What's It All About?

Estudiantes,

As you begin to think about the Meaning Project and your Ten Things inspired by Google, I thought you might like to see other corporate philosophies. I came across this from the Toyota Corporation while reading over the holiday:

The Toyoda Precepts
1. Be contributive to the development and welfare of the
country by working together, regardless of position, in
faithfully fulfilling your duties.
2. Be ahead of the times through endless creativity,

inquisitiveness and pursuit of improvement.
3. Be practical and avoid frivolity.
4. Be kind and generous; strive to create a warm,
homelike atmosphere.
5. Be reverent, and show gratitude for things great and small
in thought and deed.

In these general rules, Sakichi Toyoda sought to clarify the fundamental business principles of his company for each of its employees. The Toyoda Precepts were first introduced on October 30, 1935, the fifth anniversary of Sakichi Toyoda’s death.

While you are of course creating your OWN list or personal things you know to be true, it never hurts to look around.

~mrc

THE List

Students,

Below is THE DEFINITIVE list of items for your Pink Portfolio due at the end of the semester. keep in mind your Pink Portfolio isn't everything you'll be graded on, but it is a big chunk of your grade. There are a few extra credit opportunities out there –chip kidd field trip, threadless entry, successfully-protected eggs– and there's of course attendance, debono's for in-class participation, cartoon captions on the weblog, and your 20% Project.

From the DESIGN Chapter

• Assignment #1 - Channel Your Annoyance
• Project: Music Event Poster (I have these!)

From the STORY Chapter

• Assignment #2 - Riff on Opening Lines
• Project: StoryCorps Interview

From the SYMPHONY Chapter

• Assignment #1 - Metaphor Log
• Assignment #2 - 5-line Self Portraits
• Project: Creativity Map

From the EMPATHY Chapter

• Project: Don't Outsource Your Empathy Card

From the PLAY Chapter

• Assignment #2 Dissect a Joke

From the MEANING Chapter

• Project: Ten Things

Descriptions for these are posted in the online resources at left. Ask questions if anything's unclear. Take note that writing assignments should be nicely formatted with your name, course number and prefix, and assignment title for me to put in your folder.

~mrc

Egg Drop, Tuesday 11/24!

Remember that next Tuesday –the last day before Thanksgiving holiday– we will have our egg drop competition (weather permitting)! I will be releasing your eggs in their custom epds from the top of the SVHEC! You bring the epd , I will supply the eggs.

We plan to record the event with the help of some of my Multimedia students in ART 130. Should be fun!

~mrc

Thursday Assignment, 11/19

Students,

As our penultimate "Play" section activity, please take this short survey from Pink's "Step on the Humor Scale" assignment in AWNM, pg 211. Post your score in the comments section below for an attendance grade for today, even though we don't have class. And be sure to say whether not you think your results are accurate. When you read the score details, there're some interesting insights into how we use humor to deflect criticism, deal with stress, and otherwise get things done.

http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/newsh/items/selftest/item_8508.html

~mrc

Art + Design Table Friday

Just a reminder:

Art + Design Table meets this afternoon at 4PM at Caffe Peroni's in downtown SoBo. This is an informal social event for all students in Art & Design courses at the SVHEC - adult and high school. The more the merrier, and all are welcome.

~mrc

Chipp Kidd @ Longwood University

Thank you to those brave souls who ventured all the way to nearby Longwood University to meet Chip Kidd Wednesday night. Mr Kidd was very entertaining and the insights into the design process - especially what gets rejected - were very informative. Personally, my favorite part was, when speaking of his design school experience as a student, he wryly said, "I think they taught me how to think effectively. I think."

In this class, I hope you're learning how to think effectively, and differently.

~mrc

Brain Food

Nom nom nom...DEE-lish!

~mrc

minilogue - hitchhiker's choice from ljudbilden on Vimeo.

Good Advice + Homework

This is a good idea.

Also a good idea:

• adding some heading info to any assignments you submit to me for grading or revie

For instance, MANY of you have submitted papers to me on the Crowdsourcing assignment with nothing more than your answers; there's no mention of your name, that this is for HUM 246, the title of the assignment ("Crowdsourcing Article Response" would work), the date, etc.

It's a small point, but this information makes it MUCH easier for me to keep track of your assignments and make sure you're getting proper credit where credit's due.

'Little help, please!

