CREATIVITY IN LARGE-SCALE CONTEXTS

Jonathan S. Feinstein

“A new model for smarter creativity” is how one reviewer describes this book. It calls attention to the large-scale, rich context in which we live and create, and introduces a framework to describe context and how we navigate context to create. At the core of the is a framework to structure our thinking and analysis, that describes context as a rich network. Especially important are “parent-child” links between broader more abstract concepts and more specific elements. One example given is dog - dog breed - specific type of that breed. Given that framework, the key theoretical step is to introduce guidance into the creative process. I describe two kinds of guidance: guiding conceptions, that define subdomains of our context to explore that we believe have creative potential; and guiding principles that we use to evaluate and revise creative projects, as we move from seed projects (generated via our guiding conceptions) to creative outcomes. The book includes rich examples to illustrate, including Virginia Woolf, Indigenous Australian artist Clifford Possum, scientists Hans Krebs, transgender activist and engineer Lynn Conway, Albert Einstein, Jack Dorsey, and many others.

You can buy the book on Amazon: HERE.

The online appendix referenced in the book is here: ONLINE APPENDIX.