About this post
Type of technique: free association
Technique in a nutshell: choose two from this list: Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
Say, for example, you choose 'person' and 'place'. Name a person and then name a place associated with that person. Repeat the cycle.
Example: Person = The Queen, Place = Buckingham Palace, Person = Prince Charles, Place = Wales, Person = Tom Jones
Flip-flop Directed-association
Someone commented that the Directed-association technique was complicated and time consuming. In the directed-association post I attempted to cover all the aspects of the technique in one post. There is a flip-flop way to use the technique.
Flip-flop Directed-Association
At the top of a sheet of paper I will write the guide-words:
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
Then choose any two of the guide-words. For example:
Person/Has
and 'flip-flop' between them. So, for the 'person' part I will answer the directive "Name a person" and I could write:
Person = Clint Eastwood
and 'Clint Eastwood' becomes the focus-word. Then for the 'has' part I will answer the directive "Name something Clint Eastwood has" which could give:
Clint Eastwood has gun
Then 'gun' becomes the focus word. Now for the person part I state a directive "Name a gun person" which could give:
gun person = Lee Harvey Oswald
and Lee Harvey Oswald becomes the focus-word and the directive "Name something that Lee Harvey Oswald has" is answered.
This flip-flop cycle continues between the 'person' and the 'has'. Eventually I could end up with something like this:
Clint Eastwood: gun: Lee Harvey Oswald: conspiracy theory: James Randi: website: Bill Gates: fortune: Sultan of Brunei: escalator* : Otis: lifts: Bruce Willis: Planet Hollywood: Sylvester Stallone: career: Donald Trump: The Apprentice
*apparently the Sutlan of Brunei has an escalator with just two steps in his garden!
Changing the flip-flop words
I can choose two different words from the guide-words for the flip-flopping.
Example:
Thing: ^
and continue on from 'The Apprentice' with the directive "Name an Apprentice thing". Which could give:
The Apprentice: competition
and 'competition' becomes the focus-word and the directive "What IS the focus-word? (Step up to concept level)" is set. I try to represent the concept in two or three words, which could give:
competition = dog-eat -dog
With 'dog-eat-dog' as the focus-word (or concept in this case) I form the directive "Name a dog-eat-dog thing" which could give:
Dog-eat-dog thing = evolution
and then continue the flip-flopping between 'thing' and '^' which could give:
Evolution: Darwinian concept: survival of the fittest: characterisitic of life: breathing: lung activity: expanding: increase: exponent: graph
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Friday, April 22, 2005
A nice little strategy for making up ideas
I've been using this nice little strategy for making up ideas. There are three stages.
Stage one: finding an object for focus of creativity
I start with the directive:
Name an X-object
I will use the pangram trigger or directed-free-association to find the 'X'. In this case I choose 'red' and thus the directive reads:
Name a red object
I choose 'post box'.
Stage two: choosing an aspect of the object and cloning
I choose an aspect of a typical postbox and clone that aspect. I choose the slot (where the letter is posted). So I visualise a post box with hundreds of slots. (As explained in cloning aspects, I don't worry about functionality problems; in fact the new multi-slotted postbox concept could be treated as a lateral thinking provocation.)
Stage three: creating ideas
I use pre-listing to create ideas. This is done by creating X-versions of the post box slot. The directive is:
Create X-version of the post box slot.
Using pangram trigger, I create the random word 'call', resulting in:
call-version of post box slot
and consider what ideas this suggest.
This led to an interesting idea: 'a postbox you call with your mobile phone'. This would be useful for posting letters when you have no stamps: you would call a number on the postbox with your mobile and the slot would open when called. The postage costs would be paid for with the cost of the mobile call.
Further points
At the first stage - the 'name X object' stage I will try to list at least five objects from the directive. So 'red object' could lead to: post box, Liverpool shirt, post van, no-entry sign, my rubbish bin etc.
At stage two - the cloning aspects - I will sometimes pre-list again to choose what aspect to clone. The post box example could have led to:
Name X-aspect of post box
And, as an example:
pot-aspect of post box
could suggest that the basket inside the post box (where the letters rest) could be the aspect chosen for cloning.
At stage three - X-versions - I will always make sure I complete an idea and guarantee newness - even if the final idea is quite weak. This takes off the pressure to come up with a good idea every time. Quantity should lead to quality.
Another approach I use at stage three is to imagine that each of the cloned aspects has a sign above it with the random word as the title of the sign. So with the post box example, I would imagine a slot with a sign above it saying "Call slot". Then I have to think of a purpose or function that the sign suggests.
Stage one: finding an object for focus of creativity
I start with the directive:
Name an X-object
I will use the pangram trigger or directed-free-association to find the 'X'. In this case I choose 'red' and thus the directive reads:
Name a red object
I choose 'post box'.
Stage two: choosing an aspect of the object and cloning
I choose an aspect of a typical postbox and clone that aspect. I choose the slot (where the letter is posted). So I visualise a post box with hundreds of slots. (As explained in cloning aspects, I don't worry about functionality problems; in fact the new multi-slotted postbox concept could be treated as a lateral thinking provocation.)
Stage three: creating ideas
I use pre-listing to create ideas. This is done by creating X-versions of the post box slot. The directive is:
Create X-version of the post box slot.
Using pangram trigger, I create the random word 'call', resulting in:
call-version of post box slot
and consider what ideas this suggest.
This led to an interesting idea: 'a postbox you call with your mobile phone'. This would be useful for posting letters when you have no stamps: you would call a number on the postbox with your mobile and the slot would open when called. The postage costs would be paid for with the cost of the mobile call.
Further points
At the first stage - the 'name X object' stage I will try to list at least five objects from the directive. So 'red object' could lead to: post box, Liverpool shirt, post van, no-entry sign, my rubbish bin etc.
At stage two - the cloning aspects - I will sometimes pre-list again to choose what aspect to clone. The post box example could have led to:
Name X-aspect of post box
And, as an example:
pot-aspect of post box
could suggest that the basket inside the post box (where the letters rest) could be the aspect chosen for cloning.
At stage three - X-versions - I will always make sure I complete an idea and guarantee newness - even if the final idea is quite weak. This takes off the pressure to come up with a good idea every time. Quantity should lead to quality.
Another approach I use at stage three is to imagine that each of the cloned aspects has a sign above it with the random word as the title of the sign. So with the post box example, I would imagine a slot with a sign above it saying "Call slot". Then I have to think of a purpose or function that the sign suggests.
Friday, April 15, 2005
The pangram trigger for generating random words
About this post
Type of technique: random word generator
Post in a nutshell: pick two random letters and form words - starting with one syllable and then increasing the number of syllables.
Example: B & L = bell, balloon, bellicose, belligerent etc.
I use a pangram trigger to generate random words. My pangram of choice is:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
I will choose two random letters from the pangram. Example:
A and C
I will begin by forming the shortest words possible from the letters, thus I will consider if there is a two letter word that can be formed and then if there are three letter words that can be formed. Next I consider words of one syllable, then proceed to words of two syllables and finally list the longest words I can think of triggered by the two letters. Throughout I try to list as many words as possible.
