Systematizing Creativity
Category: Creativity
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Systematizing Creativity
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
- Maya Angelou
- Intentionally enter diffuse mode over ideas
- Idea Lists
- Transfer / Abstract over similar solutions
- Multinomial Trees (Ed Boyden)
- Graphs of relationship between ideas (Ex., Optimizer / Model / Loss Function)
- Optimizing supervised learning with reinforcement learning (architecture search)
- Optimizing reinforcement learning with supervised learning (Policy Network / Value Network)
- Combining, connecting ideas / Idea Sex
- Leading questions
- Resource constraints (time, attention, money, assumptions, etc.)
- Resource excess (time, attention, money, etc.)
- Eliminating options
- Imagine the future (problem is solved, for ex.). What happened? Work backwards.
- Brainstorm [thought dumping]
- Generalization - if you've solved a problem, extend the solution to its farthest reaches
- Listing approaches to a body of problems (say ML toolbox, or models in how to think)
- Randomize. Generate random ideas by specifying some parameters, and make them work / use them as prompts.
- List and reject assumptions
- Multiple levels of abstraction
- Apply different modes of processing
- Current Knowledge frames ideas. Break out of frame with:
- Looking at problem from perspective of another person, another category of thinker
- Defend a difficult position, adversarial conversation
- Think ground up, from first principles
- Deconstruction + Optimization
- Metaphor Generation
Source: Original Google Doc