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Chapter 5 • The Nature of Creative Thought

1.   What specific meaning might the word "idea" have for each of the following?

a.  An artist

b.  A chemist

c.  A salesman

d.  A poet

e.   Your company president

f.  A composer

g.  The U.S. Secretary of State

h. Your office mail boy

Give a specific example of each type of idea.

2.        Einstein's mind has been described as "slow and contemplative"; John Von Neumann's as "lightning quick—stunningly fast." Both men made outstandingly creative contributions in the field of mathematics. What implications do you draw from this?

3.        List at least three advances (product, operation, methods, organization) in your own business that came about as a result of a combination or relation of two or more previously unrelated ideas.

4.        If you were given the assignment of developing a new way to clean carpeting without the use of liquids, suggest at least three things you could use as the "commonplace" to start your thinking. Do the same for developing a more efficient organization of your present job.

5.        Consider either of the two problems in 4 above. Make a ten-step outline showing how you might alternate "involvement" and "withdrawal" thinking in hunting for the solution to the problem.

Related terms include managing business and business information system.