When I use the technique I will list the pangram twice on my pad of paper/PC with the words in various order. This helps me to avoid the habit of leaning towards certain areas - and thus letters - of the pangram as I start to 'get up to speed' creatively. Thus:
brown fox jumps over the lazy dog the quick
over the lazy dog the quick brown fox jumps
Then at the start of the next piece of paper I will change the order again:
dog the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy
fox jumps over the lazy dog the quick brown
Variation
Sometimes I will list the two letters in order: A C
and sometimes I will insert a space between the letters: A_C
as these two arrangements suggest different words (Ace and Arc, for example).
Type of technique: random word generator
Post in a nutshell: pick two random letters and form words - starting with one syllable and then increasing the number of syllables.
Example: B & L = bell, balloon, bellicose, belligerent etc.
I use a pangram trigger to generate random words. My pangram of choice is:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
I will choose two random letters from the pangram. Example:
A and C
I will begin by forming the shortest words possible from the letters, thus I will consider if there is a two letter word that can be formed and then if there are three letter words that can be formed. Next I consider words of one syllable, then proceed to words of two syllables and finally list the longest words I can think of triggered by the two letters. Throughout I try to list as many words as possible.
When I use the technique I will list the pangram twice on my pad of paper/PC with the words in various order. This helps me to avoid the habit of leaning towards certain areas - and thus letters - of the pangram as I start to 'get up to speed' creatively. Thus:
brown fox jumps over the lazy dog the quick
over the lazy dog the quick brown fox jumps
Then at the start of the next piece of paper I will change the order again:
dog the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy
fox jumps over the lazy dog the quick brown
Variation
Sometimes I will list the two letters in order: A C
and sometimes I will insert a space between the letters: A_C
as these two arrangements suggest different words (Ace and Arc, for example).
Thursday, April 07, 2005
'X-versions' for development of idea germs
The X-versions approach can develop, evolve and suggest alternative applications for existing idea germs.
There are four stages to using this approach.
With the following Global Ideas Bank idea as an example:
Lottery entry slips - tick box for 10% of winnings to charity
Stage 1
I will pretend there is a dictionary entry for the word and that the dictionary compilers have invented a word to describe the action of the idea. Thus:
10%ing: when a lottery has a tickbox indicating that the player agrees to ten percent of winnings being donated to charity
This is the IDEA.
Stage 2
I will state the following directive:
Creat an X-version of the IDEA
Stage 3
I will create the X-word. That is, I will create some short words that, as adjectives, will describe/modify the version of the idea. I create the X-words by listing the following pangram:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogs
and I will pick two letters at random and consider what words are triggered by these two letters. I aim to form words of just two or three letters (although if I cannot do this then I will try to form the shortest word possible).
Example:
C and T could trigger: cut, cat, cot
I choose 'cut'.
Stage 4
I will restate the directive, with the random word replacing the 'X'. Thus:
Create a cut-version of the IDEA
and I consider what variations are suggested by the directive.
Cut-version to me suggests that the player could choose the percentage that would be donated to charity instead of automatically agreeing to ten percent. Expressed as an idea:
Lottery players can choose a percentage of winnings that will be donated to charity.
More examples
I generated the following random words: final, sync, bit, chip, spot, do, age, act, chq and sad which led to these variations of the idea germ:
Final-version = the '10 percent to charity' idea would be done on one lottery draw only per year - perhaps at the end of the year or Christmas. In buying the ticket the player would automatically agree to the arrangement.
Sync-version = all the world's lotteries would carry out the tickbox idea to see the total that could be raised (perhaps this could be a once-per-year event).
Bit-version = the idea would only be implented online, for online purchasers of lottery tickets.
Chip-version = players of casino fruit machines (particularly fruit machines with substantial jackpots) could agree that ten percent of jackpot winnings would go to charity. (Perhaps there would be a special button on the fruit machines that is pressed to indicate the agreement.)
Spot-version = the lottery player 'spots' a cause and indicates on the lottery slip that the ten percent should go to that specific cause.
Do-version = a group of people could agree to defintely do (implement) the idea of their own initiative. The lottery organiser's website could have a place where players can register their names and agree that a percentage of winnings goes to charity.
Age-version = the lottery player's agreement on 'ten percent to charity' would 'last an age'. That is, they would register once and the agreement would stand for life.
Act-version = the big musicals could, in their first week, put a ten percent premium on ticket sales. Punters would be informed of this arrangement.
Chq-version = cheques could have a tickbox where the account holder agrees that ten percent (or perhaps a set amount of £1) of a transaction would be given to charity.
Sad-version = young people could agree to ten percent of their 'wealth' being donated to charity on the (unlikely) event of their death.
Further notes:
Following the precept that 'quantity leads to quality' it can be worth expressing the directive with the plural of 'versions'. Thus:
Create X-versions of the idea
This is also a reminder to 'look beyond the first idea'.
Sometimes I will adapt the dictionary definition to a broader concept level.
Example:
10%ing = when something has a tickbox agreeing to ten percent to charity
or
10%ing = when ten percent of a transaction goes to charity.
This helps to open up the idea germ to other possibilities.
There are four stages to using this approach.
With the following Global Ideas Bank idea as an example:
Lottery entry slips - tick box for 10% of winnings to charity
Stage 1
I will pretend there is a dictionary entry for the word and that the dictionary compilers have invented a word to describe the action of the idea. Thus:
10%ing: when a lottery has a tickbox indicating that the player agrees to ten percent of winnings being donated to charity
This is the IDEA.
Stage 2
I will state the following directive:
Creat an X-version of the IDEA
Stage 3
I will create the X-word. That is, I will create some short words that, as adjectives, will describe/modify the version of the idea. I create the X-words by listing the following pangram:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogs
and I will pick two letters at random and consider what words are triggered by these two letters. I aim to form words of just two or three letters (although if I cannot do this then I will try to form the shortest word possible).
Example:
C and T could trigger: cut, cat, cot
I choose 'cut'.
Stage 4
I will restate the directive, with the random word replacing the 'X'. Thus:
Create a cut-version of the IDEA
and I consider what variations are suggested by the directive.
Cut-version to me suggests that the player could choose the percentage that would be donated to charity instead of automatically agreeing to ten percent. Expressed as an idea:
Lottery players can choose a percentage of winnings that will be donated to charity.
More examples
I generated the following random words: final, sync, bit, chip, spot, do, age, act, chq and sad which led to these variations of the idea germ:
Final-version = the '10 percent to charity' idea would be done on one lottery draw only per year - perhaps at the end of the year or Christmas. In buying the ticket the player would automatically agree to the arrangement.
Sync-version = all the world's lotteries would carry out the tickbox idea to see the total that could be raised (perhaps this could be a once-per-year event).
Bit-version = the idea would only be implented online, for online purchasers of lottery tickets.
Chip-version = players of casino fruit machines (particularly fruit machines with substantial jackpots) could agree that ten percent of jackpot winnings would go to charity. (Perhaps there would be a special button on the fruit machines that is pressed to indicate the agreement.)
Spot-version = the lottery player 'spots' a cause and indicates on the lottery slip that the ten percent should go to that specific cause.
Do-version = a group of people could agree to defintely do (implement) the idea of their own initiative. The lottery organiser's website could have a place where players can register their names and agree that a percentage of winnings goes to charity.
Age-version = the lottery player's agreement on 'ten percent to charity' would 'last an age'. That is, they would register once and the agreement would stand for life.
Act-version = the big musicals could, in their first week, put a ten percent premium on ticket sales. Punters would be informed of this arrangement.
