The Piman's Creativity Course
I must start somewhere, so here goes! This page may become a hub for my contributions. Comments are welcome on my talk page. Ray Calvin Baker 02:19, 26 November 2011 (UTC)
You will probably want to skip down to the course outline (below).
I'm trying to CREATE this course, so I'm leaving notes (probably boring)to myself, My intent is to create materials to fascinate primary-school students (who can use CREATIVITY the best!), but I need my notes to plan and organize the ideas I believe should be in this course.
Ideas from TEACHERS (and students) will be welcomed! Ray Calvin Baker 21:38, 27 November 2011 (UTC)
TWO OF THE PI-MAN'S NOTES TO HIMSELF (to help him track and
organize his material):
This is the "RaysNotes.txt" file
created FRI 2011 NOV 11 11:06 AM,
revised MON 2011 NOV 14 11:04 PM.
The version on my flash drive is intended for the Wikiversity.
The version on my laptop's C: drive, in the "QB64Folder"
folder, also documents my progress in using the Qb64 compiler
and source code I downloaded.
UNIMPORTANT but POSSIBLY HELPFUL paragraph:
I am making up this course as I go along, so there will be
lots of notes that I write to myself left embedded within it.
I hope that these will not be too distracting to you, but that
they will provide hints for the process of writing Wikiversity
materials, when you want to create a course on one of your
favorite topics. I expect you to want to do this!
P. S. Have you taken all of the Wikiversity guided tours?
Have you started any of the other Wikiversity tutorials?
I don't mean to rush you -- you are FREE to do whatever YOU
want, at your own pace.
I found the Wikipedia while using a computer terminal at the
Easton Toyota dealership, while waiting for repairs to be made
on my car. I found the Wikipedia to be very interesting,
perhaps even addictive, but its goal is to record and present
verifiable encyclopedia articles, not original research.
TECHNICAL NOTES (Skip these unless you are trying to do your
first assignment):
You will need to become familiar with at least
three web sites to master this course material. These are:
(1) the "download the QB64 Compiler" page,
(2) the pages of the QB64 documentation wiki, and
(3) my pages of instructional materials. You have already found
item (3), or you wouldn't be reading this! The first two items
were furnished by other people (THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!),
so they are not under my complete control. I will be learrning
to use those items myself, often, only a few hours before you do.
YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT: DOWNLOAD the QB64 COMPILER
THE NARRATIVE CONTINUES....
Then I discovered the Wikiversity, which is just begging for
original creative educational materials. While taking several
of the guided tours, I was invited to start an account in the
Wikiversity. So I did. And I played a bit in the sandbox. You
can, too
Now I am trying to organize my thoughts, materials, and
activities into (what I hope is an important and desperately
needed) course called "Creativity". [cite Newsweek article]
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
<H1> The Pi-man's "CREATIVITY" Course </H1>
This course is being developed especially for primary school
students. The sooner you try to be creative, the better!
I hope it will also contain many items of interest to
junior and senior high school students. Please do not be
offended that I try to write the simplest explanations
that are possible.
I invite teachers to read my works also. They can best
help me to help students by posting suggestions and
requests on my wikiversity user talk page.
"Don't let schooling interfere with your education!"
-- Mark Twain
EMPOWERMENT
A key theme of this course is EMPOWERMENT -- YOU too can
BE CREATIVE! I enjoyed Tom Peters' chapter on
empwerment, in his book, _Re-Imagine_ (This is the main
source that gave me the "kick in the pants" to actually
start trying to develop educational materials.)
THE COURSE OUTLINE
I. Why even attempt CREATIVITY?
A. The "up side" of Creativity
1. THE DIRE NECESSITY -- Unless the human race can
solve all of the problems that beset us, some
unsolved problem may kill us all. IT'S A
MATTER OF SURVIVAL..
2. Often, the creator of a solution to a problem
can gain some economic advantage in sharing his
(This is just a standard grammatical "his" --
see "line 5." below.) solution with others.
(But even Thomas Edison had some troubles
achieving this point.)
3. You may become able to do (easily) things that
most other people think (wrongly) are impossible.
"We Baker boys think of things to think of,
which most people never think of thinking of."
-- a quote from one of my younger brothers
4. ANYBODY can be creative! Any time. Any place.
5. Some creative GIRLS:
a. Ada Lovelace, the first software engineer
b. Grace Murray Hopper, the admiral who
refused to retire (and helped invent
and promote the COBOL software tool).
c. Who invented the circular saw blade?
d. Some mathematicians who helped Einstein:
i. Lise Meitner
ii. Emmy Noether
e. Mary Shelley, author of the famous
early science-fiction story,
_Frankenstein_.
f. Tomoko Fuse, author of _Multidimensional_
_Transformations:+Unit_Origami.
6. If you work at creativity, you may discover that
you can (literally) solve technical problems
in your sleep.
B. The "down side" of Creativity
1. Creativity may upset "the way we've always
done things". Others may feel threatened by it.
2. The curiosity which drives a scientist is often
misinterpreted (especially in social settings)
as rudeness or worse.
3. Creativity requires BOTH divergent thinking and
convergent thinking
4. Creativity requires ceaseless curiosity, thinking,
and learning. It's a lot of work and effort!
5. There is no "magic recipe" for creativity.
What you must do is spend a lifetime to develop
a set of robust heuristics which works for you.
