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1 - Setting the Stage

Introduction to the Study of Creativity

from Part I - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2020

Robert W. Weisberg
Affiliation:
Temple University, Philadelphia
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Summary

This chapter uses case studies of two seminal advances – the creation of a new shopping cart for ABC’s Nightline by IDEO, one of the most well-known design firms; and Picasso’s creation of Guernica, his great anti-war painting – to provide evidence for the importance of analytic thinking in creativity. The chapter also presents the main themes that structure the discussion in the book. The first is that creative thinking and ordinary thinking are the same. There is no special kind of thinking – no outside the box thinking – which serves in the creation of new ideas. Second, the creative process can be analyzed into two large stages: the generation of a possible idea, based often on analogical thinking; and the attempt to extend that idea to the new situation. Third, creative thinking, since it is analytic or ordinary thinking, is conscious thinking. Finally, in order to understand creativity, we need enough information to allow us to dig deeply into the underlying psychological processes. One cannot assume that one understands the processes involved: one must obtain evidence for any claims about how the creative processes works.

Type
Chapter
Information
Rethinking Creativity
Inside-the-Box Thinking as the Basis for Innovation
, pp. 3 - 40
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Setting the Stage
  • Robert W. Weisberg, Temple University, Philadelphia
  • Book: Rethinking Creativity
  • Online publication: 01 October 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108785259.001
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Setting the Stage
  • Robert W. Weisberg, Temple University, Philadelphia
  • Book: Rethinking Creativity
  • Online publication: 01 October 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108785259.001
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Setting the Stage
  • Robert W. Weisberg, Temple University, Philadelphia
  • Book: Rethinking Creativity
  • Online publication: 01 October 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108785259.001
Available formats
×