Tag Archive for 'creativity'

Creative combinatorics through this weblog

Creative combinatorics is the subject of this blog as well as this blog is a way to explore this subject through creative combinatorics. So feel free to browse through using the categories or tags on the right or use the contents page which gives a short systematic overview.

Combinatorics and creativity

Root-Bernstein described the connection between art and the sciences in the view towards creativity in his abstract: Many people view arts and sciences as being different because sciences yield objective answers to problems whereas arts produce subjective experiences I argue that art and science are on a continuum in which artists work with possible worlds […]

Creativity and information

The importance to think about creativity in information and library science (1) led to considerations about how to develop information systems to support people in their creativity, e.g. in musics (2) or how the form of accessing information inluences the generation of ideas and creativity, here e.g. for managers (3). Petrowski, Mary Jane: Creativity research: […]

Scientific creativity as a combinatorial process

Still today the connection between creativity and combinatorics is the topic of research. One example is the work of Dean Keith Simonton: Presentation with the title Scientific creativity as a combinatorial process: The chance baseline. (“Milieus of Creativity” symposium at Villa Bosch Studio, Heidelberg, 2006. Paper with the title “Scientific creativity as constrained stochastic behavior: […]

Creative Combinatorics in Ostwald’s philosophy

Already in 1910 Ostwald mentioned in his philosophy of nature (“Natural Philosophy”, 1910) the importance of combinatorics for his philosophy and for creativity: There is a science, the Theory of Combinations, which gives the rules by which, in given elements or characteristics, the kind and number of the possible groups can be found. The theory […]

Ostwald on education

Ostwald’s activities in education showed his sense for individual development combined with systematic treatment. He believed that “the art of discovery“ should become “a part of the intellectual inventory of every one.“ Ostwald was aware that teaching research skills combined with enabling effective use of libraries was important. He suggested that teaching centers should be […]

Combinatorics and creativity by Wilhelm Ostwald

“Combinatorics doesn’t replace productive imagination only, but is superior to it!” So creativity included for Ostwald not only “productive imagination” but also “combinatorics”. From his view ideas and discoveries are often only “a novel combination of existing components”. Newly-discovered facts in scientific research also has to be combined with diverse existing facts to create new […]