1.11 CREATIVITY Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein If the above quotation is correct,you should expect your engineering education to start with creativity 101.Although many professors do feel that creativity is important in engineering education,creativity per se is not taught.Why is this? Some professors feel that creativity is a talent students are born with and cannot be taught. Although each of us has different creative abilities-just as we have different abilities to rum the 50 yard dash-each of us is creative.Often,all the student needs is to be in an environment in which creativity is expected and fostered. Other professors feel that because creativity is hard to grade,it should not be taught.Although it is important to evaluate students,not everything a student does must be subjected to grading. The students'education should be placed above the students'evaluation. Other professors would argue that we do not completely understand the creative process,so how could we teach it?Although it is true we do not completely understand creativity,we know enough to foster its development. Rarely is creativity directly addressed in the engineering classroom.Instead,the primary activity of engineering education is the transfer of knowledge to future generations that was painstakingly gained by past generations.(Given the vast amount of knowledge,this is a Herculean task.)Further,engineering education emphasizes the proper manipulation of knowledge to correctly solve problems.Both these activities support analysis,not synthesis.The "analysis muscles"of an engineering student tend to be well developed and toned.In contrast, their "synthesis muscles"tend to be flabby due to lack of use.Both analysis and synthesis are part of the creative process;engineers cannot be productively creative without possessing and manipulating knowledge.But it is important to realize that if you wish to tone your "synthesis muscles,"it may require activities outside the engineering classroom. Table 1.3 lists some creative professions,of which engineering is one.Although the goals of authors,artists,and composers are many,most have the desire to communicate.However,the constraints placed upon their communication are not severe.The author e.e.cummings is well known for not following grammatical conventions.We have all been to art galleries in which a blob passes for art.The musician John Cage composed a musical piece entitled 4'33"in which the audience listens to random ambient noise (e.g.,the air handling system,coughs,etc.)for 4 minutes and 33 seconds. The goals of engineers differ from those of the other creative professions (Table 1.3).To achieve these goals,we are constrained by physical laws and economics.Unlike other creative professions,we are not free to ignore our constraints.What success would an aerospace engineer achieve by ignoring gravity?Because we must work within constraints to achieve our goals,engineers must exhibit tremendous creativity. Of those engineering goals listed in Table 1.3,one of the most important is simplicity. Generally,a simple design tends to satisfy the other goals as well.The engineers'desire to achieve simplicity is known as the KISS principle:"Keep It Simple,Stupid." Although the creative process is not completely understood,we present here our own ideas about the origins of creativity.People can crudely be classified into organized thinkers,1.11 CREATIVITY Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein If the above quotation is correct, you should expect your engineering education to start with creativity 101. Although many professors do feel that creativity is important in engineering education, creativity per se is not taught. Why is this? ·Some professors feel that creativity is a talent students are born with and cannot be taught. Although each of us has different creative abilities—just as we have different abilities to rum the 50 yard dash—each of us is creative. Often, all the student needs is to be in an environment in which creativity is expected and fostered. ·Other professors feel that because creativity is hard to grade, it should not be taught. Although it is important to evaluate students, not everything a student does must be subjected to grading. The students’ education should be placed above the students’ evaluation. ·Other professors would argue that we do not completely understand the creative process, so how could we teach it? Although it is true we do not completely understand creativity, we know enough to foster its development. Rarely is creativity directly addressed in the engineering classroom. Instead, the primary activity of engineering education is the transfer of knowledge to future generations that was painstakingly gained by past generations. (Given the vast amount of knowledge, this is a Herculean task.) Further, engineering education emphasizes the proper manipulation of knowledge to correctly solve problems. Both these activities support analysis, not synthesis. The “analysis muscles” of an engineering student tend to be well developed and toned. In contrast, their “synthesis muscles” tend to be flabby due to lack of use. Both analysis and synthesis are part of the creative process; engineers cannot be productively creative without possessing and manipulating knowledge. But it is important to realize that if you wish to tone your “synthesis muscles,” it may require activities outside the engineering classroom. Table 1.3 lists some creative professions, of which engineering is one. Although the goals of authors, artists, and composers are many, most have the desire to communicate. However, the constraints placed upon their communication are not severe. The author e.e. cummings is well known for not following grammatical conventions. We have all been to art galleries in which a blob passes for art. The musician John Cage composed a musical piece entitled 4’33’’ in which the audience listens to random ambient noise (e.g., the air handling system, coughs, etc.) for 4 minutes and 33 seconds. The goals of engineers differ from those of the other creative professions (Table 1.3). To achieve these goals, we are constrained by physical laws and economics. Unlike other creative professions, we are not free to ignore our constraints. What success would an aerospace engineer achieve by ignoring gravity? Because we must work within constraints to achieve our goals, engineers must exhibit tremendous creativity. Of those engineering goals listed in Table 1.3, one of the most important is simplicity. Generally, a simple design tends to satisfy the other goals as well. The engineers’ desire to achieve simplicity is known as the KISS principle:”Keep It Simple, Stupid.” Although the creative process is not completely understood, we present here our own ideas about the origins of creativity. People can crudely be classified into organized thinkers