This post does not conclude with answers, rather attempts to sequence a set of thoughts in the direction of the topic and poses questions that you are welcome to answer or corroborate with your own thoughts.
Innovation vs. Invention : Word usage over time
Putting aside questions about the quality of the corpus etc. can we ask the question - Is it true that innovation is more of recent times than those of the yesteryears ?
Innovation vs. Invention : Wikipedia definitions
The Wikipedia's entry defines innovation and contrasts it with improvisation and invention
Innovation : Innovation is the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, inarticulate needs, or existing market needs.
Invention : Invention refers more directly to the creation of the idea or method itself.
Improvisation : Is not doing anything new but doing the same thing in a better way.
The diagram below attempts to capture the same thought pictorially.
Innovation vs. Invention : Creativity Vs. Associativity?
Inventions are definitely creative in nature but an innovation from the above section seems to indicate that it is associative in nature. So what is the relationship between associativity and creativity ?
The paper on 'Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying the Creative Process' details the following along with the two distinct forms of thought for a creative process.
References
[1] The Wikipedia's take on innovation
[2] Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying the Creative Process - Liane Gabora
[3] Google Books Ngram Viewer
Innovation vs. Invention : Word usage over time
The Google books Ngram Viewer clearly shows that starting around 1972 the word innovation has appeared more that the word invention in the English corpus it indexes.
Putting aside questions about the quality of the corpus etc. can we ask the question - Is it true that innovation is more of recent times than those of the yesteryears ?
Innovation vs. Invention : Wikipedia definitions
The Wikipedia's entry defines innovation and contrasts it with improvisation and invention
Innovation : Innovation is the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, inarticulate needs, or existing market needs.
Invention : Invention refers more directly to the creation of the idea or method itself.
Improvisation : Is not doing anything new but doing the same thing in a better way.
The diagram below attempts to capture the same thought pictorially.
 |
| Innovation is connecting the dots |
Inventions are definitely creative in nature but an innovation from the above section seems to indicate that it is associative in nature. So what is the relationship between associativity and creativity ?
The paper on 'Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying the Creative Process' details the following along with the two distinct forms of thought for a creative process.
'The first is a suggestive, intuitive associative mode that reveals remote or subtle connections between items that are correlated but not necessarily causally related. This could yield a potential solution to a problem, though it may still be in a vague, unpolished form. The second form of thought is a focused, evaluative analytic mode, conducive to analyzing relationships of cause and effect . In this mode, one could work out the logistics of the solution and turn it into a form that is presentable to the world, and compatible with related knowledge or artifacts.
This suggests that creativity requires not just the capacity for both associative and analytic modes of thought, but also the ability to adjust the mode of thought to match the demands of the problem, and how far along one is in solving it.'
- Does innovating require the first form of thought - suggestive, intuitive and associative ?
- Does inventing require a more focussed, evaluative analytical form of thought?
- How do these words fare in the Google books Ngram Viewer ?
References
[1] The Wikipedia's take on innovation
[2] Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying the Creative Process - Liane Gabora
[3] Google Books Ngram Viewer
No comments:
Post a Comment