E.A. Edmonds & L. Candy, Eds.), 63(4-5), pp. 482-512.

Task 1

Critically evaluate the following two claims based on the arguments in the reading assignment (the claims are from: Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996) Creativity - Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY):

• "An idea or product that deserves the label 'creative' arises from the synergy of many sources and not only from the mind of a single person."
  • to do: comment whether this argument is valid? can you think of exceptions?
  • to do: reflect on your own creativity (or major achievements)- does the argument apply to them?
• "It is easier to enhance creativity by changing conditions in the environment than by trying to make people think more creatively."
  • to do: provide examples and analyze features/requirements of systems which "change the environment" to enhance creativity.

Task 2

Section 4 of the Paper lists four "Examples of Environments That Support Creativity"; for each four examples, say in one sentence

• what you found interesting and
• uninteresting or missing

Group response

1. Members of the Group

Colin Rieger, Janusz Strzepek

2. Task 1

• "An idea or product that deserves the label 'creative' arises from the synergy of many sources and not only from the mind of a single person."

We do not think this argument is valid. In the reading, the author defines "Creativity" in multiple ways. IT can be "individual" or "social." One exception could be a novel that an author worked on individually, but was still very "creative." He may have gotten input from family or friends, but it is still technically the product of "#bubblec("the mind of a single person", "nice try, but the quote is ONLY the mind of a single person :)")."

• • Jani: I find myself being "creative" in many situations that defy this statement. When I would build with LEGO bricks, I was often creating things on my own with results I felt deserved the label "creative."
  • Colin: As a child I would draw quite frequently. My drawings were solely done by me and I considered them to be rather "creative" for what they were. Even though I was the only source of the drawings, I still received feedback from my family and used that feedback on future drawings. So while my family would contribute, in the form of feedback, I wouldn't consider that feedback to be a primary source of the final product.
• "It is easier to enhance creativity by changing conditions in the environment than by trying to make people think more creatively."
  • Adding new people to the environment: This would require new people who understand some of the problem, but have a different background than the others involved. Thus, their new perspectives will enhance the creativity of the group.
  • Making the environment comfortable: This can allow people to focus more on the task at hand, rather than what's going on around them. To do this, input is needed from the individuals in the group as to what would make them comfortable.

3. Task 2

EDC

• Jani: What I find most interesting about this one is the I/O table; I really want to try it out! I wish there was more about how different models were realized.
• Colin: I really like this approach to collaboration. It feels very "hands on" and is conducive to everyone contributing and being apart of the activity. However, I think non projector systems like these have a slight edge. Dealing with shadows from the projector could be frustrating at times.

Caretta

• Jani: Carretta seems similar to EDC, but with the addition of the PDAs. I wish there was more about how they differed, because I didn't really understand from the desciption.
• Colin: I think this is more appealing than EDC. It seems like more users can get involved simultaneously on Carretta, while EDC would be crowed with more than 2 people directly interacting with it.

Face Poiesis

• Jani: This is another one I'd really like to try out for myself. I think it would be interesting how people used and built on what I made.
• Colin: This concept feels a lot like Open Source software: Multiple artist's individual pieces being exchanged to synthesize into new paintings. I think this is a great idea for artists. Most often it seems that artists are lone creators, maybe being influenced by others works, but never actually working directly with others and their works.

CodeBroker

• Jani: I think this is a really cool and useful concept (I hate "re-inventing the wheel"), but I'm not sure the "Listener" and "Fetcher" could feasibly read code.
• Colin: This sounds like a great idea and would be very helpful for any programmer, but I am also skeptical of how effective or efficient it would be.