The Big Bang of Originality and Effectiveness: A Dynamic Creativity Framework and Its Application to Scientific Missions

This article introduces a theoretical framework to conceptualize the dynamics of the phenomenon of creativity, which is then applied to the specific case of scientific missions for the exploration of the universe. Static definitions of creativity are insufficient for this purpose, as they fail to describe states of creative inconclusiveness as well as the time and culture-dependent estimation of the value of the outcomes of a creative process; therefore, a dynamic definition of creativity is introduced, justified, and adopted to build a dynamic creativity framework. Within this framework, creativity episodes are shown to be mutually interconnected through several mechanisms (past and future concatenation, estimation, and exaptation), to form a dynamic universal creativity process (DUCP), the beginning of which can be traced back to the Big Bang of our universe. The DUCP entails several layers of complexity (material, biological, sociocultural, and artificial), showing that creativity is not only a psychological construct for humans but rather a unifying cosmological principle. Context embeddedness is discussed in-depth, introducing a taxonomy based on the concepts of tightness and looseness as applied to conceptual space and time. This theoretical framework is, then, applied to the discussion of the design, realization, and operations of scientific missions for the exploration of the universe, taking as a reference the terminology adopted by the European Space Agency

Intelligence and Creativity: Mapping Constructs on the Space-Time Continuum

This theoretical article proposes a unified framework of analysis for the constructs of intelligence and creativity. General definitions for intelligence and creativity are provided, allowing fair comparisons between the two context-embedded constructs. A novel taxonomy is introduced to classify the contexts in which intelligent and/or creative behavior can be embedded, in terms of the tightness vs. looseness of the relevant conceptual space S and available time T. These two dimensions are used to form what is identified as the space-time continuum, containing four quadrants: tight space and tight time, loose space and tight time, tight space and loose time, loose space and loose time. The intelligence and creativity constructs can be mapped onto the four quadrants and found to overlap more or less, depending on the context characteristics. Measurement methodologies adapted to the four different quadrants are discussed. The article concludes with a discussion about future research directions based on the proposed theoretical framework, in terms of theories and hypotheses on intelligence and creativity, of eminent personalities and personality traits, as well as its consequences for developmental, educational, and professional environments

Niños superdotados y Talentos: Heterogeneidad y diferencias individuales

The article tackles the topic that refers to giftedness beyond academic areas. Specifically, it focuses on musical talent. The work is differentiated into two parts. In the first part the authors expose the case of gifted students' heterogeneity. To do so, they present a previous research focused on the study of different patterns of response of gifted students to the WISC-IV. Such study illustrates the case of gifted students' diversity, showing that higher IQ students present higher inter-variability in their cognitive profiles. The second part of the article focuses on musical talent. In a first moment authors introduce the concept of musical talent and a literature review on the factors that influence that talent. From there, authors question if it could be possible to isolate the variables that differentiate the development of musical talent. To do so, Authors present a retrospective study based on interviews and questionnaires to parents and teacher of 42 non-gifted and 42 students identified as promising talent in music. The questionnaire assessed: Implication of parents, Motivation of the pupil, Work of the pupil and Contribution of the teacher. The authors are able to distinguish between developmental trends in the formation of musical talent, depending on children's age and styles on dealing with their musical assignments and work-load (experience music as a passion vs. as an obligation).El articulo trata el tema referido a la superdotación más allá de las áreas académicas. Específicamente se centra en el talento musical. El trabajo se diferencia en dos partes. En una primera parte los autores exponen la heterogeneidad de los alumnos superdotados. Para ello presentan una investigación previa en el estudio de los patrones de respuesta de alumnos superdotados a la prueba WISC-IV. Dicho estudio ilustra la diversidad entre los alumnos superdotados, mostrando que los alumnos con mayor CI presentan mayor inter-variabilidad en sus perfiles cognitivos. La segunda parte del trabajo se centra en el talento musical. Los autores revisan el concepto de talento musical y revisan las variables que influencian en desarrollo de dicho talento. Los autores se cuestionan si sería posible diferenciar las variables que diferencian el desarrollo del talento musical. Para ello, presentan un estudio retrospectivo basado en entrevistas y cuestionarios a padres y profesores de 42 alumnos no superdotados y 42 alumnos talentos en música. El cuestionario evalúa: Implicación de los padres, Motivación del alumno, Trabajo del alumno y Contribución del profesor. Los autores son capaces de distinguir diferentes tendencias evolutivas en la formación del talento musical dependiendo de la edad del niño y su estilo al tratar con sus deberes musicales (aquellos que experimentan la música como una pasión vs. aquellos que la experimentan como una obligación)

Exploring the Domain Specificity of Creativity in Children: The Relationship between a Non-Verbal Creative Production Test and Creative Problem-Solving Activities

AbstractIn this study, we explored whether creativity was domain specific or domain general. The relationships between students’ scores on three creative problem-solving activities (math, spa-tial artistic, and oral linguistic) in the DIS-COVER assessment (Discovering Intellectual Strengths and Capabilities While Observing Varied Ethnic Responses) and the TCT-DP (Test of Creative Thinking-Drawing Produc-tion), a non-verbal general measure of creativi-ty, were examined. The participants were 135 first and second graders from two schools in the Southwestern United States from linguisti-cally and culturally diverse backgrounds. Pearson correlations, canonical correlations, and multiple regression analyses were calcu-lated to describe the relationship between the TCT-DP and the three DISCOVER creative problem-solving activities. We found that crea-tivity has both domain-specific and domain-general aspects, but that the domain-specific component seemed more prominent. One im-plication of these results is that educators should consider assessing creativity in specific domains to place students in special programs for gifted students rather than relying only on domain-general measures of divergent think-ing or creativity