Chq-version = cheques could have a tickbox where the account holder agrees that ten percent (or perhaps a set amount of £1) of a transaction would be given to charity.
Sad-version = young people could agree to ten percent of their 'wealth' being donated to charity on the (unlikely) event of their death.
Further notes:
Following the precept that 'quantity leads to quality' it can be worth expressing the directive with the plural of 'versions'. Thus:
Create X-versions of the idea
This is also a reminder to 'look beyond the first idea'.
Sometimes I will adapt the dictionary definition to a broader concept level.
Example:
10%ing = when something has a tickbox agreeing to ten percent to charity
or
10%ing = when ten percent of a transaction goes to charity.
This helps to open up the idea germ to other possibilities.
Monday, April 04, 2005
Directed-association: a type of free-association
About this post:
Type of technique: Free Association
The post in a nutshell: Write down a word, A. Then write down something associated with A to create word B. (This is done using a list of guide-words to help trigger an association.) Continue onwards from word B.
I have developed this directed free-association tool (directed-association) that is a variation of standard free-association.
(See Mycoted Free Association for a description of standard free-association)
This directed-association method serves four purposes:
1) To provide a list of words and concepts that can be used as an alternative to a dictionary when providing words for random stimulation
2) To suggest possible subjects for further creative effort
3) To uncover ‘forgotten’ ideas and discover ideas on the periphery of awareness
4) To warm up before a brainstorming session
I carry out this directed-association either on a sheet of A4 paper or on the PC.
The Start
At the start of the exercise I will form a list of people; these can be any people - including famous people, fictional characters and people I know. There are two ways to form this list of people.
1) Using the pangram:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
I will pick two letters at random and name someone with those initials.
2) I will select some random images on Google image search, and in any picture with people I will ask: “Who does this person remind me of?" or "who do they look like?”
Using these two methods I will make a list of about thirty people. The page of directed-association will now look like this:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forrest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hillary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Kiefer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
I will choose one of those people at random and this person (or that word) becomes the 'focus word'. (Eg John Wayne).
Guide-words
At the next stage – the main directed-association phase - I will list the following ten guide-words:
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
and choose one to suggest an association for the focus word (in this example 'John Wayne'). I choose 'has', and the page now looks like:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has)
Each of the ten guide-words can be expressed as a directive (to help reach the association)
Has: directive = “Name something that (focus word/concept) has”
Is: directive = “Name an adjective that describes (focus word/concept) ”
Does: directive = “Name something (focus word/concept) does”
Thing: directive = “Name something associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Person: directive = “Name a person associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Time: directive = “Name a time (or duration, era, event etc) associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Place: directive = “Name a place associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Activity: directive = “Name an activity associated with (focus word/concept)”
Specify: directive = “Specify/Name a(focus word/concept) ”
Utterance: directive = “Name an utterance (speech, quote etc) associated with (focus word/concept) ”
^: directive = “What IS (focus word/concept)? (step up to concept level)”.
With specify, if I have already named the person (eg John Wayne) this can lead me to consider if I’m thinking of THAT John Wayne or another person with the same name. Or I may consider if I'm thinking of a representation of John Wayne - such as a model or photo etc.
With ‘^’ I will step up to concept level. The concept level I use is dictionary concept level, where I consider a word/concept in the dictionary that represents this person. So with John Wayne it could be ‘actor’ ‘cowboy’ ‘legend’ or even ‘person’ etc.
Examples of possible associations for 'John Wayne' prompted by each guide-word:
Has: directive = “Name something that (John Wayne) has” GUN
Is: directive = “Name an adjective that describes (John Wayne ) ” MEAN
Does: directive = “Name something (John Wayne) does” ACT
Thing: directive = “Name something associated with (John Wayne) ” WESTERNS
Person: directive = “Name a person associated with (John Wayne) ” CLINT EASTWOOD
Time: directive = “Name a time (or duration, era etc) associated with (John Wayne) ” OSCARS NIGHT
Place: directive = “Name a place associated with (John Wayne) ” WILD WEST
Activity: directive = “Name an activity associated with (John Wayne)” HORSERIDING
Specify: directive = “Specify/Name a (John Wayne) ” THE ACTOR JOHN WAYNE
Utterance: directive = “Name an utterance (speech, quote etc) associated with (John Wayne) ” THE HELL I WILL
^: directive = “What IS (John Wayne)? (step up to concept level)” COWBOY
As I chose HAS as the guide-word, and the association I made was ‘gun’, my directed-association page now looks like:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun
Then, ‘GUN’ becomes the focus word/concept and once again I choose one of the guide-words to produce the next association.
So, if I choose ‘^’ then I will choose a dictionary-level concept that represents gun – ‘weapon’ for example. Resulting in my directed-association looking like this:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun. (^) weapon.
And ‘weapon’ becomes the focus word/concept
I will continue selecting guide-words and making associations until I have about half a page of words/concepts. Thus:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun. (^) weapon. (does) kill. (has) victim. (time) Bhopal. (is) disaster. (^) tragedy. (thing) grief. (utterance) good grief! (is) exclamation. (thing) surprise. (time) surprise party. (has) alcohol. (thing) drink driving. (is) illegal act. (specify) mugging. (is) upsetting. (time) funeral. (has) flowers. (specify) sunflower. (is) tall. (person) Robert Wadlow. (is) record breaker. (thing) Olympic games. (has) athlete (does) training. (specify) weightlifting. (is) strenuous. (thing) carrying suitcases. (does) tire. (time) late at night. (^) hour. (specify) witching hour. (thing) Halloween. (has) pumpkin. (activity) carving pumpkins. (has) knife. (^) cutlery. (is) sharp. (thing) razor. (does) shave. (utterance) ouch! (thing) ET. (^) character. (time) writing a story. (thing) writer’s block. (specify) songwriter’s block. (person) Sting. (utterance) walking on the moon. (specify) first moon landing. (utterance) one small step for man…(^) quotation. (person) Oscar Wilde. (utterance) either this wallpaper goes or I do. (^) humour (thing) Darwin awards. (^) award. (specify) Nobel prize. (has) prestige. (place) Lourdes. (has) miracles. (utterance) it’s a miracle!
One guide-word per line
On the second half of the paper I change tack slightly so that each line of the paper is dedicated to one guide-word:
Has
Is
Does
Thing
Person
Time
Place
Activity
Specify
Utterance
^
Starting with the ‘has’ line I will choose a word/concept at random from the body of directed-association ('writer's block', for example). I will answer the directive (in this case “Name something that (writer’s block) has”) and write the association on the 'has' line ('frustration'). Then I will pick another word/concept at random from the body of directed-association and find an association prompted by the guide-word. I will continue picking words/concepts at random and forming associations until I complete the ‘has’ line. I then proceed to the ‘is’ line etc, proceeding through all the guide-words until the page is full.
Has: (writer’s block) frustration. (quotation) humour. (pumpkin) roundness. (carrying suitcases) effort
Is: (Halloween) yearly. (knife) dangerous. (cutlery) metal. (athlete) fit. (killing) illegal. (Robert Wadlow) tall.
