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Creativity Processes, Creative Thinking and Lateral Thinking from MindTools

Creativity Processes, Creative Thinking and Lateral Thinking from MindTools
© iStockphoto/pavlen The tools in this section can help you to become more creative. They are designed to help you devise creative and imaginative solutions to problems, and help you to spot opportunities that you might otherwise miss. Before you continue, it is important to understand what we mean by creativity, as there are two completely different types. Many of the techniques in this chapter have been used by great thinkers to drive their creativity. Approaches to Creativity There are two main strands to technical creativity: programmed thinking and lateral thinking. The other main strand uses 'Lateral Thinking'. Programmed Thinking and Lateral Thinking Lateral thinking recognizes that our brains are pattern recognition systems, and that they do not function like computers. The benefit of good pattern recognition is that we can recognize objects and situations very quickly. Unfortunately, we get stuck in our patterns. Taking the Best of Each... The Creative Frame of Mind Using Creativity Related:  Creativity

Copy and Share Documents with your Cell Phone Camera Conrad Hametner is passionate about globalizing technology and building forward thinking companies to address consumer and community needs. He has been called an “all-around executive athlete,” experienced in Marketing, Business Development and Operations. Conrad is also known by many foreign companies as “our man in the US” for his ability to launch technologies into US markets. He honed his business skills while working for technology companies with roots in Asia, Europe and the United States. Conrad led the US effort to build the French-based Qipit service, recognized by Red Herring as a top 100 "Most Promising" European private technology companies to drive the future of technology. Conrad served a vital role in building Dwango Wireless, the first publicly traded pure play mobile media publisher in the US. Dwango achieved an industry first: the first application capable of in-app billing, laying the groundwork for a viable freemium business model in the mobile industry.

Lateral Thinking - What Is Lateral Thinking? Lateral thinking is a term developed in 1973 by Edward De Bono, with the publication of his book Lateral thinking: creativity step by step. Lateral thinking involves looking at a situation or problem from a unique or unexpected point of view. De Bono explained that typical problem-solving attempts involve a linear, step by step approach. More creative answers can arrive from taking a step “sideways” to re-examine a situation or problem from an entirely different and more creative viewpoint. For example: Imagine that your family arrives home from a weekend trip to find Mom’s favorite vase broken on the floor beside the dining room table. The logical assumption would be that the cat was walking around on the table and had knocked the vase to the floor. De Bono suggests that lateral thinking is necessary for coming up with solutions that aren’t so straightforward. Students can find that lateral thinking is an especially useful technique for the creative arts.

Get Creative! Creative-Inspiring People, Places & Things on Creativity-Portal.com Home : Get Creative! Creative-Inspiring People, Places & Things We often find our richest sources of inspiration through our experiences with other people, places, and things. Here is a listing of sections on the Creativity Portal that will open the door of creative inspiration to you! Inspiring Sections on the Creativity Portal Inspiring Creativity Success Stories Success stories contributed by artists, writers, and others who've followed their passions into the marketplace and enjoy financial rewards for their creative products and services. Be Creative! Imagination Prompt Generator Push-button story starters! Q & A: Help Along the Way A question and answer feature helping readers find answers to questions related to art, crafts, writing, and creativity. How-to Directories Hand-selected resources with free learning instruction for art, crafts, writing, and creativity. Art and Craft Articles, Lessons, and Tutorials "How to" features within the Creativity Portal. Be Creative!

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Creative Techniques This A to Z of Creativity and Innovation Techniques, provides an introduction to a range of tools and techniques for both idea generation (Creativity) and converting those ideas into reality (Innovation). Like most tools these techniques all have their good and bad points. I like to think of these creativity and innovation techniques as tools in a toolbox in much the same way as my toolbox at home for DIY. For the future, the aim is to also have sub-categories which will identify Techniques for; Problem Definition - including problem analysis, redifinition, and all aspects associated with defining the problem clearly. Special thanks to the Open University for their kind permission to use material from their publication B822. Subcategories This category has the following 5 subcategories, out of 5 total. Pages in category "Creativity Techniques" The following 192 pages are in this category, out of 192 total.

Techniques for Creative Teaching – Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching Creative teaching In order to teach creativity, one must teach creatively; that is, it will take a great deal of creative effort to bring out the most creative thinking in your classes. Of course, creativity is not the only required element for creative instructors. They must also know their fields and know how to create an appropriate learning environment. When will it be most important for you to offer direct instruction? Because answers to these questions are so diverse — even for individual instructors teaching different courses or at various times of the semester — no one technique will fit all needs. General Techniques These creative thinking techniques were culled from the Internet and summarized by Yao Lu, a graduate student in AESHM (Apparel, Educational Studies, and hospitality Management). Assumption Busting What: An assumption is an unquestioned, assumed truth. Brainstorming How: Define the problem clearly lay out any criteria to be met. Negative (or Reverse) Brainstorming

EyeWire Creativity Cards How to Apply Lateral Thinking to Your Creative Work Pretend that you’re trapped in a magical room with only two exits. Through the first exit is a room made from a giant magnifying glass, and the blazing hot sun will fry you to death. Through the second door is a room with a fire-breathing dragon. Which do you go through? The first door, of course. The answer to this puzzle is an example of what psychologists call “lateral thinking.” [Ed. note: this post is inspired by Shane's book Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success, available on Amazon now.] Like our magical room, marketers have a bad habit of charring great terms to death. “We assume certain perceptions, certain concepts and certain boundaries,” explains Edward de Bono, who coined the term in 1967. Breakthroughs, by very definition, only occur when assumptions are broken. Breakthroughs, by very definition, only occur when assumptions are broken. The trouble for most of us is that even if we’re “creative,” our default setting is “linear thinking.”

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