Where Do Ideas Come From? Creative Problem Solving and Decision Making: Spring Semester 2013

 

That’s it.  No more Friday Questions.  Thank you!

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9. Friday Question 4/19 Let’s try this again. How might we use all that we’ve learned in Thinkertoys for a final assignment essay #4?

 

8. Friday Question 4/12 I invite you to think about and write a proposal for the last two essays.   Please create a description for  Essay #3 and Essay #4.  Remember: our last essay has no redraft and the turnaround will be fast.  Don’t copy other ideas posted by your classmates.  In other words, try to think of different ways than your classmates ideas.  If you take this seriously, and you have a brilliant idea, I will consider it. Be careful not to suggest a research paper or essay that ends up being a summary or when you recapitulate everything an author has already said.  It must have an arguable thesis.

Good luck!

 

7. Friday Question 4/5   Read in Visions of Tomorrow: “The Mechanic” by Hal Clement.

Part One: Think of a question you could ask about this story that would generate a discussion. (The way we have been doing this in class.)  Now answer your own question.

Part Two: Choose another student’s post, read their question and answer.  Leave a comment that builds on that discussion.  Do not simply say, “Great question!” but seriously consider what they have said and build on that.

Note: You must do Part One and Part Two of this question to get credit for this week’s question.

6. Friday Question 3/22  Read in Thinkertoys: Chapter Nine: SCAMPER.  Choose a problem and use it to make ideas. (Do not use the problems in the book, but instead, come up with your own, new problem to solve) In your post include: 1. Tell us what the problem is, and 2. How you used SCAMPER to solve/change it/whatever.  (You can be creative, as in, draw, print, chart your answers to this question.

5. Friday Question 3/15  Mindmapping is a way to help you brainstorm and come up with answers to a problem. Click here to see examples of mindmapping.  Choose a problem to solve and make your own mindmap.  Post it here.  Have serious fun with this.

 

4. Friday Question 3/8  Click on this link from Michael Michalko’s Library of Libray of Thought Experiments and read all of it.  Now create your own motiveless poem and post it on our website.

 

Friday Question 3/1  No Friday Question this week.  Focus on your final draft of Essay #1.

3. Friday Question 2/22  Having read the short story  “Directed Energy” by Jeff Hecht in Visions of Tomorrow, discuss the direct or indirect subject matter in this story.  For example: metaphor, ethos, pathos, logos, simile, etc.,  (Word limit: 350 – 500 words).

2. Friday Question 2/15  Sometimes ideas come from resisting another idea or exposing an agenda.  This week make a Doodlebomb and post it on the blog.  Check out examples for a previous contest here before you start.

Instructions:

• Choose a magazine advertisement from a magazine or newspaper.
• Use paint, a pen, marker, sharpie pen, or use computer help.
• Photograph or scan it.
• Upload an image of both ”before” ad and the “after” ad, so we can see what you did with it. No bigger than 2KB

Have serious fun with this, but try to avoid anything that might offend someone in our class (race, gender, religion and so forth). The point of this exercise is to make some kind of statement about the content or message or agenda in the advertisement.

I look forward to seeing your doodlebombs!

 

 

 

 

Friday Question 2/8  No Friday question this week.  Concentrate on your essay #1 draft.

1. Friday Question 2/1

Invent a machine that solves an important problem but does not yet exist in the world. Describe what the machine looks like and how it solves a problem.

Have serious fun with this exercise, but consider our diverse classroom of students.  In other words, try not to offend someone. Read instructions below carefully:

Instructions for Friday Question responses:

Friday Questions will be posted here on most Fridays.  You have until the following Monday at midnight to post your response.  Post your response on this blog on the main page.  (If you post them here below, they will be deleted and you will not receive credit.)  Come see me if you have any questions about this.

Make sure you check spelling, punctuation, capitalization etc., before posting your response.

Blog Posting Instructions:

Log-in with your password

Find POSTS on far left side and click

Find ADD NEW and click

When the box opens, fill in space with blog post answer.  Use spell-check.

When you are ready to post, find PUBLISH to the far right and click.

If for some reason, you have any trouble uploading, it is your responsibility to send a screen shot of the prompt on your screen to Lucas.waltzer@baruch.cuny.edu.

MORE TO COME