Evolving concepts of creativity:A mirror,a tightrope andan inkblot
Ron ChrisleyCOGSDepartment of InformaticsUniversity of Sussex
Workshop on Evolving Views of CreativityUniversity of Sussex, May 31st 2006
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Research/Practise
Teaching/Learning Innovation/Enterprise
Internal/External
Reflexive/Transitive
Creativity in the University
Recap of today
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Recap from today
• Maggie Boden: Ideas that are new, surprising, and valuable
• Celia Hunt: The inner freedom to play to a purpose
• Julia Fallon: Harnessing innovation• Ben Martin: Importance of the (knowledge) environment
• Kim Lasky: Transcending the constraints of our language
• Justine Johnstone: Conceptual development: Alternative methodologies and inference methods for problem solving
A balancing act
• Recurring theme: Creativity as salutary opposition
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Dimensions of tension
• Self/Environment• Intuitive/Conceptual• Blue-sky/Applied• Novel/Familiar• Chaos/Order• Disconnection/Engagement
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Self/Environment
• Hunt: Freedom, independence from environment
• Martin: Nevertheless, some environments facilitate creativity better than others
• Environment includes other, creative people
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Intuitive/Conceptual
• Lasky: Need to transcend limitations of language/conceptual scheme
• Johnstone, Boden: But these new regimes themselves have norms, conceptual structure
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Blue-Sky/Applied
• Boden, Hunt et al: Genuinely novel ideas
• Fallon, Hunt et al: But creativity is (often) directed, for a purpose: Harnessing innovation
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Chaos/Order
• Boden: Want novelty -- randomness is a way to achieve that
• Boden: But want something of value, too
• Peter Childs: Ordered entropy
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• Me: Seeking the "subjective edge of chaos"
Disconnection/Engagement
• Brian Cantwell Smith: Intentionality ("aboutness") is in the "middle distance"– Partial disconnection– "How can I miss you if you won't go away?"
• Hunt: So also for creativity
Over to you…
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