Does: (first moon landing) inspire. (Lourdes) attract pilgrims. (prestige) impress. (sunflower) grow
Thing: (funeral) vicar. (either this wallpaper goes or I do) humour. (Olympic games) torch. (humour) laughter
Person: (miracles) Virgin Mary. (tragedy) John F Kennedy Jr. (kill) Columbo. (illegal act) Robert Ressler
Time: (walking on the moon) 1969. (it’s a miracle!) winning the lottery (award) Oscars ceremony
Place: (carrying suitcases) airport. (flowers) florists. (ET) outer space. (ouch!) dentist's surgery
Activity: (Lourdes) prayer. (alcohol) suffering from hangover. (ouch!) regret. (knife) sharpening
Specify: (Lourdes) Madonna’s daughter. (sunflower) the one in my garden. (training) learning to drive
Utterance: (record breaker) YES! (victim) why does this happen to me? (yearly) Merry Christmas!
Final page:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun. (^) weapon. (does) killing (has) victim. (time) Bhopal. (is) disaster. (^) tragedy. (thing) grief. (utterance) good grief! (is) exclamation. (thing) surprise. (time) surprise party. (has) alcohol. (thing) drink driving. (is) illegal act. (specify) mugging. (is) upsetting. (time) funeral. (has) flowers. (specify) sunflower. (is) tall. (person) Robert Wadlow. (is) record breaker. (thing) Olympic games. (has) athlete (does) training. (specify) weightlifting. (is) strenuous. (thing) carrying suitcases. (does) tire. (time) late at night. (^) hour. (specify) witching hour. (thing) Halloween. (has) pumpkin. (activity) carving pumpkins. (has) knife. (^) cutlery. (is) sharp. (thing) razor. (does) shave. (utterance) ouch! (thing) ET. (^) character. (time) writing a story. (thing) writer’s block. (specify) songwriter’s block. (person) Sting. (utterance) walking on the moon. (specify) first moon landing. (utterance) one small step for man…(^) quotation. (person) Oscar Wilde. (utterance) either this wallpaper goes or I do. (^) humour (thing) Darwin awards. (^) award. (specify) Nobel prize. (has) prestige. (place) Lourdes. (has) miracles. (utterance) it’s a miracle!
Has: (writer’s block) frustration. (quotation) humour. (pumpkin) roundness. (carrying suitcases) effort
Is: (Halloween) yearly. (knife) dangerous. (cutlery) metal. (athlete) fit. (killing) illegal. (Robert Wadlow) tall.
Does: (first moon landing) inspire. (Lourdes) attract pilgrims. (prestige) impress. (sunflower) grow
Thing: (funeral) vicar. (either this wallpaper goes or I do) humour. (Olympic games) torch. (humour) laughter
Person: (miracles) Virgin Mary. (tragedy) John F Kennedy Jr. (kill) Columbo. (illegal act) Robert Ressler
Time: (walking on the moon) 1969. (it’s a miracle!) winning the lottery (award) Oscars ceremony
Place: (carrying suitcases) airport. (flowers) florists. (ET) outer space. (ouch!) dentist's surgery
Activity: (Lourdes) prayer. (alcohol) suffering from hangover. (ouch!) regret. (knife) sharpening
Specify: (Lourdes) Madonna’s daughter. (sunflower) the one in my garden. (training) learning to drive
Utterance: (record breaker) YES! (victim) why does this happen to me? (yearly) Merry Christmas!
Further point
I’ve found that naming people throughout the directed-association is a good tactic because a person – as a concept – is at a set level of specificity, and the mistake of listing concepts that are too abstract is avoided. Also the name of a person usually suggests a bundle of associations, activities, behaviour etc.
An example of directed-association results.
Type of technique: Free Association
The post in a nutshell: Write down a word, A. Then write down something associated with A to create word B. (This is done using a list of guide-words to help trigger an association.) Continue onwards from word B.
I have developed this directed free-association tool (directed-association) that is a variation of standard free-association.
(See Mycoted Free Association for a description of standard free-association)
This directed-association method serves four purposes:
1) To provide a list of words and concepts that can be used as an alternative to a dictionary when providing words for random stimulation
2) To suggest possible subjects for further creative effort
3) To uncover ‘forgotten’ ideas and discover ideas on the periphery of awareness
4) To warm up before a brainstorming session
I carry out this directed-association either on a sheet of A4 paper or on the PC.
The Start
At the start of the exercise I will form a list of people; these can be any people - including famous people, fictional characters and people I know. There are two ways to form this list of people.
1) Using the pangram:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
I will pick two letters at random and name someone with those initials.
2) I will select some random images on Google image search, and in any picture with people I will ask: “Who does this person remind me of?" or "who do they look like?”
Using these two methods I will make a list of about thirty people. The page of directed-association will now look like this:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forrest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hillary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Kiefer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
I will choose one of those people at random and this person (or that word) becomes the 'focus word'. (Eg John Wayne).
Guide-words
At the next stage – the main directed-association phase - I will list the following ten guide-words:
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
and choose one to suggest an association for the focus word (in this example 'John Wayne'). I choose 'has', and the page now looks like:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has)
Each of the ten guide-words can be expressed as a directive (to help reach the association)
Has: directive = “Name something that (focus word/concept) has”
Is: directive = “Name an adjective that describes (focus word/concept) ”
Does: directive = “Name something (focus word/concept) does”
Thing: directive = “Name something associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Person: directive = “Name a person associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Time: directive = “Name a time (or duration, era, event etc) associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Place: directive = “Name a place associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Activity: directive = “Name an activity associated with (focus word/concept)”
Specify: directive = “Specify/Name a(focus word/concept) ”
Utterance: directive = “Name an utterance (speech, quote etc) associated with (focus word/concept) ”
^: directive = “What IS (focus word/concept)? (step up to concept level)”.
With specify, if I have already named the person (eg John Wayne) this can lead me to consider if I’m thinking of THAT John Wayne or another person with the same name. Or I may consider if I'm thinking of a representation of John Wayne - such as a model or photo etc.
With ‘^’ I will step up to concept level. The concept level I use is dictionary concept level, where I consider a word/concept in the dictionary that represents this person. So with John Wayne it could be ‘actor’ ‘cowboy’ ‘legend’ or even ‘person’ etc.
Examples of possible associations for 'John Wayne' prompted by each guide-word:
Has: directive = “Name something that (John Wayne) has” GUN
Is: directive = “Name an adjective that describes (John Wayne ) ” MEAN
Does: directive = “Name something (John Wayne) does” ACT
Thing: directive = “Name something associated with (John Wayne) ” WESTERNS
Person: directive = “Name a person associated with (John Wayne) ” CLINT EASTWOOD
Time: directive = “Name a time (or duration, era etc) associated with (John Wayne) ” OSCARS NIGHT
Place: directive = “Name a place associated with (John Wayne) ” WILD WEST
Activity: directive = “Name an activity associated with (John Wayne)” HORSERIDING
Specify: directive = “Specify/Name a (John Wayne) ” THE ACTOR JOHN WAYNE
Utterance: directive = “Name an utterance (speech, quote etc) associated with (John Wayne) ” THE HELL I WILL
^: directive = “What IS (John Wayne)? (step up to concept level)” COWBOY
As I chose HAS as the guide-word, and the association I made was ‘gun’, my directed-association page now looks like:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun
Then, ‘GUN’ becomes the focus word/concept and once again I choose one of the guide-words to produce the next association.
So, if I choose ‘^’ then I will choose a dictionary-level concept that represents gun – ‘weapon’ for example. Resulting in my directed-association looking like this:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun. (^) weapon.
