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This book presents the history of modern human creativity/innovation through examples of solutions to basic human needs that have been developed over time. The title - Homo problematis solvendis - is a play on the scientific classifications of humans (e.g. Homo habilu, Homo erectus, Homo sapiens), and is intended to suggest that a defining characteristic of modern humans is out fundamental ability to solve problems (i.e. problem-solving human - Homo problematis solvendis). The book not only offers new perspectives on the history of technology, but also helps readers connect the popular interest in creativity and innovation (in schools, in businesses) with their psychological underpinnings. It discusses why creativity and innovation are vital to societies, and how these key abilities have made it possible for societies to develop into what they are today.

An integrative introduction to the theories and themes in research on creativity, this book is both a reference work and text for courses in this burgeoning area of research. The book begins with a discussion of the theories of creativity (Person, Product, Process, Place), the general question of whether creativity is influenced by nature or nurture, what research has indicated of the personality and style of creative individuals from a personality analysis standpoint, how social context affects creativity, and then coverage of issues like gender differences, whether creativity can be enhanced, if creativity is related to poor mental or physical health, etc. The book contains boxes covering special interest items including one page biographies of famous creative individuals and activities for a group or individual to test and/or encourage creativity, as well as references to internet sites relating to creativity.

An integrative introduction to the theories and themes in research on creativity, the second edition of Creativity is both a reference work and text for courses in this burgeoning area of research. The book begins with a discussion of the theories of creativity (Person, Product, Process, Place), the general question of whether creativity is influenced by nature or nurture, what research has indicated of the personality and style of creative individuals from a personality analysis standpoint, and how social context affects creativity. This wide-ranging work then proceeds to coverage of issues such as gender differences, whether creativity can be enhanced, if creativity is related to poor mental or physical health, and much more. The book contains boxes covering special interest items, including one-page biographies of famous creative individuals, and activities for a group or individual to test or encourage creativity, as well as references to Internet sites relating to creativity. Includes all major theories and perspectives on creativityConsolidates recent research into a single sourceIncludes key terms defined and text boxes with interesting related materialSingle authored for clarity and consistency of presentation

\"How can creative individuals and societies adapt to complex 21st-century conditions? Will civilizations thrive or collapse in the decades to come if they are not creative enough, or if they are too creative? Interest in these questions is growing; however, until now there has been inadequate understanding of the socioeconomic and cultural trends and issues that influence creativity. This book provides that understanding while yielding insights from many of the world's leading creativity researchers and educational experts. The book begins with a big-picture, interdisciplinary overview of the socioeconomic, cultural, and technological pressures emerging from 21st-century globalization and describes some ways in which those pressures simultaneously suppress, distort, and invigorate creativity in general, and creative education in particular. After that, prominent scholars of creativity and education use their impressive knowledge bases to clarify how we can adjust our thoughts and actions in order to give ourselves the best possible chances for success in this complex world.\"--Back cover.

