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Technology and Creativity by Subrata Dasgupta
Explores the role of creative thinking in technological innovation
Hardcover
First published March 28, 1996
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December 5, 2016
The author is concerned to develop a general cognitive theory of technological creativity. Sounds like a lofty goal, but he does a pretty good job. Drawing upon history of technology, cognitive science, the various models of creative invention, etc. he lays out the case for what he terms the "operational-principles hypothesis." I found this to be a very interesting book, though one difficult to summarize in short space. Central to his theory is the observation that technology and technological creativity are much more ancient than science. Hence, good-bye to the very popular idea that engineering and technological development consist merely in the application of scientific knowledge. Dasgupta indeed makes the case that technological creativity is a knowledge-rich activity, but that knowledge is not merely scientific but also historical, empirical, and heuristic.
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\nLet me mention two notable observations that Dasgupta makes that struck a chord with me. 1st is his isolation of the role of abduction in the process of technical problem solving. Abduction differs from deduction in that it infers a premise from a consequence, Hence it is not logically rigorous--in fact it is the formal equivalence of the logical fallacy of post hoc ergo propter hoc, since there are many possible explanations for a consequence besides the one we might draw. Yet it is the use of this as a heuristic to determine likely explanations that makes it, and has made it, so useful in technological development. I find this to be in almost constant use in my own work. 2nd is his assertion that phylogeny conditions ontogeny. He borrows these terms from biology--if ontogeny is roughly the life of an organism, phylogeny is the life of a species. His point is that the development of any artifact is conditioned on many artifactual forms, which filter through the min
d of the technologist through "operational principles." In elaborating his theory he has drawn heavily on theories of knowledge articulated by the philosopher of science, Michael Polanyi. There is much more in this book and, if you are interested in the history of technology, or problem solving as a rational process, you might really enjoy this book as I did.
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\nLet me mention two notable observations that Dasgupta makes that struck a chord with me. 1st is his isolation of the role of abduction in the process of technical problem solving. Abduction differs from deduction in that it infers a premise from a consequence, Hence it is not logically rigorous--in fact it is the formal equivalence of the logical fallacy of post hoc ergo propter hoc, since there are many possible explanations for a consequence besides the one we might draw. Yet it is the use of this as a heuristic to determine likely explanations that makes it, and has made it, so useful in technological development. I find this to be in almost constant use in my own work. 2nd is his assertion that phylogeny conditions ontogeny. He borrows these terms from biology--if ontogeny is roughly the life of an organism, phylogeny is the life of a species. His point is that the development of any artifact is conditioned on many artifactual forms, which filter through the min
d of the technologist through "operational principles." In elaborating his theory he has drawn heavily on theories of knowledge articulated by the philosopher of science, Michael Polanyi. There is much more in this book and, if you are interested in the history of technology, or problem solving as a rational process, you might really enjoy this book as I did.
Displaying 1 of 1 review