Evolution:
This is the method of incremental improvement. New ideas stem from other ideas, new solutions from previous ones, the new ones slightly improved over the old ones. Many of the very sophisticated things we enjoy today developed through a long period of constant incrementation. Making something a little better here, a little better there gradually makes it something a lot better--even entirely different from the original.
The evolutionary method of creativity also reminds us of that critical principle: Every problem that has been solved can be solved again in a better way. Creative thinkers do not subscribe to the idea that once a problem has been solved, it can be forgotten, or to the notion that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." A creative thinker's philosophy is that "there is no such thing as an insignificant improvement."
Revolution:
Sometimes the best new idea is a completely different one, an marked change from the previous ones. While an evolutionary improvement philosophy might cause a professor to ask, "How can I make my lectures better and better?" a revolutionary idea might be, "Why not stop lecturing and have the students teach each other, working as teams or presenting reports?"
Changing Direction:
Many creative breakthroughs occur when attention is shifted from one angle of a problem to another. This is sometimes called creative insight.
This reveals a critical truth in problem solving: the goal is to solve the problem, not to implement a particular solution. When one solution path is not working, shift to another. There is no commitment to a particular path, only to a particular goal. Path fixation can sometimes be a problem for those who do not understand this; they become over-committed to a path that does not work and only frustration results.
This is the method of incremental improvement. New ideas stem from other ideas, new solutions from previous ones, the new ones slightly improved over the old ones. Many of the very sophisticated things we enjoy today developed through a long period of constant incrementation. Making something a little better here, a little better there gradually makes it something a lot better--even entirely different from the original.
The evolutionary method of creativity also reminds us of that critical principle: Every problem that has been solved can be solved again in a better way. Creative thinkers do not subscribe to the idea that once a problem has been solved, it can be forgotten, or to the notion that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." A creative thinker's philosophy is that "there is no such thing as an insignificant improvement."
Synthesis:
With this method, two or more
existing ideas are combined
into a third, new idea. Combining the ideas of a magazine and an audio
tape gives the idea of a magazine you can listen to, one useful for
blind
people or freeway commuters.Revolution:
Sometimes the best new idea is a completely different one, an marked change from the previous ones. While an evolutionary improvement philosophy might cause a professor to ask, "How can I make my lectures better and better?" a revolutionary idea might be, "Why not stop lecturing and have the students teach each other, working as teams or presenting reports?"
Reapplication:
Look at something old in a
new way. Go beyond
labels. Unfixate, remove prejudices, expectations and assumptions and
discover
how something can be reapplied. One creative person might go to the
junkyard
and see art in an old model T transmission. He paints it up and puts it
in his living room. Another creative person might see in the same
transmission
the necessary gears for a multi-speed hot walker for his horse. He
hooks
it to some poles and a motor and puts it in his corral. The key is to
see
beyond the previous or stated applications for some idea, solution, or
thing and to see what other application is possible.
Changing Direction:
Many creative breakthroughs occur when attention is shifted from one angle of a problem to another. This is sometimes called creative insight.
This reveals a critical truth in problem solving: the goal is to solve the problem, not to implement a particular solution. When one solution path is not working, shift to another. There is no commitment to a particular path, only to a particular goal. Path fixation can sometimes be a problem for those who do not understand this; they become over-committed to a path that does not work and only frustration results.
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| Classic Creativity Methods |
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