[Informatics] The Myth of Brainstorming

[Mark]

Hmmm. Does being credited with an expression make that expression a fact?
Or is it still just an opinion?

Anyway, think of the people who have disagreed with the herd and been
proven correct - and thereby changed the world.
Copernicus. Galileo. Einstein. Darwin. Me*.

:-)

*“Any of Us is Smarter Than All of Us”*

Indeed.

Since when did any knowledge revolution begin in a *committee*?

Watson: I submit that DNA has a spiral structure.
Committee: Stupid idea.
Crick: I agree with Watson.
Committee: I call a vote. Sorry. You're both wrong.
Watson: Dammit.
Crick: Golly. Harsh!
Committee: DNA shall henceforth be defined as 'really magical stuff'. Now,
Doctor Wawking. Hawking? About this 'Black Hole' nonsense...

But, seriously folks.

Groups, think-tanks and committees have their right and proper place, but
that place is certainly *not* in creating revolutionary creative thought.
A single mind creates a revolution.
A committee organises the tradesmen to do the electrics and plumbing for
the revolution.

Mark

* Once I disagreed with quite a *large* herd of cows and was later proved
to be correct. So - nyaaa.
Herd of cows? Of course I've heard of...
Oh. We've done this before.


On 31 March 2017 at 14:53, ken price <kenjprice at gmail.com> wrote:

> Douglas Merrill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Merrill is credited
> with the expression “All of Us is Smarter Than Any of Us”.
>
> The evidence here suggests the reciprocal “Any of Us is Smarter Than All
> of Us”
>
> kp
>
> On Fri, Mar 31, 2017 at 12:09 PM, Mark <mark at vceit.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi all. So, here's a fly for your ointment.  I refer to Info U4O1 key
>> skill 1.
>>
>> I am reading 'How To Fly a Horse
>> <https://medium.com/galleys/brainstorming-does-not-work-6ad7b1448dcf>'
>> by Kevin Ashton, which is a study of creative thinking. He discusses
>> brainstorming, which is taken for granted as a standard tool for generating
>> creative ideas. In short, he says brainstorming is a waste of time.
>>
>> He says that  brainstorming (invented by Alex Osborn in 1939 and
>> published in his book of 1942) has two assumptions:
>>
>> 1. groups produce more ideas than individuals
>>
>> Researchers in Minnesota <http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1963-07944-001>
>> tested this in the 3M company.
>> Half the subjects worked in groups of four. The other half worked alone.
>> In every case, the people working independently produced 30% to 40% more
>> ideas than the groups, and the ideas were independently judged to be of
>> higher quality.
>> Later research found productivity decreased as group sizes increased.
>> Conclusion: contrary to expectations, group brainstorming actually
>> inhibits creative thinking.
>>
>> 2. no contribution should be criticised
>>
>> Ashton says that researchers in Indiana got groups to brainstorm ideas
>> for brand names of products.
>> Half the groups were told to refrain from criticising ideas. The other
>> half were allowed to offer criticism as they went along.
>> The groups that did not criticise produced *more* ideas, but all groups
>> produced the same quantity of *good* ideas, according to independent
>> judges.
>> Deferring criticism added only bad ideas. Later research confirmed this.
>>
>> Conclusion: the best way to create solutions is to work alone and
>> evaluate solutions as they occur. Don't try to create revolutionary ideas
>> with a committee or a team.
>>
>> It makes one think...
>>
>> Regards,
>> Mark
>>
>> --
>>
>> Mark Kelly
>>
>> mark at vceit.com
>> http://vceit.com
>>
>> Powered by *Mitochondria.*
>>
>>
>> --
> Dr Ken Price MACS(Snr) CP ACCE Professional Associate.
> Immediate Past President, TASITE http://www.tasite.tas.edu.au
>
>
-- 

Mark Kelly

mark at vceit.com
http://vceit.com

Powered by *a* *bad attitude.*
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