In this lecture, I changed the format and invited my class to learn form playing games and exercises to boost creativity. The students loved these games, and participated enthusiastically in this format of learning!
Read this first!
"I cdn'uolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was
rdanieg: the phaonmneel pweor of the hmuan mnid.
Aoccdrnig to a rseearch taem at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it
deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the
olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the
rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed
it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos
not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Scuh a
cdonition is arppoiatrely cllaed Typoglycemia .
"Amzanig huh? Yaeh and you awlyas thguoht slpeling was
Coined by Kenji Kawakami, Editor of “Mail Order Life”
Means “Unusual Tool”
Chindogus solve everyday problems
“Unuseless” = useful (i.e. not useless) but very crazy or
inconvenient to be usable
If it is worth stealing, then it is not Chindogu!
Why build something “unuseless”?
What’s the use of a newborn baby?
– Benjamin Franklin, 21 Nov 1783
“I have coined the term
“bisociation” in order to make a
distinction between the routine
skills of thinking on a single
“plane”…and the creative act,
which…always operates on more
than one plane.”
- Arthur Koestler,
Louise Braille: pinecone + reading => Braille system
George de Mestral: burr from burdock plant + zipper
Jake Ritty: ship’s engine room + cash problem =>
Edwin Budding: clothes factory + outdoors => lawn
Christopher Sholes: saw piano and thought if it each
key could write a letter => Typewriter
Let’s play Bisociation
Think of an object
Think of any activity you can do with it
Exchange the “object” with anyone in the room
Exchange the “activity” with another person in the
Now think of something you can do with what you
Now let’s work together as a
Form teams of 5-6 each
Think of a problem you want to solve, maybe even a
fictional one – product, service, design…even think of a
story if you want, or draw something if that works for
Each team needs only one paper
Taking turns, each person writes their idea in just a
line. The next person builds on it.
Time: 5 min
Use the whiteboard
What did you like / dislike
How was working alone vs working as a team?
How was working on a given task vs. creating
What did you learn?