The Activity of Coronin A is Dependent on a Protein(s) Secreted by Dictyostelium Discoideum in the Early Starvation Response

The social amoebae Dictyostelium discoideum is used widely as a model organism for studying development. It becomes chemotactic to autocrine signals following starvation, initiating a cell aggregation program in which different multicellular behaviors can be studied to elucidate mechanisms involved in development of eukaryotic cells. Starvation induces cell aggregation that plays an essential role in multicellular morphogenesis of the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. While secreted factors released by D. discoideum in the medium are known to regulate the developmental cycle in this amoebae have been identified, the downstream molecular signaling mechanisms involved in the transition from unicellularity to multicellularity remain largely uncharacterized. Our previous work suggests that cell aggregation is driven by coronin A that is required for D. discoideum to initiate the early development by activating the cAMP signaling pathway that in turn is essential for upregulation of genes involved in aggregation and development. In contrast to wild-type cells, cells lacking coronin A resulted in D. discoideum strains that undergo abnormal morphogenesis when incubated with factors from the starvation conditioned medium. These previous results suggest that the activity of coronin A is dependent on a specific factor(s) secreted by starving cells that regulate the transition from the nutrient deprivation to development stage. However, how coronin A regulates the organization of initial development, and which of these secreted factors is responsible for the activation of coronin A is not known. To characterize, purify, and identify the specific factor(s) required for coronin A-dependent development, heat-sensitivity, proteinase K, and phospholipase D treatments were performed. Our results implicate proteins as the biochemical entity inducing morphogenesis, which are heat-labile and protease-sensitive factors. Furthermore, ultrafiltration of conditioned medium suggested that the active fraction consists of a protein or protein complex with a molecular weight above 100.000 Dalton. We have further defined the properties of the active fraction as well as initiated purification of the protein(s). We have utilized ion-exchange chromatography, and were able to separate the activity into discrete fractions. In an attempt to screen candidates in these fractions for development-inducible factors, we compared cell aggregation activities in wild-type strains DH1-10 and coronin A-deficient Dictyostelium discoideum cells after further separation of the proteins by size exclusion chromatography. Our data suggested evidence for the requirement of a coronin A-dependent factor(s) in the cell aggregation process. In addition, our work revealed that ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography are suitable methods for characterizing the factors. Together, this study may contribute to a better understanding of the secreted factor(s), and their signaling pathways, and define the basis for regulatory mechanisms involved in the early starvation response of D. discoideum

Parenting style and creative potential of children

These days, individuals must be able to think and produce creatively. Therefore, stimulating creative abilities forms an important objective for educators and professionals. Parenting style that includes daily child-rearing practices, creativity specific parent-child interactions, and perceptions about creativity relates fundamentally to the development of creative potential. These constructs shape children’s understanding of their environment enabling them to form a mindset, personal qualities, traits and skills that help determine attitudes towards creativity. This preliminary study explored the relationship between parenting style and children’s creative potential. Participating parents responded to questionnaires assessing the level of rigidity structure in daily child rearing practices, creativity specific parentchild interactions, and parental perceptions of their children’s creative self-efficacy. Their children completed the Evaluation of Creative Potential (EPoC) instrument that measures convergent and divergent thinking in graphic and verbal domains. Although, we found no statistically significant relationship between parenting style and creative potential, several parentchild interactions correlated significantly with parental perceptions. The more parents encourage novelty, the more they perceive their children to show creative behavior. Additionally, too much support for direct creativity could diminish certain creativity - related behaviors such as fantasizing. These findings support the notion that parental attitudes and interactive behaviors are significant predictors of children’s creative abilities, thus suggesting possible avenues for further research and educational practices to support novel, discovery activities

Crecimiento de embriones de granizo de tipo "Graupel”

El análisis de un lote de 45 granizos precipitados en San Rafael muestra una predominancia de embriones de tipo "Graupel”, cuyo proceso de crecimiento pudo haber ocurrido en tres etapas: 1º) formación de "riming": hielo con estructura abierta de baja densidad, 2º) embebido: penetración de agua en el hielo poroso al atravesar el embrión una zona de la nube de alto contenido de agua líquida y 3º) congelación total: transformación de esa estructura esponjosa en hielo compacto. Se aplica un modelo para determinar la velocidad de crecimiento de dichos embriones y se relaciona la estructura de los mismos con la de las primeras capas de los granizos.The analysis of 45 hailstones collected in San Rafael shows a graupel like embryo predominance the growth mechanism of which could have occurred in three steps: Io) riming process: low density graupel development, 2°) soaking: water penetration into the pores of the rime, as the embryo traverses a high water content zone and finally 3°) total icing of the spongy structure allowing the trapped water to freeze. In order to calculate the graupel growth rate a numerical model is applied. The obtained embryo structure is also related to the growth mode of the subsequent ha1l^ stone accretion.Asociación Argentina de Geofísicos y Geodesta

Intelligence and creativity in the space-time continuum for education, business, and development

In this paper, we address the relationship between the intelligence and creativity constructs, by providing equal-level definitions and a parsimonious description of context, allowing the identification of situations in which either one or the other construct prevails, as well as situations in which they overlap and collaborate. The description of context is performed by introducing the metaphor of the space-time continuum, crossing the dimensions of conceptual space S and available time span T, each one varying in continuity from extreme tightness to extreme looseness. The usefulness of the space-time continuum is not limited to the pure comparison between intelligence and creativity, but it can be extended to specific domains. We consider here design of education systems, management styles in business, and development of a creative identity and career. In each case, conceptual space S and available time T take on different and specific nuances, allowing for an in-depth analysis of situations as well as the design of novel approaches. Several paths for future research are highlighted