Creative Thinking and Problem Solving Skills L104

Example of a either/ or Fallacy

"You are either with me or against me", "Take it or leave it" or "If congress cuts military funding the Army won't be able to conduct any readiness training"

Examples of Broad Generalizations

"all the waiters are discourteous and disrespectful in that restaurant. They don't pay attention or come around when you need them. I'll never go back to that place again>"

Example of Red Herring

"grading this exam on a curve would be the most fair thing to do. After all, classes go more smoothly when the students and the professor are getting along well."

Main Teaching Points

1. Creative thinking multiplies available options for solving problems. 2. There are several methods available to aid in producing creative results. 3. Identifying and avoiding log fallacies and blocks to creativity will aid in creative thinking

Seven Step Model

1. Gather Information and Knowledge 2. Identify the Problem 3. Develop Criteria (screening and evaluation) 4. Generate Possible Solutions (Brainstorm & Generate) 5. Analyze Possible Solutions (Benchmark) 6. Compare Possible Solutions (determine the best solution) 7. Make and Implement the Decision (decide and act)

2 Fallacies Categories

1. Oversimplification 2. distortion

Brainstorming and Generating Solutions

Creativity

Creative Methods for Producing Results

Evolution, synthesis, revolution, reapplication and changing direction

Critical and Creative Thinking

Issue: issue or problem and background Discussion: facts, assumptions and criteria (screening and evaluations) Recommendation: recommended solution; advantages; disadvantages

Red Herring

Partway through an argument, the arguer goes off on a tangent, raising a side issue that distracts the audience from what's really at stake. Often, the arguer never returns to the original issue.

Creative Thinking Principles

Positive Attitudes : curiosity, challenge, constructive discontent; belief problems can be solved Mental Blocks: prejudice, functional fixation, learned helplessness, psychological blocks Creativity: Is it needed? Is it Important? Why? How can you enhance others? What Inhibits it?

Changing Direction

Shifting the attention from one angle of a problem to another. Also, known as creative insight

Negative Attitudes and Block Creativity

We already tried that (then tell me a different way to do it) We don't do it that way here (well how can we do it) That's a dumb idea (who has a better one?) If it ain't broke, don't fix it (then how can we make it better? what are some others?)

Example of Ad Hominem Attack

Why should we believe what Senator Hartwell says about our school? He is being investigated for taking bribes. A person in that kind of trouble cannot be trustworthy about anything".

What is an Argument?

a bitter, heated dispute or a claim supported by other claims

Revolution

a completely different idea, a marked change from the previous ones

Fallacies

a fallacy is a defect in logic: the fallacy is either in the facts, the assumptions or the logic leading to the conclusion

An Argument consists of:

a group of facts and assumptions which support a conclusion.

Inadequate Cause and Effect

assuming that because B comes after A, A caused B

Evolution

incremental improvement. New ideals stem from other ideals, new solutions from previous ones

Reapplication

looking at something old in a new way

Hasty Generalization

making assumptions about the whole group or range of cases based on a sample that is inadequate (usually because it is atypical or just too small).

Example of an Inadequate Cause and Effect

the last time we had a major strike of teachers, a student died in a fight. That just shows you the irresponsibility of teachers striking

Example of a Hasty Generalization

the newspaper reported that a child was attacked by a Rottweiler dog. I saw a TV show about how vicious Rottweilers are. Therefore, as a breed, Rottweilers are vicious attack dogs and something must be done

Broad Generalizations

these are sweeping statements that attempts to cover all possible cases of a situation

Ad Hominem (personal) Attack

this fallacy ignores the point being made and the substance of the argument. Instead, it is an attack on the character of the person making the argument

Either/ Or Fallacy

this is a claim that only two options or possibilities exist. Many recognize this situation as a dilemma (which infers there are only two possible choices)

Synthesis

two or more existing ideas are combined into a third, new idea