HITCHING POSTS Frederick Schiller to a friend complaining of lack of creativity: "Apparently it is not good- and indeed it hinders the creative work of the mind- if the intell~ct examines too closely the idea already pouring in, as it were, at the gates ... In the case of the creative mind, it seems to me, the intellect has withdrawn its watchers from the gates, and the ideas rush in pell-mell, and only then does it review and inspect the multitude. You worthy critics, or whatever you call yourselves, are ashamed or afraid of the momentary and passing madness which is found in all real creators, the longer or shorter duration ofwhich distinguishes the thinking artist from the dreamer." - From Sigmund Freud, The Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud, ed. by A. A. Brill (New York: Random House, 1938), p. 193 . BRAINSTORMING began to denote a group thinking process during the thirties. Alex Osborne, of the ad agency Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne pioneered the use of a brainstorming technique, in part as a way of demystifying the creative process. Osborne's approach was "originally a random search method; requiring no advance preparation, it was frequently misdirected, therefore unproductive." In the 1950s, large corporations like Rand and Boeing began to hire so-called "high-creativity" individuals for their "think tanks." But successful group brainstorming does not, in fact, require highly creative thinkers. The essence of the brainstorming process lies in the combination of perspectives and talents exercised in a positive atmosphere of trust. -From "Creativity by Committee" by Ronald C. Pellman, in Machine Design, December 12, 1974, Volume 46, No. 30. LATERAL vs. VERTICAL THINKING -A few years ago, a now well-known book, Lateral Thinking in Management, by Edward de Bono (American Management Association, 1971), outlined the importance of lateral thinking in solving management problems. Lateral thinking was characterized by discontinuity, far-fetchedness, lack of practicality, and the generation of a large quantity of ideas; while vertical thinking, derived from the Greeks, emphasizes logical continuity, probability, limitation. SYNECTICS - A term used by Wm. J. J. Gordon to describe levels of analogical thinking which he felt encouraged creative problem-solving: (1) direct analogy (What resembles a virus colony?) (2) personal analogy (How do I feel as a virus?) (3) fantasy analogy (What are one's wildest fantasies about viruses?) -From Gary Davis, The Psychology of Problem-Solving, (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1973), pp. 120-123. BIONICS refers to using natural systems as analogies for man-made systems. The notion of radar, for example, was stimulated in part by an understanding of how selective vision operates in frogs. A brainstorming problem might be stated in terms of an analogy which might be easier for group participants to understand, and which might produce fresh perspectives. The food chain relationship between rabbits and predators might become an analogue for the consumer-producer relationship in human systems. - From Gary Davis, The Psychology of Problem-Solving, pp. 128-131. RO UG HD RAFTS are written and publi hed at the Environmental Education Center, a U.S. Office of Education funded project located at 317 Lincoln Hall, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon. Among tho e who provided information on brainstorming are Herb Giffen, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, architects; Kent Layden, Center for Urban Education; Dale Simmons, Profes or of P ychology, Oregon State University. Anita Helle, editor; Victoria johnson, graphic anist.
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