And ‘weapon’ becomes the focus word/concept
I will continue selecting guide-words and making associations until I have about half a page of words/concepts. Thus:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun. (^) weapon. (does) kill. (has) victim. (time) Bhopal. (is) disaster. (^) tragedy. (thing) grief. (utterance) good grief! (is) exclamation. (thing) surprise. (time) surprise party. (has) alcohol. (thing) drink driving. (is) illegal act. (specify) mugging. (is) upsetting. (time) funeral. (has) flowers. (specify) sunflower. (is) tall. (person) Robert Wadlow. (is) record breaker. (thing) Olympic games. (has) athlete (does) training. (specify) weightlifting. (is) strenuous. (thing) carrying suitcases. (does) tire. (time) late at night. (^) hour. (specify) witching hour. (thing) Halloween. (has) pumpkin. (activity) carving pumpkins. (has) knife. (^) cutlery. (is) sharp. (thing) razor. (does) shave. (utterance) ouch! (thing) ET. (^) character. (time) writing a story. (thing) writer’s block. (specify) songwriter’s block. (person) Sting. (utterance) walking on the moon. (specify) first moon landing. (utterance) one small step for man…(^) quotation. (person) Oscar Wilde. (utterance) either this wallpaper goes or I do. (^) humour (thing) Darwin awards. (^) award. (specify) Nobel prize. (has) prestige. (place) Lourdes. (has) miracles. (utterance) it’s a miracle!
One guide-word per line
On the second half of the paper I change tack slightly so that each line of the paper is dedicated to one guide-word:
Has
Is
Does
Thing
Person
Time
Place
Activity
Specify
Utterance
^
Starting with the ‘has’ line I will choose a word/concept at random from the body of directed-association ('writer's block', for example). I will answer the directive (in this case “Name something that (writer’s block) has”) and write the association on the 'has' line ('frustration'). Then I will pick another word/concept at random from the body of directed-association and find an association prompted by the guide-word. I will continue picking words/concepts at random and forming associations until I complete the ‘has’ line. I then proceed to the ‘is’ line etc, proceeding through all the guide-words until the page is full.
Has: (writer’s block) frustration. (quotation) humour. (pumpkin) roundness. (carrying suitcases) effort
Is: (Halloween) yearly. (knife) dangerous. (cutlery) metal. (athlete) fit. (killing) illegal. (Robert Wadlow) tall.
Does: (first moon landing) inspire. (Lourdes) attract pilgrims. (prestige) impress. (sunflower) grow
Thing: (funeral) vicar. (either this wallpaper goes or I do) humour. (Olympic games) torch. (humour) laughter
Person: (miracles) Virgin Mary. (tragedy) John F Kennedy Jr. (kill) Columbo. (illegal act) Robert Ressler
Time: (walking on the moon) 1969. (it’s a miracle!) winning the lottery (award) Oscars ceremony
Place: (carrying suitcases) airport. (flowers) florists. (ET) outer space. (ouch!) dentist's surgery
Activity: (Lourdes) prayer. (alcohol) suffering from hangover. (ouch!) regret. (knife) sharpening
Specify: (Lourdes) Madonna’s daughter. (sunflower) the one in my garden. (training) learning to drive
Utterance: (record breaker) YES! (victim) why does this happen to me? (yearly) Merry Christmas!
Final page:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun. (^) weapon. (does) killing (has) victim. (time) Bhopal. (is) disaster. (^) tragedy. (thing) grief. (utterance) good grief! (is) exclamation. (thing) surprise. (time) surprise party. (has) alcohol. (thing) drink driving. (is) illegal act. (specify) mugging. (is) upsetting. (time) funeral. (has) flowers. (specify) sunflower. (is) tall. (person) Robert Wadlow. (is) record breaker. (thing) Olympic games. (has) athlete (does) training. (specify) weightlifting. (is) strenuous. (thing) carrying suitcases. (does) tire. (time) late at night. (^) hour. (specify) witching hour. (thing) Halloween. (has) pumpkin. (activity) carving pumpkins. (has) knife. (^) cutlery. (is) sharp. (thing) razor. (does) shave. (utterance) ouch! (thing) ET. (^) character. (time) writing a story. (thing) writer’s block. (specify) songwriter’s block. (person) Sting. (utterance) walking on the moon. (specify) first moon landing. (utterance) one small step for man…(^) quotation. (person) Oscar Wilde. (utterance) either this wallpaper goes or I do. (^) humour (thing) Darwin awards. (^) award. (specify) Nobel prize. (has) prestige. (place) Lourdes. (has) miracles. (utterance) it’s a miracle!
Has: (writer’s block) frustration. (quotation) humour. (pumpkin) roundness. (carrying suitcases) effort
Is: (Halloween) yearly. (knife) dangerous. (cutlery) metal. (athlete) fit. (killing) illegal. (Robert Wadlow) tall.
Does: (first moon landing) inspire. (Lourdes) attract pilgrims. (prestige) impress. (sunflower) grow
Thing: (funeral) vicar. (either this wallpaper goes or I do) humour. (Olympic games) torch. (humour) laughter
Person: (miracles) Virgin Mary. (tragedy) John F Kennedy Jr. (kill) Columbo. (illegal act) Robert Ressler
Time: (walking on the moon) 1969. (it’s a miracle!) winning the lottery (award) Oscars ceremony
Place: (carrying suitcases) airport. (flowers) florists. (ET) outer space. (ouch!) dentist's surgery
Activity: (Lourdes) prayer. (alcohol) suffering from hangover. (ouch!) regret. (knife) sharpening
Specify: (Lourdes) Madonna’s daughter. (sunflower) the one in my garden. (training) learning to drive
Utterance: (record breaker) YES! (victim) why does this happen to me? (yearly) Merry Christmas!
Further point
I’ve found that naming people throughout the directed-association is a good tactic because a person – as a concept – is at a set level of specificity, and the mistake of listing concepts that are too abstract is avoided. Also the name of a person usually suggests a bundle of associations, activities, behaviour etc.
An example of directed-association results.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Creating ideas by striving to reach the 'impossible ideal' of 'exhaustive information available universally'
I have been using the "'impossible ideal' of 'exhaustive information available universally'" as an approach to creativity for a number of years.
Using the approach
When using the approach I will start by choosing a subject for attention (such as a fire engine, an electricity meter etc). Then I will consider how the subject could display an exhaustive amount of information about itself. The impossible ideal is that the subject would display EVERY fact about itself possible (even information on the periphery of relevance). I find that on the 'journey' to 'reaching' this impossible ideal I will discover many ideas. I have found that a 'list exhaustive information' mentality helps expand the mind to look for possibilities.
At the next stage I will consider how that information (or a selected piece of information) could be displayed universally. The impossible ideal here is that the information would be available at EVERY part/place of the world (or perhaps even universe). Again, I have found this ideal helps expand the mind to look for possibilities. At first I will consider how the information could be displayed in the close proximity of the subject. This led to the idea of a
Visible display to show rate of electricity use
I will then go to the extreme of considering that the information could be displayed in the sky or in space. This led to the idea of
999 ambulance centres alert first-aiders near accident scene
Further points
Sometimes one of the stages (the listing of information or making information universal) used alone is enough to trigger ideas.
Often I will choose a subject that is known to display information - such as official forms or notices, websites etc.
