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If you generalise the whole world of ideas and problem solving to the word "creativity" then I have no idea what conclusions you can make. There are a great man

If you generalise the whole world of ideas and problem solving to the word "creativity" then I have no idea what conclusions you can make. There are a great many types of idea generation to solve unrelated classes of problem. Brain-storming is most definitely a valuable tool for some but not all situations. i) discover what colleagues know about the issues ii) widen options beyond what you are immediately aware iii) make connections between different topics iv) experience explaining and talking about a problem v) get a feel of how emotionally invested colleagues are in particular decisions vi) spot bogus assumptions and false premises etc. What's the alternative suggestion, nobody works together? This type of article plays to the seductive developer trap that you can to put your head down and work on problems in isolation. Its fun and optimal for small projects but it doesn't scale. You can only build garden sheds, you will never build cathedrals. Whiteboards rock.

vortmeester 13y ago
All of your points are sound. But notice what's not on your list: generating new ideas, the ostensible goal of many brainstorming sessions. From what I've read elsewhere, the "alternative suggestion" that you asked for is actually a two step process: (1) Everyone, working alone, comes up with as many new ideas as they can, writing them down. It's best if you write down some crazy ones too. (2) Everyone comes together to discuss all the ideas on all the lists, in a more classic brainstorming format. Here is where your points apply. The reason for doing it this way is that people universally self censor in groups, often without knowing it, and don't contribute ideas that are too far outside the previous consensus. By taking off the immediate social pressure during ideation, you get a wider range of ideas that is more likely to contain useful new ones. Edit: I'd forgotten where I got this, until another comment mentioned Quiet by Susan Cain.

vortmeester 13y ago

All of your points are sound. But notice what's not on your list: generating new ideas, the ostensible goal of many brainstorming sessions. From what I've read elsewhere, the "alternative suggestion" that you asked for is actually a two step process: (1) Everyone, working alone, comes up with as many new ideas as they can, writing them down. It's best if you write down some crazy ones too. (2) Everyone comes together to discuss all the ideas on all the lists, in a more classic brainstorming format. Here is where your points apply. The reason for doing it this way is that people universally self censor in groups, often without knowing it, and don't contribute ideas that are too far outside the previous consensus. By taking off the immediate social pressure during ideation, you get a wider range of ideas that is more likely to contain useful new ones. Edit: I'd forgotten where I got this, until another comment mentioned Quiet by Susan Cain.