ddyment (11/17/82)
Here's a summary of the replies I received to my recent request for
information on courses which address the creativity/design/problem-
solving process. The 21 messages which resulted could be placed into
three general categories (of roughly equal size).
(1) Those who really had no information on the subject, and merely
requested that this summary be posted to the net.
(2) Those who thought problem-solving either (i) meant learning more
mathematics, or (ii) couldn't be taught. For the members of this group
who might be interested, I enthusiastically recommend the first few
books of the list which follows -- you may be surprised to discover how
much is understood about the problem-solving process, and how little
of it involves mathematical skills (not that the latter are unimportant,
just that possessing such knowledge is no guarantee of creative ability;
in the area of problem-solving, a large base of mathematical knowledge
serves primarily as a collection of paradigms, which will often suggest
approaches to the problem at hand).
(3) Those who supplied useful information, although many confined
their suggestions to the topics of solving math puzzles (witness the
mention of George Polya's book, "How To Solve It", which tied for first
place in the list of recommended titles; this is indeed an excellent
book, although it does address a fairly restricted problem domain), or
doing better computer programming (no doubt inspired either by the fact
that this discussion is taking place on a computer, or that I identified
myself as a professor of computer science). Some very worthwhile re-
sponses resulted from this group, making the exercise worthwhile from
my vantage point.
As some prolonged follow-up will be necessary to track a few of the
leads which I uncovered, I think that the best contribution I can make
to the net is a suggested reading list. Most of these books are in my
own library, and I can recommend them. The first three or four are
particularly "on target" as far as my request/interests are concerned,
but all are worth your perusal:
"The Universal Traveler (a Soft-Systems guide to: creativity, problem-
solving, and the process of design)", Don Koberg and Jim Bagnall;
William Kaufmann, Inc. (this is currently available in a revised edition,
with a slightly changed title, and is well worth the price of admission)
"Design Yourself", Kurt Hanks, Larry Belliston, and Dave Edwards;
William Kaufmann, Inc. (interesting that two of the best books come
from the same company, and probably no coincidence, as there are other
related titles in their catalog, including the popular "Professor E.
McSquared's Calculus Primer")
"Are Your Lights On?", Don Gause and Jerry Weinberg; Ethnotech, Inc.
(*anything* by Weinberg is worth reading -- Ethnotech address below)
"Conceptual Blockbusting", James L. Adams; W. W. Norton (this tied with
Polya's book for most mentioned, with good reason)
"Human Problem Solving", Alan Newell and Herbert A. Simon; Prentice-
Hall, Inc. (yes, *that* Newell & Simon; 920-page scholarly reference,
with a 12-page bibliography, in case you don't see what you want here)
"The Complete Problem Solver", John R. Hayes; The Franklin Institute
Press (an outgrowth of notes for a course taught at Carnegie-Mellon)
"The Practice of Creativity", George M. Prince; Harper & Row
"The Five-Day Course in Thinking", Edward DeBono; Basic Books, Inc.
"You and Creativity", Don Fabun; Glencoe Press
"Imagineering", Michael LeBoeuf; McGraw-Hill
"The Art of Creative Thinking", Gerald I. Nierenberg; Simon & Schuster
"The Design of Design", Gordon L. Glegg; Cambridge University Press
"The Art of Clear Thinking", Rudolf Flesch; Harper & Row
"How To Solve It", George Polya; Princeton University Press
"Aha! Insight", Martin Gardner; (my copy is currently loaned out, so
I can't tell you the publisher, but it's readily available)
The following three are slightly off-topic, but closely enough related
(and high enough quality) for inclusion here:
"Tools For Thought", C. H. Waddington; Basic Books, Inc.
"An Introduction to General System Thinking", Gerald M. Weinberg; John
Wiley & Sons (Weinberg again; you no doubt recognize him as the author
of "The Psychology of Computer Programming; also Ethnotech's chief guru)
"Experiences in Visual Thinking", Robert H. McKim; Brooks/Cole Pub-
lishing Company.
Here are four that were suggested to me, but which I haven't yet seen:
"The Art of Problem Solving", Russell L. Ackoff; John Wiley & Sons
"A Programming and Problem-Solving Seminar", Don Knuth & Allan Miller;
available as Stanford report CS-81-863
"Visual Thinking", Arnheim; publisher?
"Communications: The Transfer of Meaning", Faban; publisher?
Finally, although this is specifically a programming-problem-solving
item, the "Technical Leadership Workshop" taught by Ethnotech received
high marks from one correspondent. I'd write this off as just another
satisfied customer report were it not for the fact that I've heard good
things about this course on other occasions, and in other contexts. You
might want to look into it. Contact Ethnotech, Inc., 4333 S. 48th St.,
Box 6627, Lincoln, NE 68506; telephone (800) 228-4585. Finally, a chance
to visit Nebraska!
Thanks to you all. Doug Dyment
(..decvax!utzoo!watmath!ddyment)