Examples of ideas created with this approach
Computer error messages contain links to website
A webpage for each news programme providing explanations/definitions
Email/Text alerts for astronomical phenomena
A webpage for each rail station in cities
Local Crimewatch - e-mailed pictures of people wanted locally
A centralised database of war memorials
A website directory of all the second hand books for sale in libraries
Visible display to show rate of electricity use
999 ambulance centres alert first-aiders near accident scene
Using the approach
When using the approach I will start by choosing a subject for attention (such as a fire engine, an electricity meter etc). Then I will consider how the subject could display an exhaustive amount of information about itself. The impossible ideal is that the subject would display EVERY fact about itself possible (even information on the periphery of relevance). I find that on the 'journey' to 'reaching' this impossible ideal I will discover many ideas. I have found that a 'list exhaustive information' mentality helps expand the mind to look for possibilities.
At the next stage I will consider how that information (or a selected piece of information) could be displayed universally. The impossible ideal here is that the information would be available at EVERY part/place of the world (or perhaps even universe). Again, I have found this ideal helps expand the mind to look for possibilities. At first I will consider how the information could be displayed in the close proximity of the subject. This led to the idea of a
Visible display to show rate of electricity use
I will then go to the extreme of considering that the information could be displayed in the sky or in space. This led to the idea of
999 ambulance centres alert first-aiders near accident scene
Further points
Sometimes one of the stages (the listing of information or making information universal) used alone is enough to trigger ideas.
Often I will choose a subject that is known to display information - such as official forms or notices, websites etc.
Examples of ideas created with this approach
Computer error messages contain links to website
A webpage for each news programme providing explanations/definitions
Email/Text alerts for astronomical phenomena
A webpage for each rail station in cities
Local Crimewatch - e-mailed pictures of people wanted locally
A centralised database of war memorials
A website directory of all the second hand books for sale in libraries
Visible display to show rate of electricity use
999 ambulance centres alert first-aiders near accident scene
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Experiments in the day
About this post
Type of technique: generator of thought/action experiments
Technique in a nutshell: make a list of your activities in a typical day (or atypical day, perhaps). Consider what changes would occur if you had to do each activity in half the time, and also double the time. Then consider what changes would occur if you had to do each activity over only half the space, and also double the space. You can also increase or decrease the degree of one of the activity's characteristics.
Example: if the activity is reading in a bookshop, and your activity time is doubled and you also cover double the space then this could result in considering the possibility of trying new books. If you reduce the degree of your carefulness while in the bookshop, this could lead to a consideration such as picking a book totally at random and opting to read it from cover to cover.
Many writings on creativity advocate doing what could be called 'experiments in the day' - thought/action experiments that aim to break out of routines and generally nurture a creative attitude and spirit. The one I've seen most widely is: try taking a different route to work.
More examples of typical 'experiments in the day':
Take a walk in the middle of the night.
Have a conversation with someone you don't normally converse with
Stay up all night and watch the sunrise
Try eating at a different restaurant
Borrow a book from the library you wouldn't normally consider reading
There are many references, books etc where these EITD are suggested. I've devised a systematic approach to devising EITDs.
1) List actions
2) Consider how each action is undertaken in a typical day
3) Describe the action by degree
4) Increase/Decrease the degree
1) Listing Actions
I use a random-word trigger to form the list of actions. To do this I write a pangram:
the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogs
Then pick two random letters from the pangram and list both short words (of one syllable), longer words, and finally the longest words I can think of with the trigger letters. I write the words as actions by adding 'ing'.
Eg: Random letters P and L could give:
One syllable: planning, planing, pleasing, pulling, pleating, peeling, ploughing etc
Longer: pulverising, polishing, pillaging, plastering etc
I can choose more random letter couplets and form words and repeat the process until I have a list of actions.Then I can select the actions that will probably occur in a day:
Walking, Sleeping, Eating, Reading, Writing, Exercising, Chatting, Playing, Worrying, Drawing, Spending, Storing etc.
2) Consider how each action is undertaken in a typical day
I try to think of at least five times when each behaviour occurs in each day. So:
Walking downstairs in the morning
Walking the dogs
Walking to the newsagent
Walking into town
Walking into the library
Reading the news on teletext
Reading emails
Reading the paper
Reading a book at the library
Reading the TV schedule
etc
3) Describe the action by degree
I will form a descriptive adjective to state the degree of one of the actions. So, I will use the random-word pangram technique again to form five descriptive adjectives for the action. This is in answer to the question: "How X is it?"
For 'reading a book at the library' and from the trigger letters 'P' and 'L'
I can ask: how pleasant is it? How palatial is it? etc
4) Increase/Decrease the degree
For 'Reading a book at the library' I can list the descriptive adjectives and then increase/decrease their degree and see if any EITDs are suggested:
More/less pleasant
More/less palatial
More/less interesting
More/less demanding
More/less solitary
etc
I've found that the following two descriptive adjectives - broad and long - often lead to good EITDs when their degree is increased or decreased. These are from the questions:
How broad is it? (How much area does the action cover?)
How long is it? (What is the duration of the action?)
Applied to the library example, my visit to the library can be more broad(covering a wider area) - thus I'll consider looking at other books in the library I wouldn't normally read or I'll consider looking at areas of the library I wouldn't normally visit. Considering a longer stay at the library can lead to similar ideas.
The descriptive adjective 'palatial' in answer to the question "How palatial is my book reading?' could lead to thoughts on improving the library environment. Perhaps I could donate plants or books etc.
Resources:
Making creativity a tool for the everyday
Roger Von Oech's CreativeThink 'whacks'
Type of technique: generator of thought/action experiments
Technique in a nutshell: make a list of your activities in a typical day (or atypical day, perhaps). Consider what changes would occur if you had to do each activity in half the time, and also double the time. Then consider what changes would occur if you had to do each activity over only half the space, and also double the space. You can also increase or decrease the degree of one of the activity's characteristics.
Example: if the activity is reading in a bookshop, and your activity time is doubled and you also cover double the space then this could result in considering the possibility of trying new books. If you reduce the degree of your carefulness while in the bookshop, this could lead to a consideration such as picking a book totally at random and opting to read it from cover to cover.
Many writings on creativity advocate doing what could be called 'experiments in the day' - thought/action experiments that aim to break out of routines and generally nurture a creative attitude and spirit. The one I've seen most widely is: try taking a different route to work.
More examples of typical 'experiments in the day':
Take a walk in the middle of the night.
Have a conversation with someone you don't normally converse with
Stay up all night and watch the sunrise
Try eating at a different restaurant
Borrow a book from the library you wouldn't normally consider reading
There are many references, books etc where these EITD are suggested. I've devised a systematic approach to devising EITDs.
1) List actions
2) Consider how each action is undertaken in a typical day
3) Describe the action by degree
4) Increase/Decrease the degree
1) Listing Actions
I use a random-word trigger to form the list of actions. To do this I write a pangram:
the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogs
Then pick two random letters from the pangram and list both short words (of one syllable), longer words, and finally the longest words I can think of with the trigger letters. I write the words as actions by adding 'ing'.
Eg: Random letters P and L could give:
One syllable: planning, planing, pleasing, pulling, pleating, peeling, ploughing etc
Longer: pulverising, polishing, pillaging, plastering etc
I can choose more random letter couplets and form words and repeat the process until I have a list of actions.Then I can select the actions that will probably occur in a day:
Walking, Sleeping, Eating, Reading, Writing, Exercising, Chatting, Playing, Worrying, Drawing, Spending, Storing etc.
