Research Catalog

Title

Technology and creativity / Subrata Dasgupta.

Author

Dasgupta, Subrata.

Publication

New York : Oxford University Press, 1996.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xvii, 233 pages : illustrations; 25 cm

Summary

"Few things require a finer blend of practical knowledge and creative imagination than the invention of new technologies. Great innovators like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Henry Ford possessed not only extensive mechanical knowledge, but also a profound ability to anticipate and fulfill the technological needs and desires of society. What thought processes underlie this unique union of mechanical process and social insight? Are inventors inspired by a divine muse as artists through the ages have claimed to be or is there a more down-to-earth explanation? In Technology and Creativity, Subrata Dasgupta brilliantly argues that such processes can be understood scientifically, and he offers a groundbreaking exploration of how cognitive science can shed light on the technological mind." "Packed with intriguing case histories and many illuminating examples, the book provides in-depth analyses of the cognitive origins of technological creativity - the conception, invention, and design of original, useful artifacts - and of the people who have possessed this rare talent. Leading us on a fascinating tour through the history of modern technology - from the primitive atmospheric steam engine of 1712 through breakthroughs in mechanical, civil, aeronautical, and electrical engineering - the author gives voice to the genius of the many inventors, some famous, others obscure, who have forever altered history through their achievements."--Jacket.

Subject

• Creative ability in technology
• Creative thinking
• 50.00 technical sciences: general
• Creative ability in technology
• Creative thinking
• Erfindung
• Geschichte
• Kreativität
• Technologie
• Creativiteit
• Créativité
• Créativité en technologie

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

1. Prolegomenon -- 2. Artifacts: material and abstract -- 3. The birth of technological problems -- 4. The technologist as a cognitive agent -- 5. The connection between invention and design -- 6. Technology and hypotheses -- 7. The process of ideation -- 8. Creativity and the evolution of artifactual forms -- 9. The nature of technological knowledge -- 10. A portrait of the technologist as a creative being.

ISBN

• 0195096886
• 9780195096880

LCCN

95020086

OCLC

• ocm32589235
• 32589235
• SCSB-2078218

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library