Can a Computationally Creative System Create Itself? Creative Artefacts and Creative Processes

This paper begins by briefly looking at two of the dominant perspectives on computational creativity; focusing on the creative artefacts and the creative processes respectively. We briefly describe two projects; one focused on (artistic) creative artefacts the other on a (scientific) creative process, to highlight some similarities and differences in approach. We then look at a 2- dimensional model of Learning Objectives that uses independent axes of knowledge and (cognitive) processes. This educational framework is then used to cast artefact and process perspectives into a common framework, opening up new possibilities for discussing and comparing creativity between them. Finally, arising from our model of creative processes, we propose a new and broad 4-level hierarchy of computational creativity, which asserts that the highest level of computational creativity involves processes whose creativity is comparable to that of the originating process itself

Can a Computationally Creative System Create Itself? Creative Artefacts and Creative Processes

This paper begins by briefly looking at two of the dominant perspectives on computational creativity; focusing on the creative artefacts and the creative processes respectively. We briefly describe two projects; one focused on (artistic) creative artefacts the other on a (scientific) creative process, to highlight some similarities and differences in approach. We then look at a 2- dimensional model of Learning Objectives that uses independent axes of knowledge and (cognitive) processes. This educational framework is then used to cast artefact and process perspectives into a common framework, opening up new possibilities for discussing and comparing creativity between them. Finally, arising from our model of creative processes, we propose a new and broad 4-level hierarchy of computational creativity, which asserts that the highest level of computational creativity involves processes whose creativity is comparable to that of the originating process itself

On the role of metaphor in creative cognition

Abstract. We consider some examples of creativity in a number of diverse cognitive domains like art, science, mathematics, product development, legal reasoning, etc. to articulate an operational account of creative cognition. We present a model of cognition that explains how metaphor creates new insights into an object or a situation. The model is based on assuming that cognition invariably leads to a loss of information and that metaphor can recover some of this lost information. In this model we also contrast the role of traditional analogy (mapping based on existing conceptualization) with the role of metaphor (destroying existing conceptualizations in order to create new conceptualizations)

Re-examining the impact of analogies on ideation search patterns: Lessons from an in vivo study in engineering design

Decades of research on the cognitive science of innovation have consistently implicated the importance of analogy during creative ideation. While the association of analogies with innovative design concepts is clear, more work is needed to understand the specific mechanisms by which analogy might help designers generate such concepts. The present work employed detailed analysis of the temporal interplay between analogy use and ideation in the naturalistic brainstorming conversations of a real-world professional design team to test between competing hypotheses in the literature: (1) analogy supports innovation primarily via large steps in design spaces during concept generation (jumps), and (2) analogy supports innovation primarily via small steps (incremental search). In Study 1, self-generated analogies (including distant ones) were not systematically associated with jumps; on the contrary, concepts tended to be more similar to their precedents after analogy use in comparison to baseline situations (i.e., without analogy use). Study 2 found that the rate of concept generation was greater when associated with analogy in comparison to baseline conditions, suggesting that the effects observed in Study 1 were not due to an overall fixating effect of analogies. Overall, these results challenge the view that analogies help designers generate innovative concepts mainly via jumps in design spaces, and instead suggests that analogies primarily support incremental search. Theoretical implications and future directions for the cognitive science of analogy and innovation are discussed

Professional Development in Sculpture

This dissertation discusses the process involved sculptors becoming professionals and the aspects that characterise a professional sculptor when compared to art students

Developing technological fluency through creative robotics

Children have frequent access to technologies such as computers, game systems, and mobile phones (Sefton-Green, 2006). But it is useful to distinguish between engaging with technology as a 'consumer' and engaging as a 'creator' or designer (Resnick & Rusk, 1996). Children who engage as the former can use technology efficiently, while those who engage as the latter are creative and adaptive with technology. The question remains of how best to encourage movement along this continuum, towards technological fluency. This study defines three habits of mind associated with fluent technology engagement [(1) approaching technology as a tool and a creative medium, (2) understanding how to engage in a design process, and (3) seeing oneself as competent to engage in technological creativity], and examines the implementation of a learning environment designed to support them. Robot Diaries, an out-of-school workshop, encourages middle school girls to explore different ways of expressing and communicating with technology, to integrate technology with personal or fictional storytelling, and to adapt their technical knowledge to suit their own projects and ideas. Two research purposes guide this study. The first is to explore whether Robot Diaries, which blends arts and engineering curricula, can support multiple pathways to technological fluency. The second purpose is to develop and test a set of instruments to measure the development of technological fluency. Robot Diaries was implemented with a group of seven home-schooled girls between the ages of 9 and 14. Instructors from a home school enrichment program ran the workshop. The study utilized a mixed methods approach. Analysis suggests two distinct patterns of engagement in Robot Diaries are possible - an engineering focus (characterized by attention to the structure and function of the robot) and an artistic focus (characterized by attention to the robot's representational capacity). The ability to support and sustain multiple levels of participation is an important quality in a workshop designed to broaden engagement in technology exploration activities. Pre-post assessments suggest changes in confidence and (to a lesser extent) knowledge. This study has implications for the design of learning environments to support technological fluency, and for measuring this construct

Embodied creativity: a process continuum from artistic creation to creative participation

This thesis breaks new ground by attending to two contemporary developments in art and science. In art, computer-mediated interactive artworks comprise creative engagement between collaborating practitioners and a creatively participating audience, erasing all notions of a dividing line between them. The procedural character of this type of communicative real-time interaction replaces the concept of a finished artwork with a ‘field of artistic communication’. In science, the field of creativity research investigates creative thought as mental operations that combine and reorganise extant knowledge structures. A recent paradigm shift in cognition research acknowledges that cognition is embodied. Neither embodiment in cognition nor the ‘field of artistic communication’ in interactive art have been assimilated by creativity research. This thesis takes an interdisciplinary approach to examine the embodied cognitive processes in a ‘field of artistic communication’ using a media artwork called Sim-Suite as a case study research strategy. This interactive installation, created and exhibited in an authentic real-world context, engages three people to play on wobble-boards. The thesis argues that creative processes related to Sim-Suite operate within a continuum, encompassing collaborative artistic creation and cooperative creative participation. This continuum is investigated via mixed methods, conducting studies with qualitative and quantitative analysis. These are interpreted through a theoretical lens of embodied cognition principles, the 4E approaches. The results obtained demonstrate that embodied cognitive processes in Sim-Suite’s ‘field of artistic communication’ function on a continuum. We give an account of the creative process continuum relating our findings to the ‘embedded-extended-enactive lens’, empirical studies in embodied cognition and creativity research. Within this context a number of topics and sub-themes are identified. We discuss embodied communication, aspects of agency, forms of coordination, levels of evaluative processes and empathetic foundation. The thesis makes conceptual, empirical and methodological contributions to creativity research