Assignment6StarbirdButler

Assignment6StarbirdButler

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

A6_Starbird_Butler

2. Task 1

Task 1:

It is hard to define creativity because it is a subjective concept that changes not only with the individual or community but through disciplines as well. As an academic and an adult, every idea I have derives from a knowledge base built upon the ideas of generations and generations of others. Creativity can involve extending this knowledge base further or in a new direction or synthesizing knowledge from disparate fields into a new concept, product, or artifact. This applies in the realm of art as well as academia, engineering, marketing, and just about any field or domain. Every thought I have is a seeded thought, evolving from a knowledge base that incorporates the thoughts, writings, and teachings of millions of other human beings. But the statement that creativity is only from synergistic connections and not from the mind of a single person could be inaccurate; depending on how broadly or narrowly you define it. While my mind is a collection of knowledge, ideas, and thoughts built from the ideas of others, it is still my mind. I have interpreted the knowledge, ideas, and thoughts of others into my brain in a unique way that allows me to expand upon them creatively. So perhaps a thought can come from the mind of a single person.

As mentioned before, creativity is a subjective concept and thus something is creative only if the individual mind believes it. Creativity involves uniqueness, originality, and imagination. While these concepts can certainly be created, extended, and improved through synergistic group interactions, they can also be created, extended, and improved by an individual mind. Creativity is a not a painting, a film, or a building, as creativity is not a physical item; it is a mental perspective. This mental perspective resonates with a similar concept of the Neutrality of Technology. Carey wrote, "Electronics is neither the arrival of apocalypse nor the dispensation of grace. Technology is technology; it is a means for communication and transportation over space, and nothing more" (Carey, 1992). His view is that technology is neither good nor bad, but that our thought of how it is used determines whether we believe it is good or bad. The same can be said for creativity. Something is not inherently creative, but our thoughts about it determine whether it is or is not. When the wheel was first created by a caveman, it was likely considered creative. Today, we would not consider a common wheel to be creative, but using the inner tube from a bicycle to make bags as a way to recycle the inner tube and create a functional product could be considered creative (http://www.englishretreads.com/).

Since creativity can be a synergy of many or the synergy of one, there are exceptions. The individual painter, artist, or musician who has spent thousands of hours mastering his field and by doing so comes up with a unique twist on his art form. The infant who learns how to crawl or push herself backwards first is creatively using her abilities and understanding of the world. The child who splashes through puddles in the rain and tries to find new ways to make water splash. The artwork of a young child who is given a crayon for the first time. In some of these examples, the output is unseeded by others' knowledge. Children have smaller bases of knowledge to draw from and perhaps their creativity is hampered less by other knowledge. Garner wrote that children often express more artistic creative ability prior to puberty, calling this the "golden age of creativity" (Gardner 1982). It can be argued that excessive collaboration and synthesis of others' thoughts can actually limit creativity along some axes while it expands it along others. Sir Ken Robinson goes so far as to state that our school system educates children out of creativity (Robinson, 2006).

In my own life, I would argue that I have expressed creativity from within through personal drawings, writings, or designing a website entirely by myself. In other situations, I would argue that there was more of a synergistic involvement of many ideas, thoughts, and perspectives such as when I have designed collaborative tools for teachers, designed a poster for an art show that incorporated many other artist's works, or worked jointly on conference papers and assignments.

I agree that it is easier to enhance creativity through a changing environment than simply trying to make people think more creatively. If we look broadly enough, every change is an environmental one on some level. It is not simply limited to changes in the physical surroundings, but could include changing the social dynamics or mental modes of processing. Brainstorming in groups represents an environmental change. While there are other ways to change an environment, changes to the physical environment are extremely powerful. Stephen King has written that he does most of his creative work while walking. Perhaps this is because a change in physical environment typically affects more than one sense and thus provides more synaptic connections in one's brain to relate and explore alternative ideas and concepts. A good example of a changing environment that could enhance creativity is a field trip. Field trips provide a changing environment for students to try and engage in more creative thinking. When students immerse themselves in a zoo or art museum, their senses are invoked which helps guide them creatively. Even just taking a walk in the mountains or through the forest by one's self can provide the change in scenery and the stimulation to multiple senses that can help invoke creative thoughts and ideas. Another area where one could experience a change in environment is through Second Life. This virtual 3D world allows anyone the option of designing a space or items within a space. Individuals can go to other worlds, islands, or communities within Second Life and get exposed to other objects, tools, thoughts, and "physical" environments. Thus opening up their mind to different perspectives.

Carey, J.W. (1992). Communication as culture: Essays on media and society. New York: Routledge.

Gardner , H. (1982). Art, Mind, and Brain. New York: Basic Books, Inc.

3. Task 2

Task 2:

Envisionment and Discovery Collaboratory (EDC): The physical-collaborative aspects sound interesting, but I am curious about the specifications of the interface; is it multi-touch? Can it differentiate between uses? How does it create more active participation?

Caretta: It looks like a very similar environment to the EDC; how does the physical manipulation improve the interaction?

Renga: The users of this system seem to be creating their own facial components and then fusing them together, but we are not convinced that the sum of the parts is of greater artistic value than the individual components.

Open-Source Systems (OSS): This live Google-esque search for programming code serves as a tool for automating and speeding up work that open source coders already do, but we cannot determine from the paper if overhead costs and other considerations will affect the adoption of this tool by programmers.

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Kate Starbird and Stephen Butler worked on this assignment together through email, word documents, and face-to-face discussions. Our postings are based on the completed work, and only one person posts the results.