Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Dimensions of Creativity brings together original articles that draw on a range of discipline--from the history and sociology of science, psychology, philosophy, and artificial intelligence--to ask how creative ideas arise, and whether creativity can be objectively defined and measured.

Dimensions of Creativity brings together original articles that draw on a range of disciplines--from the history and sociology of science, psychology, philosophy, and artificial intelligence--to ask how creative ideas arise, and whether creativity can be objectively defined and measured.

Margaret Boden and her colleagues Simon Schaffer, Gerd Gigerenzer, David N. Perkins, Howard Gardner, Colin Martindale, and Hans J. Eysenck demonstrate that creativity requires not only challenging new ideas but their acceptance by some relevant social group. Although some new ideas can arise as novel associations, others are generated by exploiting structural features of an existing conceptual space. Strong motivations often drive the creators and those who evaluate and perpetuate their work.

The seven essays--although very different--are complementary. The book can serve as an up-to-date introduction to the study of creativity in various disciplines. The many references provide a way into the relevant literature.

A Bradford Book

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Contributors
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Chapter 2 Making Up Discovery
• Perspiration and Inspiration
• The Man on the Clapham Omnibus
• In Search of the Source
• The Ends of Discovery
• Acknowledgments
• References
• Chapter 3 Where Do New Ideas Come From?
• Probabilistic Functionalism
• New Tools: The Inference Revolution
• New Ideas: The Cognitive Revolution
• Causal Reasoning: Mind as Statistician
• Practical Context versus Mathematical Structure
• Sensory Detection and Discrimination: Mind as Statistician
• The Mind as Intuitive Statistician
• Conclusions
• Institutionalized Rituals of Scientific Justification
• From Institutionalzed Tools to Compelling Theories
• Which Comes First, Discovery or Justification?
• References
• Chapter 4 What Is Creativity?
• The Definition of Creativity
• Exploring and Transforming Conceptual Spaces
• The Relevance of Computational Psychology
• Conceptual Spaces in the Visual Arts
• Modeling Musical Creativity
• Literary Spaces
• Analogy
• Transformation in Models of Scientific Discovery
• Genetic Algorithms
• Can Creativity Be Measured?
• References
• Chapter 5 Creativity: Beyond the Darwinian Paradigm
• Adaptive Novelty and Klondike Spaces
• The Evolutionary Creative System
• The Meme Creative System
• The Inventor Creative System
• Can We Measure Creativity?
• The Evolution of Invention
• Acknowledgment
• References
• Chapter 6 The Creators' Patterns
• Approaches to Creativity
• The Present Approach
• E. C.: An Exemplary Creator
• Cognition
• Other Psychological Dimensions
• Domain
• Field
• Fruitful Asynchrony
• Two Unexpected Findings
• Final Reflections
• Note
• References
• Chapter 7 How Can We Measure a Society's Creativity?
• A Psychological Theory of Aesthetic Evolution
• Aesthetic Variability
• Selection Criteria
• Hedonic Selection
• The Direction of Aesthetic Evolution
• General Predictions
• Strong and Weak Versions of the Theory
• Retention Mechanisms
• The Timing of Stylistic Change
• Empirical Investigations
• The Evolution of British Poetry
• Sampling
• General Method
• Programs
• Arousal Potential
• Primordial Content
• Stylistic Change
• Tests of the Strong versus Weak Versions of the Theory
• Specificity of the Trends to Poetic Language
• Conclusions
• Sociocultural Correlates of Creativity in Great Britain
• References
• Chapter 8 The Measurement of Creativity
• The Definition of Creativity
• Creativity as a Trait
• Creativity as Achievement
• The Creative Personality
• The Creative Personality and Preference for Complexity
• Psychoticism and Creativity
• Psychoticism and the Creative Process
• Discussion and Summary
• References
• Index

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Boden and colleagues (e.g., Colin Martindale, Hans J. Eysenck) have contributed eight essays to this book that not only illustrate the many facets of the complex phenomenon of creativity but expand and deepen them. Whether addressing the social aspects of creativity, its origins, its descriptions, or its measurement, the authors deemphasize the notion that, in the typical creative act, a single person makes a momentous discovery or has an insight that leads to the instantaneous solution of a problem. Rather, they provide a plethora of examples demonstrating the historical precursors of something termed "creative" as well as the necessity for a community to value an idea, process, or product if it is to be recognized, preserved, and communicated. Furthermore, what contemporary investigators consider "creative" often depends on the methods used to measure it; nevertheless, measurement is no substitute for an understanding of mechanisms and processes. Of all the definitions offered in this excellent volume, perhaps Howard Gardner's is the most useful, emphasizing the solution of problems, the fashioning of products, or the posing of new questions in a way that is initially considered unusual but is eventually accepted by a cultural group. Upper-division undergraduate through professional. S. Krippner; Saybrook Institute