Table of Contents:
Preface ix
Chapter One: Creativity, An Essay 1
Credo 3
A Context for Considering Creativity 3
The Realm of Creativity 5
The Limits to Creativity 5
Fostering Creativity 5
Some Historical Examples of Creativity 8
Motivation and Creativity 9
Methods and Manifestations of Creativity 10
The Group Creative Process 16
Creativity Favors the Prepared Mind 17
Assessing the Constraints on Creativity 18
Teaching Creativity 19
Elementary Analytical Problems and Projects 20
Exercises 21
Creativity Exercises 28
Solutions to Creativity Exercises 29
Mechanical Invention 30
Uninhibited Imagination 30
Flexibility of Thinking Problems 31
Answers for the First Eight Challenging Exercises 32
Answers for the Flexibility of Thinking Problems 34

Chapter Two: Creativity Revisited 35
Introduction 37
Framework for the Creative Process 43
Conditions for Creativity 45
Exercising Your Creativity 49
Training for Creativity 52
Creative Techniques and Exercises 53
A Few More Problems Put Your Creativity to Work! 58
A Creative Attitude 59
Thoughts on Creativity and Humor 60
A Final Exercise on Creativity 61
Jokes’ Appendix 63

Chapter Three: Examples of Creativity and Creative People 81
Introduction 83
Inventions 83
Inventors 86
Stories and Creative Solutions to Problems 94

Chapter Four: Problem Solving 99
Recognizing Problems 102
Attitudes Toward Problems: the Mysterious Riddle Solver and the Pragmatist 103
Formulating Problems 106
Solving Problems 107
Accepting the Limitations of Solutions: Compromise 111
Examples 113
Some Examples of Models 118
Operational Problems 121
Mathematical Problems 123
Logic Problems 126
Puzzles for the Virtuoso (and Virtuosa) 128
Solutions to Puzzles for the Virtuosi 131

Chapter Five: Our Heritage 139
Introduction 141
Creativity and Inspiration 142
Creativity and Evolution 146
Dependencies and Syntheses in Nature 151
Creativity in a Non-Linear World 152
Synthesizing 154
Prediction and Quantum Theory 156
Beauty, Aesthetics and Order 162
Confessions 163

Chapter Six: Estimation 167
Introduction 169
Examples 170
Other Proposed Estimation Problems 202

Chapter Seven: Decision Making 205
A Fact of Life 207
Morphological Analysis 207
How to Structure a Hierarchy 209
Judgments and Comparisons 214
Absolute Measurement 223
Homogeneity and Clustering 225
Problems with Analytic Decision Making 225
The Benefits of Analytic Decision Making 227
The Analytic Network Process (ANP) 227
A Mathematical Explanation 228
The Mousetrap Example 230

ADDENDUM 241
Creativity Test by Eugene Raudsepp 241
Answers, Possibilities, and Analyses 243
Creativity Assignments 245
Creativity Outline 247
Class Schedule 249
The Grand Finale 252

Bibliography 255
Index