CS 160 Lecture 2 Professor John Canny Spring

CS 160: Lecture 2 Professor John Canny Spring 2006 10/15/2021 1

The Psychology of Creativity 4 Conformity: the enemy of creativity 4 Organizations encourage conformity: IBM blue suits, Disney etc. 4 part of “corporate identity”. * Note: IBM research and many other research labs reject their corporation’s mainstream culture. 10/15/2021 2

The Psychology of Creativity 4 Pressure to conform affects judgment and perception: * The emperor’s new clothes * MCarthyism: if you’re not one of us, you’re on of them… 4 People in the minority will adopt majority opinion and even manufacture their own explanation of it. 10/15/2021 3

Enhancing Creativity 4 Thinking outside the box (literally): 4 Draw a series of 4 straight lines through all the points below, without lifting pen from paper: 10/15/2021 4

Why is this hard 4 Even without being told, we adopt expectations about what the solution should look like. 4 Based on conventions, and also what we believe the questioner expects. 10/15/2021 5

Creativity and Groups 4 Since groups create pressure to conform, they often hamper creativity. * This is called “groupthink”. * Groups are usually less creative than the individuals. * Email increases participation and reduces the effect of groupthink. 4 This contradicts our best experiences of group work. 4 What is missing? 10/15/2021 6

Creativity and Dissent 4 Authentic dissenters – people who really disagree with the group – can enhance group creativity. 4 Their opinion needn’t be right – but they can free the group from stagnant thinking. 4 The originality of the minority stimulates the majority. 10/15/2021 7

Dissent and authenticity 4 The benefits of dissent are weakened if either: * The dissent is not real, but is enacted: such as by a deliberate “devil’s advocate” in the group. (The devil’s advocate can actually stifle dissent, because the majority know their opinion is manufactured. ) * The group does not encourage dissent. Polite or pro-forma acceptance is not enough. 10/15/2021 8

Brainstorming 4 Based on IDEO’s principles * world’s best known Design firm. 10/15/2021 9

Brainstorming Rules 1. Sharpen the Focus 2. Playful Rules 3. Number your Ideas 4. Build and Jump 5. The Space Remembers 6. Stretch Your Mental Muscles 7. Get Physical 10/15/2021 10

Sharpen the Focus 4 Posing the right problem is critical – neither too narrow, nor too fuzzy 4 Not “bicycle cup-holders” but “helping cyclists to drink coffee without accidents”. 4 Focus outward (on the user’s needs) not on the company’s strengths. 10/15/2021 11

Playful Rules 4 Rules constrain choice and inhibit exploration. 4 Making the rules playful or ironical can shape the discussion without limiting it. 4 Examples: “encourage wild ideas, ” “be visual, ” “go for quantity. ” 10/15/2021 12

Number your ideas 4 Obvious but very useful 4 Helps keep track of them when the brainstormer is successful (and a hundred or more ideas are in play). 4 Allows ideas to take on an identity of their own. 10/15/2021 13

Build and Jump* 4 Build to keep momentum on an idea: * “shock absorbers are a great idea; what are other ways to reduce coffee spillage on bumps? ” 4 Jump to regain momentum when a theme tapers out: * “OK, but what about hands-free solutions? ” 10/15/2021 14

Concept Refinement Premature idea rejection is a serious barrier to good design. One of the biggest differentiators between good designers and great ones is the latter’s ability to successfully develop unusual ideas. This requires a strong instinct to be able to distinguish fatal vs. minor flaws in an idea. 10/15/2021 15

The Space Remembers 4 Covering whiteboards or papering walls with text is extremely useful in group work. 4 It’s a very effective form of external (RAM!) memory for group members. 4 Even better, its shared RAM. It’s a way for group members to share understanding. 10/15/2021 16

Stretch your Mental Muscles 4 Warmups: word games, puzzles 4 Get immersed in the domain: go visit the toy shop, or the bicycle shop, phone shop etc… 4 Bring some examples of the technology to the brainstomer. 10/15/2021 17

Get Physical 4 Do as well as talk. 4 Sketching. 4 Making models. 4 Acting out. 10/15/2021 18

Ways to kill a brainstormer 1. The boss gets to speak first 2. Everybody gets a turn 3. Experts only 4. Do it offsite 5. No silly stuff 6. Write down everything 10/15/2021 19

Brainstorming With practice, a group can brainstorm very well. When starting out however, an experienced facilitator is critical. Let’s try it! 10/15/2021 20

Topic – your project 10/15/2021 21

Doing it on your own You can apply similar methods on your own, there just wont be as many opinions to include. Do remember to: § Write down the problem first, not the solution § Sharpen the focus § Number ideas § Build and jump 10/15/2021 22

Summary 4 Conformity vs. creativity 4 Groupthink vs. dissent 4 IDEO’s Brainstorming rules 10/15/2021 23