~mrc

Extended Hours in the Earp Lab

Crowdsourcing, Homework for 10/27

I mentioned Crowdsourcing in Tuesday's class and suggested that it represents a very fundamental change - and a creative one - in the ways business is changing across a WIDE range of industries from the sciences to social sectors, just as we're reading in A Whole New Mind how the rise of the right brain is doing the same. Something this big demands more space in your brain, so for Tuesday please read this 4-page article from Wired Magazine's June 2006 issue on Crowdsourcing by Jeff Howe. Answer the questions below and email them to me in a Word (or similar) doc.

~mrc

• Explain crowdsourcing in your own words.
• What role has the internet and web technology played in the rise of crowdsourcing? Could the businesses cited in the article (iStockPhoto, Threadless, Innocentive, et al) exist without the web? How are businesses reacting to the crowdsourcing phenomenon?
• In the section on TV 2.0, the article asks "Can the crowd produce enough content to support an array of shows over many years?" Which of the shows mentioned are still on the air and which, if any, have you seen? Is that significant?
• According "The Tinkerer" page of the article, how many "solvers" (as of the article's publication date) are part of the network of scientists on InnoCentive? What is the appeal of a service like this for both corporate and individual participants? Why does each party come to the table? What do they get out of participation?
• According to MIT's Karim Lakhani, why does InnoCentive work?
• How is crowdsourcing different from outsourcing?
• What is Amazon's Mechanical Turk?
• What could you, your business, or your employer crowdsource?
• What could the government crowdsource?
• What's the relationship between what you've read in A Whole New Mind and the crowdsourcing trend?

Is This Creative?

What do you all think of this advertisement? Stupid? Brilliant? Compelling and rich? What's a typical ad for a mobile home liquidator look like? Post your response in the comments section below.

~mrc

The Death of Email?

Students,

Last week, I received a communication from a colleague who is charged with developing an alumni tracking service for her college -- essentially a way to stay in touch, update, and yes, even solicit funds from, the many students who've passed through those hallowed halls.

She'd read an article I've linked to here which suggests that email may be going away, or at the least evolving, and that will challenge the way traditional "development" offices (the term often given to University departments in charge of fundraising from the community of former students) do business.

Please read the article and post a response in the comments section below. Do you agree with the predictions? Do they really reflect your web and email habits? Do you primarily use your DCC or Southside email address? Do you use different email accounts for school versus, say, social business? What sites do you frequent most? What digital assets or online content do you "take with you" wherever you spend time online (eg Facebook, MySpace, news RSS)?

~mrc

Homework Due Thursday, 10/15

Class,

I was incorrect when I last wrote you on Tuesday regarding the schedule for next week.

DCC is on holiday (Teacher Workday, officially) next Tuesday, 10/13, so there will be no classes, which means there will be no drawing activities with guest instructor Kevin Chrystie! We'll have to have him back another day.

So we will not meet officially again for a whole week! Therefore, due when we return next week:

1) Write a mini-saga about the picture above answering the question, "What's their story?" Answer in 50 words, no more no less; as usual, post your response in the comments section below.

2) Make sure you have finished A Whole New Mind, Chapter 6, "Symphony" and do the following activities:

• "Draw" activity on page 151: Only do the 5-line self-portrait activity, but do it 5 times. Try different poses or expressions if you need to mix it up. Bring your self-portraits to class.
• "Keep a Metaphor Log" activity on page 152: Compile a list of at least 10 metaphors, 2 of which you must invent yourself. Email me the list.

3) Do a DeBono! This week's activity is this:

• MULTIPLE CONNECTIONS

1. Obtain Two Random Words.
2. See how many ways you can make a connection between the two random words.
3. Define clearly the basis for each connection.
4. Do this on your own, individually.
5. Email me the list.

eg DESK; SHORTS

...both are functional and aid a type of activity, such as business or sports

...both should be designed for freedom of activity

...desks have "knee holes" and shorts expose the knees

Do NOT invent a story about the items to make a connection. Dig deep to really think about a connection of purpose, function, value, utility, etc that already exists.

Your random words are: TAPESTRY; DOUGHNUT

4) Send me a note about which of the Longwood University art workshops you plan to attend this month. As was mentioned last class, there will be 4 Saturday morning workshops at the SVHEC this month, October 17th - printmaking and tshirt-making workshop; October 24th - bookmaking, printmaking and tshirt workshop. All workshops are FREE. You only need to attend ONE. Each workshop is an hour long and they run from 10-12 each weekend. Send me notes now if you have conflicts.

That's all! I'll see you next Thursday, at which time I'll also have mid-term grades to hand out. Remember, you can always redo an assignment for re-grading if you show improvement.

~mrc

Out of Class Today

Class,

I am having car trouble and will not be able to make it to class this afternoon! I am sorry for this and I know that you are as crestfallen as I am; however, there is still much to do!