2) Consider how each action is undertaken in a typical day
I try to think of at least five times when each behaviour occurs in each day. So:
Walking downstairs in the morning
Walking the dogs
Walking to the newsagent
Walking into town
Walking into the library
Reading the news on teletext
Reading emails
Reading the paper
Reading a book at the library
Reading the TV schedule
etc
3) Describe the action by degree
I will form a descriptive adjective to state the degree of one of the actions. So, I will use the random-word pangram technique again to form five descriptive adjectives for the action. This is in answer to the question: "How X is it?"
For 'reading a book at the library' and from the trigger letters 'P' and 'L'
I can ask: how pleasant is it? How palatial is it? etc
4) Increase/Decrease the degree
For 'Reading a book at the library' I can list the descriptive adjectives and then increase/decrease their degree and see if any EITDs are suggested:
More/less pleasant
More/less palatial
More/less interesting
More/less demanding
More/less solitary
etc
I've found that the following two descriptive adjectives - broad and long - often lead to good EITDs when their degree is increased or decreased. These are from the questions:
How broad is it? (How much area does the action cover?)
How long is it? (What is the duration of the action?)
Applied to the library example, my visit to the library can be more broad(covering a wider area) - thus I'll consider looking at other books in the library I wouldn't normally read or I'll consider looking at areas of the library I wouldn't normally visit. Considering a longer stay at the library can lead to similar ideas.
The descriptive adjective 'palatial' in answer to the question "How palatial is my book reading?' could lead to thoughts on improving the library environment. Perhaps I could donate plants or books etc.
Resources:
Making creativity a tool for the everyday
Roger Von Oech's CreativeThink 'whacks'
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Vocabulary conversion
Eroteme told me about this interesting Wordcount site. The site counts the top 86800 English words and lists them in frequency of use.
I've been thinking for some time that there could be a systematic means to convert the vocabulary in any article (or any written piece) to a simpler level. For example, an article with a word such as 'quotidian' (rated 71479 on Wordcount) would be converted: 'quotidian' would be defined (or replaced with a synonym) using only words from the top 10000 of Wordcount.
Thus 'quotidian' = on-a-daily-basis
('on' rated at 13
'a' rated at 5
'daily' rated at 1350
'basis' rated at 683)
The user could opt for the conversion to use only words from the first 10000 words from Wordcount, or 20000 etc.
I've been thinking for some time that there could be a systematic means to convert the vocabulary in any article (or any written piece) to a simpler level. For example, an article with a word such as 'quotidian' (rated 71479 on Wordcount) would be converted: 'quotidian' would be defined (or replaced with a synonym) using only words from the top 10000 of Wordcount.
Thus 'quotidian' = on-a-daily-basis
('on' rated at 13
'a' rated at 5
'daily' rated at 1350
'basis' rated at 683)
The user could opt for the conversion to use only words from the first 10000 words from Wordcount, or 20000 etc.
Friday, March 18, 2005
The Leonardo da Vinci technique
I've been reading about a creativity technique Leonardo da Vinci used. Cracking Creativity by Michael Michalko describes how da Vinci would look at stains on walls, patterns in mud etc and imagine seeing battles and figures within the random patterns. Sometimes he would even fill a sponge with paint and throw it at a wall to see what the patterns suggest.
I devised an equivalent for 2005 using my PC's Paint accessory: I will search for some random google images and select one image (often a complex image with many colours). I will copy and paste the image into Paint and then go into Image Attributes and change the image to black & white. Then I go to Image and Invert Colours. I can select areas of the image to find inspiration or select specific areas with the Magnifying Glass tool.
I devised an equivalent for 2005 using my PC's Paint accessory: I will search for some random google images and select one image (often a complex image with many colours). I will copy and paste the image into Paint and then go into Image Attributes and change the image to black & white. Then I go to Image and Invert Colours. I can select areas of the image to find inspiration or select specific areas with the Magnifying Glass tool.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Cloning Aspects: a simple technique for generating new ideas
I have been using this technique - 'Cloning Aspects' productively for a number of years.
Introduction to Cloning Aspects
When I use this technique I start by choosing a focus (a thing/subject etc), then pick an aspect of the focus subject (usually a tangible component), then create multiple 'clones' of the aspect, and finally - in the creative phase - make each clone unique (often by giving each clone a unique function or purpose).
Examples of Ideas made up using Cloning Aspects technique
The following ideas (all published on the Global Ideas Bank) have been created with the technique:
A section of seats in TV studio audiences auctioned for charity projects
Small charity donations possible when cash point is used
A quick-stop parking meter in each street
Speed cameras to check whether seatbelts worn
A laser projected onto tracks to show record-breaking pace
Olympic flag has sixth ring to represent the Paralympics
Advertising on bank notes to raise money for charities
A webpage for every prescription drug for information and patient discussions
Lottery entry slips - tick box for 10% to charity
Bibliographies in works of fiction to show author's influences
A webpage for each library book
Four stages of Cloning Aspects
There are four stages I apply when Cloning Aspects:
1) Choosing a focus - this should almost certainly be something tangible (and of any size). For example: a shop, a credit card, a bank note, a library, a sports stadium etc
2) Picking an aspect of the focus subject: again this should – ideally - be a tangible component of the focus subject. For example:
With the focus subject a shop, possible aspects could be:
The till
The floor
The front window
The sign
The shelves
etc
3) Multiplying the aspect so that there are a number of clones of the aspect.
I will vary the numbers of clones. So with the focus subject, for example 'a bank' and the aspect 'the cashpoint machine' I may visualise:
a) 10 cashpoint machine clones (or some other quantity)
b) Enough cash machine clones to fill a specified space (eg: a mile of cash machines)
or
c) An infinite row of cash machines
I don’t worry about impossibilities or impracticalities: as I visualise a mile of cash machines I don't counter this with objections such as 'the rent would be extra' or 'that would form an obstacle' etc.
(Anyone familiar with the writings of de Bono will recognise how the attitude needed when visualising the clones is similar to that required when using the lateral thinking provocations - an attitude of 'deferring judgement' can be helpful)
Sometimes I will imagine all the clones occupying the same space as the original aspect. This is almost as though the clones are 'superimposed' over the original aspect. (I sometimes refer to this as 'tardis space'!)
Those who have used Mind maps will know Tony Buzan's rule that "Mind maps expand to fill the space available". When Cloning Aspects, it is almost as though the ideas create themselves to fill the clones available. The technique does seem to expand the mind and open it to possibilities. Sometimes I get ideas from cloning the aspects before I have even attempted to create anything new.
4) Creating new ideas
At this stage I consider the clones and think about how each could have its own individual function or purpose (or even the usual purpose but with a slight nuance). Sometimes I will 'group' the clones, so that out of a row of a hundred clone cash machines I will visualise a group of five and consider how they could all have a unique function or purpose. I use a random word to act as a qualifier for the clone. So, for example, in the case of the cash machine I could say:
Clone five is a 'charity clone'
which could suggest that that particular cash machine could be involved in some form of charity donation or project. This led to this idea:
Small charity donations possible when cash point is used
The formation of random words
I use a fairly idiosyncratic method to finding random words. Others may find this method useful.