Creativity has become part of the language of regeneration experts, urban planners and government policy makers attempting to revive the economic and cultural life of cities in the 21 st century. Concepts such as the creative class, the creative industries and bohemian cultural clusters have come to dominate thinking about how creativity can contribute to urban renewal. Spaces of Vernacular Creativity offers a critical perspective on the instrumental use of arts and creative practices for the purposes of urban regeneration or civic boosterism. Several important contributions are brought into one volume to examine the geography of locally embedded forms of arts and creative practice. There has been an explosion of interest in both academic and policy circles in the notion of creativity, and its role in economic development and urban regeneration. This book argues for a rethinking of what constitutes creativity, foregrounding non-economic values and practices, and the often marginal and everyday spaces in which creativity takes shape. Drawing on a range of geographic contexts including the U.S., Europe, Canada and Australia, the book explores a diverse array of creative practices ranging from art, music, and design to community gardening and anticapitalist resistance. The book examines working class, ethnic and non-elite forms of creativity, and a variety of creative spaces, including rural areas, suburbs and abandoned areas of the city. The authors argue for a broader and more inclusive conception of what constitutes creative practice, advocating for an approach that foregrounds economies of generosity, conviviality and activism. The book also explores the complexities and nuances that connect the local and the global and finally, the book provides a space for valuing alternative, marginal and displaced knowledges. Spaces of Vernacular Creativity provides an important contribution to the debates on the creative class and on the role of value of creative knowledge and skills. The book aims to contribute to contemporary academic debates regarding the development of post-industrial economies and the cognitive cultural economy. It will appeal to a wide range of disciplines including, geography, applied art, planning, cultural studies, sociology and urban studies, plus specialised programmes on creativity and cultural industries at Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels. Tim Edensor teaches Cultural Geography at MMU. He is author of Tourists at the Taj (1998), National Identity, Popular Culture and Everyday Life (2002) and Industrial Ruins: Space, Aesthetics and Materiality (2005). He is currently researching landscapes of illumination, geographies of rhythm and urban materiality. Deborah Leslie is an Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Toronto. She is interested in the role of cultural industries in urban economic development, and has done research on a range of industries including design, fashion, art, furniture, advertising and more recently the circus. She has related research interests in the creative city initiatives and urban governance, and in the geography of commodity chains. She is author of a number of publications relating to these topics. Steve Millington is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University. His research interests include landscapes of illumination, vernacular creativity and geographies of play. He is co-author of Cosmopolitan Urbanism (2006) and has recently published journal articles in Global Networks and Sociology . Norma M. Rantisi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, Planning & Environment at Concordia University (Canada). She is author and co-author of numerous articles on the themes of fashion design, the cultural economy and policies governing design in urban settings. She has co-edited two special journal issues: one for Environment and Planning A on the creative economy and one for The Journal of Economic Geography on relational economic geography. 1. Introduction: Rethinking Creativity: Critiquing the Creative Class Thesis (Tim Edensor, Deborah Leslie, Steve Millington and Norma M. Rantisi) Part 1: Governing and Practising Creativity 2. Creative Spaces and the Art of Urban Living (Graeme Evans) 3. Creativity by Design? The Role of Informal Spaces in Creative Production (Rantisi and Leslie) 4. Art goes AWOL (Malcolm Miles) Part 2: Decentering Creativity 5. Creative Suburbs: Cultural ‘Popcorn’ Pioneering in Multi-purpose Spaces (Alison Bain) 6. Beyond Bohemia: Geographies of Everyday Creativity for Musicians in Toronto (Brian J. Hracs) 7. Mapping Vernacular Creativity: the Extent and Diversity of Rural Festivals in Australia (Chris Gibson, Chris Brennan-Horley and Jim Walmsley) 8. Imagining the Spatialities of Music Production: The Co-constitution of Creative Clusters and Networks (Bas Van Heur) 9. Remediating Vernacular Creativity: Photography and Cultural Citizenship in the Flickr Photosharing Network (Jean Burgess) Part 3: Everyday Spaces of Creativity 10. Creativity, Space and Performance: Community Gardening (David Crouch) 11. Growing Places: Community Gardening, Ordinary Creativities and Place-based Regeneration in a Northern English City (Paul Milbourne) 12. Creative Destruction and Critical Creativity: Recent Episodes in the Social Life of Gnomes (Tracey J. Potts) 13. Christmas Lights Displays and the Creative Production of Spaces of Generosity (Edensor and Millington) Part 4: Alternative Creativities 14. Challenge, Change, and Space in Vernacular Cultural Practice (Ann Markusen) 15. The Politics of Creative Performance in Public Space: Towards a Critical Geography of Toronto Case Studies (Heather E. McLean) 16. Creativity Unbound: Cultivating the Generative Power of Non-economic Neighbourhood Spaces (Ava Bromberg)

Making creates knowledge, builds environments and transforms lives. Anthropology, archaeology, art and architecture are all ways of making, and all are dedicated to exploring the conditions and potentials of human life. In this exciting book, Tim Ingold ties the four disciplines together in a way that has never been attempted before. In a radical departure from conventional studies that treat art and architecture as compendia of objects for analysis, Ingold proposes an anthropology and archaeology not of but with art and architecture. He advocates a way of thinking through making in which sentient practitioners and active materials continually answer to, or 'correspond', with one another in the generation of form. Making offers a series of profound reflections on what it means to create things, on materials and form, the meaning of design, landscape perception, animate life, personal knowledge and the work of the hand. It draws on examples and experiments ranging from prehistoric stone tool-making to the building of medieval cathedrals, from round mounds to monuments, from flying kites to winding string, from drawing to writing. The book will appeal to students and practitioners alike, with interests in social and cultural anthropology, archaeology, architecture, art and design, visual studies and material culture.

With few exceptions, scholarship on creativity has focused on its positive aspects while largely ignoring its dark side. This includes not only creativity deliberately aimed at hurting others, such as crime or terrorism, or at gaining unfair advantages, but also the accidental negative side effects of well-intentioned acts. This book brings together essays written by experts from various fields (psychology, criminal justice, sociology, engineering, education, history, and design) and with different interests (personality development, mental health, deviant behavior, law enforcement, and counter-terrorism) to illustrate the nature of negative creativity, examine its variants, call attention to its dangers, and draw conclusions about how to prevent it or protect society from its effects.