There is a picture caption assignment on the blog right now (see below this post) which you should complete TODAY (in class before you leave preferably).

I am missing MANY of the StoryCorps assignments as of this writing, and expect them tonight as they are due today. If you are having trouble with the assignment, 1) this will be the first I've heard of it since no one's said anything yet, and 2) you should contact me ASAP.

I will be out of town both this Thursday and next Tuesday, 10/8 and 10/13, but we are STILL having class. This Thursday you will have a proctor for the class to take roll and perform other duties. It will be a working day with an assignment on the blog, a deBono exercise, and there will be a preliminary list of assignments I have or am missing from each of you. Keep in mind that I will be posting Mid-term grades next Friday.

Next Tuesday Kevin Chrystie will be filling in for me guiding you through a series of drawing exercises, so DO NOT miss that. It will be awesome.

Lastly, there will be a special interest class Saturday morning, October 17th, and again on the 24th, with visiting art professors from Longwood college. The instructors will be conducting hands on workshops in bookmaking, printmaking, and tshirt-making. The cost to you is FREE. I would like for each of you to attend at least one of these workshops on either day. They make for an excellent addition to your Pink Portfolio. Start letting me know now why you can't make it (I assume there will be some conflicts), but also let me know which one(s) you are interested in so I can start putting together attendance.

Questions, concerns or complants? 540.227.0221 or bencapozzi@mac.com

Best

~mrc

Who ARE These People? (Continued)

Time for another mini-saga! What's this guy's story? Post your answer in 50 words - no more, no less - below in the comments section.

Best

~mrc

Who ARE These People?

Class,

This is a short assignment based on the the Pink activity on page 126 of A Whole New Mind. Make up a short story about the person in the photo below. Post your answer, no more than a paragraph, in the comments section below. As you make up his story, consider how he got to where he is, what he's doing and why, or what he may be doing next? What's unspoken?

What's this guy writing about?

Homework for Thursday 9/29

Class,

Your homework due next Tuesday, 9/29, is to write a short story (no more than a page and a half) riffing on one of the opening lines below. Start with one of the lines given and carry your story on from there. Come to class prepared to share (and also email me a copy.)

"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show." - Charles Dickens, David Copperfield (1850)

"This is the saddest story I have ever heard." - Ford Madox Ford, The Good Soldier (1915)

"A screaming comes across the sky." - Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow (1973)

"I am an invisible man." - Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)

Can't wait to hear these!

~mrc

Caption Game Again!

Yayyy!

Time to play the caption game again!

Post your caption idea in the comments below! (I do grade these, btw.)

~mrc

Homework for Thursday 9/24

Estudiantes,

In addition to continuing to zero in on what your creativity research project is going to be (see previous post), please read Chapter Five, Story, in A Whole New Mind. Come to class prepared to discuss.

Best

~mrc

Research Project

Class,

If you pay attention to the course syllabus, you know that we're a bit behind schedule when it comes to work on your creativity research project. This project counts for 20% of your grade, and is an additional piece for the "Pink Portfolio" you're assembling for the bulk of your grade. We need to get these underway. so by week's end, 9/25, you will need to have identified and outlined your creative research project for this semester.

Some guidelines to consider when selecting your project:

• It MUST NOT BE MUNDANE. It should definitely be something that you do NOT do every day. If it's something you always wanted to do or meant to do but never had the time for, even better!
• It must result in someTHING - a weblog, drawing or painting, video, research paper (BOring!), podcast, music video, in-class demonstration, slideshow, performance, game, animation, outing, demonstration -- there are many possibilities!
• Keep in mind that you will ultimately present this not just to me for a grade, but to your classmates.
• You can work with a group if you have a collaborative project in mind.
• Don't wuss out on this. You are being afforded tremendous creative freedom to design exactly what you're going to do for a full fifth of your grade! If you find this too broad or intimidating, pick one of the projects from the portfolio section of the Pink book.
• ALL projects must be written up by you for approval by me by this Friday, 9/25. I will be looking for how you plan to present your final project and how much effort will be required to complete it. You'll be graded on your commitment to your goal, whether or not you stick to your plan, and the effort and insight invested in the final outcome.

WHERE TO LOOK FOR AN IDEA:

As a starting point, you can do no better than looking at the portfolio exercises outlined in the second half of Pink's book. He lists many activities to develop your creative senses after each chapter. Some of the longer, more involved activities will work if you want to use one of them.

If you're feeling more ambitious, or none of the Pink activities jump out at you, I've listed some links to additional resources below.

