juxtaposition

Juxtaposition can be defined as placing two variables, side by side and their contrast or similarities
are shown through comparison. Many creative processes rely on juxtaposition. It's mainly a combination of similes and metaphors.

following is an exercise which would further help clarify how it works:

FLOWER HEAD
LIGHTING RAIN
ICE WOOD
LIGHT TREE
FIRE SPIDER
DUCK ROOT
DOG MOUNTAIN
OIL WIND
LEAVE ROCK
FLY WATER

choose a pair of numbers from 00-99
eg: 12, 24, 45


1 FLOWER 0 HEAD
2 LIGHTING 1 RAIN
3 ICE 2 WOOD
4 LIGHT 3 TREE
5 FIRE 4 SPIDER
6 DUCK 5 ROOT
7 DOG 6 MOUNTAIN
8 OIL 7 WIND
9 LEAVE 8 ROCK
0 FLY 9 WATER

[24, 08, 44]

lighting-mountain, fly wood, light-mountain

make sentences using both words.

1) i saw a flash of lightning over that mountain
2) i want to fly in an airplane made of wood
3) i can see the temple light shining on top of the mountain.

create images according to your sentences.
it will look something like the image below:

mind map-personal comments

drawing a mind map of myself actually helped me figure out a lot about myself! i know its hard, but i actually surprised my self a lot during this exercise.

i have posted all the pictures separately under one blog entry in the end. (name of the entry: all exercises)

mind map

A mind map is a diagram used to represent,words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing.

The elements of a given mind map are arranged intuitively according to the importance of the concepts, and are classified into groupings, branches, or areas, with the goal of representing semantic or other connections between portions of information. Mind maps may also aid recall of existing memories.

By presenting ideas in a radial, graphical, non-linear manner, mind maps encourage a brainstorming approach to planning and organizational tasks. Though the branches of a mindmap represent hierarchical tree structures, their radial arrangement disrupts the prioritizing of concepts typically associated with hierarchies presented with more linear visual cues. This orientation towards brainstorming encourages users to enumerate and connect concepts without a tendency to begin within a particular conceptual framework.

[ref: wikipedia]

lesson 1- personal comments

The ways in which societies have perceived the concept of creativity have changed throughout history, as has the term itself. The ancient Greek concept of art (in Greek, "techne" — the root of "technique" and "technology"), with the exception of poetry, involved not freedom of action but subjection to rules. In Rome, the Greek concept was partly shaken, and visual artists were viewed as sharing, with poets, imagination and inspiration.
[source: wikipedia]

this was an interesting approach to the concept of creativity, just thought i should share it.

basically the whole lesson revolved around how something new can be created from something old.
and also, that being creative doesnt mean being absolutely original, its more of innovation than invention again, by creating something new and different out of something old.
the new is always based on something that existed before. to make it different and to add a zest to it is what being creative is about.

this lesson actually made me think outside the box, inspite of being in this faculty, i never really thought what creativity actually was, i never really tried to define it. when i tried, there were several answers that went through my mind, some relating creativity to madness, expressing emotions, being spontaneous and different from others, maybe different in a "weird" way, but it's probably none of that,
it is infact creating something new and zesty with whatever resources you have at hand. it;s all about making the best out of whatever you have, its got nothing to do with being original whatsoever.

lesson 1- novelty, creativity, innovation

" A man paints with his brains and not with his hands"
a very deep and meaningful statement given by Michelangelo Buonarroti.

NOVELTY:

Novelty is the quality of being new. Although it may be said to have an objective dimension. it essentially exists in the subjective perceptions of individuals.

It also refers to something novel, that which is striking, original or unusual. The term can have pejorative sense and refer to a mere innovation.

subjective novelty is the perception of something as being new by an individual or a group of people.

objective novelty is something that is new for the entire humanity in it's development throughout the ages.

originality is NOT a decisive feature for creativity, novelty in creativity is always based on what has been created before.

the old can become new again if it's preceded by something different.

CREATIVITY:

a generation of new ideas or a new way of doing things.

INNOVATION:

The term innovation means a new way of doing something. It may refer to incremental, radical, and revolutionary changes in thinking, products, processes, or organizations. A distinction is typically made between invention, an idea made manifest, and innovation, ideas applied successfully. In many fields, something new must be substantially different to be innovative, not an insignificant change, e.g., in the arts, economics, business and government policy.

INVENTION:

Invention is an evolutionary act which leads to an outcome that is outside of the norm; norm meaning what is known, thus yielding, creation. -David O'Neill Barnes

The meaning of invention is the creation of a new configuration, composition of matter, device, or process. Some inventions are based on pre-existing models or ideas. Other inventions are radical breakthroughs which may extend the boundaries of human knowledge or experience.

[references: lecture notes, wikipedia]