I’m continuing to read and love Jonah Leherer‘s book, “Imagine: How Creativity Works.” His discussion of research on “brainstorming” versus discussions that involve debate and critique are particularly insightful. In the past, I just assumed “the right way” to generate ideas in class or in another group was to follow “traditional” rules of brainstorming, where all ideas are accepted neutrally and not criticized. Now I’m reconsidering that assumption. Leherer writes:
…when all new ideas are equally useful, as in a brainstorming session—we stay within ourselves. There is no incentive to think about someone else’s thoughts or embrace unfamiliar possibilities. And so the problem remains impossible. The absence of criticism has kept us all in the same place.
He supports this idea with citations from research articles as well as lots of stories, including several from Pixar. I’m rethinking my own use of traditional “brainstorming rules” as a result.
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Check out other Leherer quotations I’ve liked by searching my Tweet Nest Twitter archive for “@jonahlehrer”.
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On this day..
- Options for Classroom Blogging (August 2019) - 2019
- Web-based Video Editing with WeVideo (Including Green Screen) - 2017
- Changing Mindsets: STEM Is NOT Content Areas in Isolation - 2015
- Developing & Writing a Pitch for your Book - 2015
- Inspired by Angela Maiers #blc10 presentation: Writing for Real - 2010
- Legal Fight Over Publicly funded Charter Schools and Online Education in Oklahoma - 2010
- So many CMS options: Why I mainly invest in WordPress and Google Sites - 2009
- Good del.icio.us and Google Notebook how-to guides - 2007
- iPhoto 08 First Impressions - 2007
- From Webkinz and Avatar to Sitting in a desk - 2007
[…] or other people that access it. One of the entries I found interesting was the one titled “Reconsider Your Neutral Brainstorming Assumptions” and how I could maybe use that in the classroom. When brainstorming, students share many […]