Great ideas if you want to do something with video for YouTube:

http://video-creativity.blogspot.com/2009/08/project-ideas.html

Or, if you like to build stuff, try out a project from Make magazine:

http://www.makezine.com/

Or, you could create a Machinima like Red vs Blue for Halo or the WoW episode of SouthPark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BAM9fgV-ts

http://www.southparkstudios.com/

Or, you could create an interactive Creativity Map of Halifax based on the famous example below by Jon Udell:

http://jonudell.net/udell/gems/googleMaps2/gmap2_flash.html

Or, get some friends together and repeat (or improve upon) a public performance from ImprovEverywhere. You could use their website for ideas or check out their book, Causing a Scene.

Or, create a stop-motion animation like this Orin Lavie video or this Google Chrome ad from Japan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlqImTN1Rw0

Or, Learn a poem a week

Learn a/to dance

Interview an artist, family member, veteran, child(ren)

Complete a paint by numbers book, cover to cover

Keep a sketch journal

Track down "Norman doors"

Memorize a soliloquy, sonnets, or monologue

Perform (a song, party trick, juggling act, comedy stand up)

Create a "day in your life" video

Illustrate a story in drawings, photos, legos, food, clothing, etc

Or, if you STILL cannot select a creative research project, let me know and once we've checked you for a pulse and brain wave activity, we'll see what else we can come up with.

~mrc

Homework for Thursday, 9/17

A'la Yale University Professor Robert Sternberg's "Rainbow Test," your mission is to create a caption for the picture below. Everyone needs to post at least one; leave your caption idea/s in the comments.

~mrc

Out Sick Today and Homework for Thursday, 9/10

Students,

I apologize for the late notice, but we will not have class this afternoon. I'm sorry to say that I am feeling under the weather! I have three assignments for you though:

1) In lieu of our discussion of your "intelligence test" results today, please answer the questions below. Email your responses back to me as an attachment (Word Doc preferred), before Thursday's class.

- From the learning style test at Edutopia, what are your best and worst learning aptitudes?

- According to your Jung Typology test results, what is your personality type?

- Was your IQ result from the third test about what you expected, higher, or lower?

- For each of these, did the results sound about right or way off? Do you think they accurately reflect your talents, intelligence, and abilities?

2) As an introduction to his work, watch the video below featuring Daniel Pink, the author of A Whole New Mind, our textbook for this class. It's just 18 minutes long (3 minutes less than a sitcom) and pretty stimulating.

3) Lastly, read the Introduction and Chapter One, "Right Brain Rising," pages 1-27 in A Whole New Mind for Thursday's class. Everyone should have a copy by now, but if you still don't, you can read the first chapter online for free at the following link:

http://books.google.com/books?id=3Xb_MDJQZnYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=a+whole+new+mind&client=safari#v=onepage&q=&f=false

~mrc

Homework- Tuesday, 9/8

Hola,

Your homework over the weekend is:

1) Take the following free online tests and quizzes and save or remember your results because I want to know how you did on Tuesday.

• Quick personal assessment of your learning style
• Jung Typology Test
• IQ Test

* These online free tests are for entertainment only! Just for us in the class to see how much fluctuation there can be, and how many different ways there are to measure intelligence.

2) Tell me if you can think of another form of intelligence we haven't discussed but that should be on any multiple intelligence list. Post your answer in the blog comments below.

As always, come to class prepared to discuss.

I'd also take a look at these, since you may be doing something with them in class next week! >hint< >hint<

~mrc

Last of the Acronyms

The NBC group has finally reported in with their list of acronyms! My top picks are:

• never bomb cananda
• national bullshit conference
• new barking cat
• nutty butty craving
• nothing but coors

We'll do more deBono's Thursday!

~mrc

Survey of Intelligence and Creative Ability

A quick survey which we'll do in class this afternoon. Please submit just once.

~mrc

Homework for Thursday, 9/3

We're going to spend a little time looking at multiple intelligence theory over the next few days. To prepare, please read the following three articles online; they're brief and provide a good introduction and summary of what MI Theory is and how it's viewed.

• The Multiple Intelligences Redefine Smart

• An Interview with the Father of Multiple Intelligences

• Brain Imagery Supports the Idea of Diverse Intelligences

As always, come to class prepared to discuss.

~mrc

More Acronyms

More of my favorite acronyms from the lists you generated during last Thursday's deBono exercise!

From the ABC Group:

• Actions Bring Children
• Above Basic Capacity
• Affirmation Beyond Civility

And from the CBS Group:

• 2. Clown bouncer service
• 5. Cynical babysitting service
• 6. Chastising bowel syndrome

LOVE 'em!

