Creative Confluence

337 Pages·2014·11.208 MB·English

by  Johan F. Hoorn

Creative Confluence
Linguistic Approaches to Literature (LAL)
Linguistic Approaches to Literature (LAL) provides an international forum for
researchers who believe that the application of linguistic methods leads to a deeper
and more far-reaching understanding of many aspects of literature. The emphasis
will be on pragmatic approaches intersecting with areas such as experimental
psychology, psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, cognitive linguistics,
stylistics, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, rhetoric, and philosophy.
For an overview of all books published in this series, please see
http://benjamins.com/catalog/lal
Editors
Sonia Zyngier Joanna Gavins
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro University of Sheffield
Advisory Editorial Board
Douglas Biber Arthur C. Graesser Keith Oatley
Northern Arizona University University of Memphis University of Toronto
Marisa Bortolussi Frank Hakemulder Willie van Peer
University of Alberta Utrecht University University of München
Donald C. Freeman Geoff M. Hall Yeshayahu Shen
University of Southern University of Wales, Swansea Tel Aviv University
California David L. Hoover Mick Short
Richard Gerrig New York University Lancaster University
Stony Brook University Don Kuiken Michael Toolan
Raymond W. Gibbs, Jr. University of Alberta University of Birmingham
University of California, Geoffrey N. Leech Reuven Tsur
Santa Cruz Lancaster University Tel Aviv University
Rachel Giora Paisley Livingston Peter Verdonk
Tel Aviv University University of Copenhagen University of Amsterdam
Volume 16
Creative Confluence
by Johan F. Hoorn
Creative Confluence
Johan F. Hoorn
VU University Amsterdam
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Amsterdam / Philadelphia
TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
8
the American National Standard for Information Sciences – Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hoorn, Johan F.
Creative confluence / Johan F. Hoorn.
p. cm. (Linguistic Approaches to Literature, issn 1569-3112 ; v. 16)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Creativity (Linguistics) 2. Problem solving. I. Title.
P37.5.C37H66 2014
153.3’5--dc23 2013049418
isbn 978 90 272 3405 6 (Hb ; alk. paper)
isbn 978 90 272 7057 3 (Eb)
© 2014 – John Benjamins B.V.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any
other means, without written permission from the publisher.
John Benjamins Publishing Co. · P.O. Box 36224 · 1020 me Amsterdam · The Netherlands
John Benjamins North America · P.O. Box 27519 · Philadelphia pa 19118-0519 · usa
This study was supported by a grant of the Lorentz Center of the
Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). I am grateful to the
Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS) and the Rector
for providing me with the opportunity, as a Fellow-in-Residence,
to complete this book. The simulations of robotic creativity were
supported by the Creative Industries Scientific Program (CRISP)
of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

Table of contents
Introduction 1
1. Puzzled 1
2. Urgency of creativity 2
3. Creativity in theory 2
3.1 Creativity in the humanities 3
4. Creativity in application 4
5. Heading for common ground 5
6. The Confluence Theory of Creativity 6
7. About this book 6
Acknowledgements 9
chapter 1
Confluence 1 1
1. Cooling down 1 1
2. Thermodynamics 1 3
3. Assembling 1 5
4. Blind variation, selective retention 1 6
5. Brain architecture 1 8
6. Selective attention: Survival or opportunities 1 9
7. Two types of problem solving 2 0
8. Cultural history 2 0
9. Epistemics and perceptual flaws 2 1
10. The need for transformation 2 2
11. The creative process 2 4
12. Conditions of creativity 2 5
13. Probabilism, determinism, and the rule of rules 2 6
14. Creative output: Sigmoid accumulation of innovations 2 8
15. Creative Sigmoid at three scales 2 9
16. Fractal recursion of the sigmoid 3 0
Acknowledgement 31
 Creative Confluence
chapter 2
Two world views 3 3
1. A world view follows from what we believe 3 3
2. Survival versus opportunity thinking 3 5
2.1 Old brain, young brain 3 6
3. Ontological classification, epistemic appraisal 3 6
4. Determinism, probabilism 3 7
5. Two world views leading to three theories 3 9
5.1 The ordered universe: A vision of continuity and determinism 4 3
5.1.1 Analytic decomposition 4 3
5.1.2 Hierarchical 4 3
5.1.3 No free will, no heroes, no revolutions 4 4
5.1.4 Creative drivers 4 4
5.1.5 Slow evolution 4 4
5.1.6 Invention is social 4 5
5.1.7 Copying from others 4 5
5.1.8 Harmony and perfection 4 7
5.2 A subversive universe: Discontinuity and the outlier 4 8
5.2.1 Against dehumanization 4 8
5.2.2 Deviation and disharmony 4 9
5.2.3 Genius: the freedom of formidable spirits 5 0
5.2.4 Iconic heroes 5 0
5.2.5 Hop, step, jump 5 2
5.3 Chaos: Coincidence and non-random variance 5 3
5.3.1 Pure coincidence 5 3
5.3.2 Mechanized coincidence 5 4
5.3.3 Serendipity: The human hunch 5 5
5.3.4 Mean and variance: Playing with partial determinism 5 6
5.3.5 Fractal recursion 5 8
6. Classic, Romantic, Chaotic 5 9
7. Reconciliation: Serendipity in a partly deterministic system 5 9
8. Creativity on three scales 6 2
8.1 The breakdown of determinism or why Rutherford was wrong 6 3
8.2 The law of ‘anything can happen’ or why Rutherford
is sometimes right 6 5
Table of contents 
chapter 3
Problem solving 6 7
1. The two ways 6 7
2. Problems are not problematic 6 8
3. Commonalities 6 9
4. Convergent and divergent thinking 7 1
4.1 Conventional computing systems are “convergent” 7 2
4.2 Humans can do both 7 2
5. Rational problem solving 7 3
5.1 Breaking down the problem 7 3
5.2 Forward and backward reasoning 7 5
5.3 Difference reduction 7 8
5.4 Means-end analysis 7 8
5.5 Problem complexity 7 8
6. Intelligence and creativity 8 2
7. Switching perspectives: narrow vs. wide 8 3
8. The balance between convergence and divergence 8 3
8.1 Intelligence: first convergence, then divergence 8 5
8.2 Creativity: first divergence, then convergence 8 8
9. Analogy: An associative reasoning strategy 8 9
9.1 Solving an analogy 9 0
9.2 Limitations of analogy use 9 1
10. Experts and novices 9 2
10.1 Experts converge 9 2
10.2 Novices diverge 9 3
10.2.1 Alternate uses 9 4
10.3 Being knowledgeable 9 6
11. Problem representations: Single or multiple? 9 6
12. Decision making: deterministic – probabilistic 100
13. Decision models 101
14. Individual and group decisions 102
15. Decision-support systems 102
16. Decision support and its place in an organization 104
17. The distribution of innovation power through organizations 105
17.1 Middle management: Pockets of resistance or agents of change? 107