Creativity and Thinking Game - Respond to Random Stimuli

This game uses random pictures as stimulus and would be useful for a group of 20 participants.

Objective: To encourage faster thinking and creativity through dynamic stimulus received from 2 different sources.

Preparation: Choose pictures which have a theme, it should not be pictures of individuals. Allocate at least 5 random pictures per group.

Trainer’s narration to the audience: A picture will appear on the screen and one of your team members has to come and start a story with the picture as stimuli. He will speak to the audience with his back to the screen. After a minute I will change the picture on the screen without informing the speaker. The speaker is not allowed to look back to see the new picture. The other members of his group have to link the story to the new random picture. As soon as someone from the team volunteers to continue he can stop the present speaker and replace him. This will continue with 5 different pictures for the same group. The next group will see a different set of pictures.

Steps:

1. Divide the group into smaller groups of 4.
2. Show one picture on the screen.
3. Call one member from a group and make him stand facing the audience, and then ask him to start a story with the picture as stimuli.
4. After a minute change the picture on the screen without informing the speaker.
5. Then let the game take its course

Expected outcome of the game: The participants face enormous challenge of quick idea generation, receiving stimulus from the speaker’s story and the picture, and then linking both of them to create a new story line. This is in harmony with basic objective of creative thinking – To explore and think out of the box quickly.

The natural preservative,Bisin,could lead to poverty alleviation

1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted every year when 50% of the world population sleeps without adequate nutrition. I was searching for an answer which can evolve into a better solution for poverty alleviation and luckily got a probable solution. Scientists in the University of Minnesota has discovered a natural preservative called Bisin which can keep food fresh for years.

I would recon it as a revolutionary discovery because it not only prevents rotting of food but could also give us a hope that billions of people living in poverty could be benefited. There are several benefits which I could think of:

1. The natural preservative can reduce food borne diseases among people living in unhealthy conditions. Most of them are earn daily wages and could afford to buy food for that day. In case of excess they have to throw it away or eat it in a half rotten condition the next day. Bisin will act as the low cost refrigerator for them.
2. The reduction in food wastage will lead to lesser consumption which in turn will reduce the price of food products. Food products will become affordable for the poor; they will live a healthy life and earn more. The reduction in consumption by the affluent class will get compensated by more consumers climbing up from the bottom of the pyramid. Overall the economy gains, thanks to the natural preservative – Bisin.
3. Imagine the amount of resources like water, electricity and fuel that would have been used to produce 1.3 billion tonnes of food. Add logistics and other costs to it, the amount would be mind boggling. Everything can change overnight, the world could save so much of energy and resources which can slowly percolate to the poverty stricken people and give them a better life.

Use Combination to generate new ideas

Any two or more things can be combined to get a product with enhanced features like a mobile phone with camera and MP3 player. This is the most widely used technique for creative thinking and product development. Many products of daily use are simple examples of combination. A pencil and an eraser, a music player cum recorder, a watch with a compass are all simple examples of combination.

We can have two different approaches. Either we work on a problem statement and try out various combinations or try combining different products to stimulate our imagination to create a new product.

What if we combine a sports shoe with a mini weighing machine to create an exciting product? What could be its impact on the buyers? Weight displaying shoes would certainly be a bold thing to wear; many would want to flaunt their weight as a style statement while others might reduce a few kilos to get into the shoe. The shoe might soon become an aspiration for the youth.

Poseidon Resort in Fiji combined underwater experience with a resort. It is the world’s first underwater resort which offers exciting adventures with luxury accommodation. Combine tree with hotel. There are many such hotels built on trees in different parts of the world, one such hotel is in Okinawa, Japan.

A fifth standard student came up with an idea of combining grass, leaves, and flowers with shoes. Perishable natural shoes could be used by ladies for special occasions, maybe for a special dinner or marriage evening. Imagination does not have any boundaries.

Rearrange to generate new ideas

Some restaurants are rearranged to get the customers to pay first and then have food. Editing in movies is done by rearranging shots and footages to make the movie more entertaining. “Rearrange” can be used as an innovation tool to identify possibilities of changing set patterns and realigning it to explore various solutions. Let us take the example of Olympic rings.

Olympic rings were designed by a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1912; he is also the founder of International Olympics committee. The five multicoloured rings stand for five continents, the interlocking signifies unity between the nations. The five colours and the white background of Olympic rings have at least one colour of every nation’s flag in them.

Now, without changing the meaning and spirit of the rings, think of various ring arrangements. Some questions which can help us to change the pattern are as follows:

Why two rings at the bottom? Why there are gaps between the top three rings? Some people could think of as many as 20 different ring arrangements.

Computer keyboard used by us is a good example of problem solving by rearrangement. In 1860s the typewriter keys were in alphabetical order but it had problems with fast typing. Letters used to get tangled and the typist had to manually untangle the type bars. To solve the problem keys were rearranged in QWERTY format (it is the sequence of the keys) to facilitate fast typing. QWERTY is designed for English language after a lot of research. Layout of computer keyboard is rearranged according to the country where it is used. QWERTY layout is the most commonly used. QWERTZ layout is widely used in Germany and much of Central Europe, AZERTY layout is used in France and Belgium.

Ask any hotelier and they will tell you the importance of rearranging buffet tables to suit the occasion. Cricket teams are rearranged according to the playing conditions. Shopping malls rearrange their layout to enhance customer convenience. Can you think of anything else which you can improve by rearranging?  

Innovation through substitution

A brand of shampoo was cleverly advertised in Frankfurt, Germany. They substituted bus handles with artificial hair plait hanging from the bus rods. Commuters held onto the plait (with the product mentioned on it) as they stood inside the bus.

Have you ever experienced eating in a completely dark restaurant? A restaurant in London replaced waiters with normal vision with blind waiters. Turned the restaurant into a dark restaurant where guests are completely dependent on their blind guides as they enjoy the delicious cuisine. That’s adventurous, isn’t it?

Chewing gum was discovered while experimenting to find a substitute for rubber. Thomas Adams Sr. was experimenting on chicle, (a natural gum from Manilkara tree) with which he tried to make toys, masks and rain boots but could not succeed. Sitting in his workshop one day, tired and discouraged, he popped a piece of surplus stock into his mouth. Soon after, in 1870 he opened his factory making chewing gums - Adams New York No.1.William White introduced flavour in chewing gum in 1880. The first flavour he used was peppermint.

According to World Health Organization, 1 billion adults are overweight. Mismatch between calorie intake and exercise leads to obesity which is the root cause of various kinds of diseases. Inventors have found out a substitute for cream which can cut down calorie intake allowing people to live a healthier life.

Candles create a bit of mess with melting wax falling around it. Can we substitute wax with something which can solve this problem? Remember, we are not talking about electrical candles, poor people can’t afford them and they are the ones who use candles the most. Do a research on your own and try to find a solution.