~mrc

HAWAII 246 - Creative Weddings

So MANY of you mentioned beaches for creative wedding locales, I thought I'd share with you the above graphic from last month's Fast Company magazine.

Why do we save the beach just for weddings and vacations? It seems we'd all rather be doing pretty much everything on the beach.

~mrc

How to Kill Creativity!

Class,

Check out the story below to read a great article on the top 10 things you can do to CRUSH creativity. The fatal flaw in many of these killers is, I would say, where the focus is. Check 'em out and let me now if you agree, disagree, or have subtractions or additions for the list?

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/management/ten-great-ways-to-crush-creativity.html

~mrc

Acronyms

Estudiantes,

You all did GREAT with the Acronym Exercise in Thursday's class! We're off to a good start with our deBono's.

For many of you, this was a very different type of activity than you're used to with no single "right" answer. I hope you had fun and it stretched your brain just a bit and got those dendrites growing!

I'll post some of my favorites here in the blog as they come in, and Ms Davis of the BET group just sent theirs:

#2. Bilingual eastern tibetans

#6. Between enthusiastic turtles

#10. Be energized totally

#12. Broad elaborate talking

#14. Breaking every toilet

#15. Better equipped theories

#16. Building elaborate taverns

But why didn't your official list include one I know you said in class:

Big Elephant Testicles?

~mrc

Is Failing Fatal?

Wow!

I saw Henry Jenkins speak live at Princeton last summer for a conference and he was SUPER engaging. His comments here are particularly relevant to our current discussion on education, creativity, technology, and the value of innovations.

I recommend this short video to each of you. Does he suggest things you'd like for us to incorporate into this class? How? Let me know what you think by posting in the comments!

~mrc

* For those who worry about these things, this is NOT a graded assignment; it is purely for your own edification.

Week One - Orientation and Foundation

Hola, estudiantes!

For Thursday 8/27

The (under)Value of Creativity

Come to class having listened to the Podcasts* below. They feature British researcher Sir Ken Robinson. They were recorded almost 2 years apart for DishyMix, an interview-driven business management and marketing show hosted by Susan Bratton. There are some ads and other fluff in these episodes, but push through them and really listen to Robinson's comments. You might want to note anything that jumps out at you, and consider the questions below:

How do Robinson's comments strike you? Can you relate? Do you agree? Are they brilliant, bull, or somewhere in between? How would you implement some of what Robinson suggests in your life, school, or work? COME TO CLASS PREPARED TO DISCUSS.

DishyMix 006 - 8/2/07, 38 minutes

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?i=31548579&id=258633626

DishyMix 098 - 5/12/09, 45 minutes

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?i=54859523&id=258633626

*You do not need an iPod or an Apple computer to listen to podcasts. You will need iTunes installed on your computer, though. If you don't have iTunes, it is available for FREE for BOTH Windows PCs and Macs at this address: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

~mrc

Welcome!

Welcome to Humanities 246: Creative Thinking!

WHAT the heck is this class about and WHAT are we going to do in it?

Well, in short, we're going to build our brains to better serve business and our personal interests. The long is how we'll be doing that in and out of class.

For greater details, you can check the course syllabus at top left in the list of links to important documents, but the best way to know what's going on will be to:

1) Come to the first day of class Tuesday, August 25th at 430PM in the Earp Lab at the SVHEC, and

B) Check back here on the blog often for assignments. I'll post the week's reading and activities here the Friday preceding class. If there are special circumstances or a last minute change, I'll send a mass email.

In fact, a great way to get started will be to send a "hello" email to me at bencapozzi@mac.com so that I can add you to the course mailing list.

I look forward to seeing you in class!

~mrc

* This course makes extensive and aggressive use of the internet and other digital resources to create, collaborate, and share content, ideas, and responses. Ubiquitous computer access is an assumption perhaps not fully borne out by the reality of life in Southside, but that does not change the fact that you are here to prepare for a workforce that is increasingly wired and dependent on the computer for getting things done. I cannot in good conscience ignore the utility of the computer (it levels the playing field for all), nor can I penalize those for whom access is an undue burden ("I have dial up!"). Access to all of this course's resources, fora, and communication methods is available from any computer here at the SVHEC (for free!), and from nearly any internet-capable computer at home or elsewhere.

Still, if you will have difficulty accessing email, websites, or other online resources, you should bring this to my attention as quickly as possible to determine if there is a workable strategy for access available, or if this course simply will not work for you. I will do everything I can to help you perform well in this course.