I use a pangram such as:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogs
and I select two random letters. Then I try to think of a selection of words 'triggered' by the two letters. At first I will try to think of the shortest words I can, then proceed to words with two syllables or more.
For example, the two letters 'r' and 'c' could give:
Rock, Rack, Rook, Race
Reckon, Raccoon, Rocket, Rocker, Recent, Reclaim,
Recalcitrant, Reckoning, Rococo etc
Then I pick one to use as the qualifier and precede the clone with that word:
Reckoning-cash machine
and use that as a trigger for new ideas, as with random word stimulation.
Cloning Space Variation
The cloning space variation has been a very productive way of using the technique. To clone space I simply choose an object (such as a bank note) and multiply a chosen blank space to form clone blank-spaces. (This has resulted in a visualised bank note of about two metres in length!) Then I create a function/purpose for each space.
The cloning space variation led to this idea:
Advertising on bank notes to raise money for charities
Examples of ideas and how Cloning Aspects was used to create them
Lottery entry slips - tick box for 10% to charity
With this idea I cloned space so that the (visualised) lottery ticket was about a metre long. Then I considered how each individual centimetre of that metre could be used. I chose a random word and imagined how that word could be a heading for each centimetre and how that centimetre would have a function that reflected that word. Eventually this led to the idea of having a tick box for ten-percent of winnings to charity.
A quick-stop parking meter in each street
With this I visualised a street and picked the parking meters as the aspect. Then I imagined hundreds of parking meters and considered the different functions they could have. The qualifying random word "speed" led to this idea.
A laser projected onto running tracks to show record-breaking pace
With this I visualised an athletics running track with its white lines used to separate the runners. I picked a single white line as the aspect and visualised 100 clones of the line. The qualifier 'laser' led to the idea. (Since the idea was published on the Global Ideas Bank the TV coverage of the 2004 Olympics superimposed a line onto the swimming pool events to show record pace, and recently I saw an athletics meeting where a sequence of lights lined the track to show record pace)
Bibliographies in works of fiction to show author's influences
and
A webpage for each library book
Both ideas resulted from cloning the unused blank page (often at the end of many books) and considering a function for each of these pages.
Introduction to Cloning Aspects
When I use this technique I start by choosing a focus (a thing/subject etc), then pick an aspect of the focus subject (usually a tangible component), then create multiple 'clones' of the aspect, and finally - in the creative phase - make each clone unique (often by giving each clone a unique function or purpose).
Examples of Ideas made up using Cloning Aspects technique
The following ideas (all published on the Global Ideas Bank) have been created with the technique:
A section of seats in TV studio audiences auctioned for charity projects
Small charity donations possible when cash point is used
A quick-stop parking meter in each street
Speed cameras to check whether seatbelts worn
A laser projected onto tracks to show record-breaking pace
Olympic flag has sixth ring to represent the Paralympics
Advertising on bank notes to raise money for charities
A webpage for every prescription drug for information and patient discussions
Lottery entry slips - tick box for 10% to charity
Bibliographies in works of fiction to show author's influences
A webpage for each library book
Four stages of Cloning Aspects
There are four stages I apply when Cloning Aspects:
1) Choosing a focus - this should almost certainly be something tangible (and of any size). For example: a shop, a credit card, a bank note, a library, a sports stadium etc
2) Picking an aspect of the focus subject: again this should – ideally - be a tangible component of the focus subject. For example:
With the focus subject a shop, possible aspects could be:
The till
The floor
The front window
The sign
The shelves
etc
3) Multiplying the aspect so that there are a number of clones of the aspect.
I will vary the numbers of clones. So with the focus subject, for example 'a bank' and the aspect 'the cashpoint machine' I may visualise:
a) 10 cashpoint machine clones (or some other quantity)
b) Enough cash machine clones to fill a specified space (eg: a mile of cash machines)
or
c) An infinite row of cash machines
I don’t worry about impossibilities or impracticalities: as I visualise a mile of cash machines I don't counter this with objections such as 'the rent would be extra' or 'that would form an obstacle' etc.
(Anyone familiar with the writings of de Bono will recognise how the attitude needed when visualising the clones is similar to that required when using the lateral thinking provocations - an attitude of 'deferring judgement' can be helpful)
Sometimes I will imagine all the clones occupying the same space as the original aspect. This is almost as though the clones are 'superimposed' over the original aspect. (I sometimes refer to this as 'tardis space'!)
Those who have used Mind maps will know Tony Buzan's rule that "Mind maps expand to fill the space available". When Cloning Aspects, it is almost as though the ideas create themselves to fill the clones available. The technique does seem to expand the mind and open it to possibilities. Sometimes I get ideas from cloning the aspects before I have even attempted to create anything new.
4) Creating new ideas
At this stage I consider the clones and think about how each could have its own individual function or purpose (or even the usual purpose but with a slight nuance). Sometimes I will 'group' the clones, so that out of a row of a hundred clone cash machines I will visualise a group of five and consider how they could all have a unique function or purpose. I use a random word to act as a qualifier for the clone. So, for example, in the case of the cash machine I could say:
Clone five is a 'charity clone'
which could suggest that that particular cash machine could be involved in some form of charity donation or project. This led to this idea:
Small charity donations possible when cash point is used
The formation of random words
I use a fairly idiosyncratic method to finding random words. Others may find this method useful.
I use a pangram such as:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogs
and I select two random letters. Then I try to think of a selection of words 'triggered' by the two letters. At first I will try to think of the shortest words I can, then proceed to words with two syllables or more.
For example, the two letters 'r' and 'c' could give:
Rock, Rack, Rook, Race
Reckon, Raccoon, Rocket, Rocker, Recent, Reclaim,
Recalcitrant, Reckoning, Rococo etc
Then I pick one to use as the qualifier and precede the clone with that word:
Reckoning-cash machine
and use that as a trigger for new ideas, as with random word stimulation.
Cloning Space Variation
The cloning space variation has been a very productive way of using the technique. To clone space I simply choose an object (such as a bank note) and multiply a chosen blank space to form clone blank-spaces. (This has resulted in a visualised bank note of about two metres in length!) Then I create a function/purpose for each space.
The cloning space variation led to this idea:
Advertising on bank notes to raise money for charities
Examples of ideas and how Cloning Aspects was used to create them
Lottery entry slips - tick box for 10% to charity
With this idea I cloned space so that the (visualised) lottery ticket was about a metre long. Then I considered how each individual centimetre of that metre could be used. I chose a random word and imagined how that word could be a heading for each centimetre and how that centimetre would have a function that reflected that word. Eventually this led to the idea of having a tick box for ten-percent of winnings to charity.
A quick-stop parking meter in each street
With this I visualised a street and picked the parking meters as the aspect. Then I imagined hundreds of parking meters and considered the different functions they could have. The qualifying random word "speed" led to this idea.
A laser projected onto running tracks to show record-breaking pace
With this I visualised an athletics running track with its white lines used to separate the runners. I picked a single white line as the aspect and visualised 100 clones of the line. The qualifier 'laser' led to the idea. (Since the idea was published on the Global Ideas Bank the TV coverage of the 2004 Olympics superimposed a line onto the swimming pool events to show record pace, and recently I saw an athletics meeting where a sequence of lights lined the track to show record pace)
Bibliographies in works of fiction to show author's influences
and
A webpage for each library book
Both ideas resulted from cloning the unused blank page (often at the end of many books) and considering a function for each of these pages.
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