6. The career you are planning for now may be
OBSOLETE before you finish college. Consider
the plight of the Swiss watch makers when
$10 Timex quartz crystal watches became
available!
7. Creativity does not always occur when you want it to (unless you practice it a lot and WORK hard at being creative.
II. An addition to (not a replacement for) standard educational
practice
My thinking is that the "standard educational practice" is too
important to mess up. I needed it to be able to enter college.
But I think the most important reason I was able to be a
successful programmer for thirty years, is that I read A LOT
and taught myself so much additional material. I also learned
to work independently. And I learned that lots of important
projects simply do not fit into the normal school routines.
(They require months, instead of minutes.)
So, I intend to produce the best computer-guided course
materials I can, as "stand by themselves" programs when possible
-- supplemental materials which do not depend very much on the
attention of a class-room teacher. Besides, I lack the social
skills and common sense to function in a traditional class-
room setting. But, being somewhat autistic, I have an amazing
ability to concentrate in an area of special interest to me --
one such area (obviously) is Computer Science; another is
Mathematics.
(If a TEACHER requests something useful in her classroom, that's
another matter -- we'll see what I can do. Please post your
request on my Wikiversity user talk page.)
A. Example: "Napier's Bones"; used in a fourth-grade class
as an aid in learning multiplication and long division.
(A tool with amazing historical interest.)
I developed a Power Point presentation on this topic,
before I dropped out of graduate school (but this was
only "look and learn). A fourth grade class
sucessfully used a paper model of the "bones", with
encouraging results ("hand on" experience is better).
I am hopeful that an interactive computer program
is an even better way to present this topic, and I'm
trying to develop ways to make this possible and easy.
B. Raymond Kurzweil's "List of Suggested Readings" is
25 pages of book and magazine article citations --
not to mention web sites. This should be a good start
for my next course -- "Tomorrow 101".
C. _The_Last_B._S._History_Book_in_History_ is
my journal (in progress) of my efforts to make the
Wikiversity (or, at least, "Simple Simon" within it)
artificially intelligent. (I know. At the present time,
"artificial intelligence" is in competition only with
"genuine stupidity". :-( )
D. May I use a computer?
No! You MUST use a computer!
How else do you expect to create your own new apps?
III. Finding (or making) CONNECTIONS
(This ties in to material on the primary education portal.)
Many of the topics I am preparing for this course are
CONNECTED in many ways. The linear outline format does not
do justice to the many connections. But, web pages can be
built with many non-linear connections. Links to connected
topics can be as near as a mouse click away!
A. Learning to "see" connections
1. My childhood introduction to "Descriptive
Geometry"
a. My father, an analog computer in the
Taylorcraft factor (draftsman), had to
draw pictures of airplanes which hadn't
been built yet, so other people could
make blueprints and build the airplanes.
b. Would the book, _Descriptive_Geometry_,
by French and Vierk, have sold more
copies had it had the title instead,
_Source_Material_for_IQ_Tests_?
c. Differential Calculus in the hands
of a three-year-old -- the half-silvered
mirror
2. Reading through the encyclopedias
(One of my favorites was volume "P": for
"Planets", "Plants", "Polyhedra", "Printing
Presses", and many other topics.)
3. Origami
A. it's "hands-on" four-dimensional
geometry from a "simple" piece of paper.
B. Origami methods are actually more
sophisticated than traditional "straight-
edge and compass" geometry. Search the
web for ways to "duplicate the cube"
and "trisect any angle" -- easy with
origami; not possible with straight-
edge and compass
4. What do origami, autobiographical material by
R. Buckminster Fuller, and essays on
Mathematical Recreations have in common?
(Answer: the same pictures of regular and
semi-regular Polyhedra)
B. Learning to "go beyond" the usual
1. "Impossible" puzzles
a. Stewart coffin's "Convolution" puzzle
b. The puzzle I encountered in Wexham, NC
c. Four connected line segments span
nine dots
2. "How to Count past a Googolplex"
3. _How_to_Find_Your_Very_Own_Personal_Solution_
_to_Rubik's_Cube_
One of the most important lessons a creative
student can learn is this: "Not every problem
can be solved in less than two minutes."
Arithmetic in primary school may appear to work
that way, but I hope my BOOK will help students
recognize the depth sometimes required for true,
creative problem solving.
IV. "Hands on" activities
A. Computer Science
1. QB64 BASIC compiler can be downloaded
from Wikipedia (This is your first assignment
for this course.)
2. Full documentation is available at the QB64
wiki
3. There seems to be an active "user community"
of amateur (hopefully, "white hat") coders
providing a plethora of sample programs.
B. Reverse Engineering
1. Re-using Wikiversity (and Wikipedia) materials --
if somebody else posted something neat in their
web pages, you can learn to read the source code
and use the same methods on your pages.
2. Making objects (puzzles) from published pictures
Studying pictures carefully can teach you a lot!
3. Explore the many "how to do it" pages on the web.
4. The reconstruction of Colonial Williamsburg is
elegant example of how an entire village can be
built from the most primitive beginnings.
5. The Japanese used reverse engineering to (almost)
win World War II. How do you think they learned
to build airplanes and battleships?
C. An adaptation of the public material on
MIT's course, "How to Make Almost Anything",
suitable for primary school students
1. Are hacksaw blades, files, drill bits, and
2 by 4's sufficient (and safe enough to use)?
a. Also necessary are: sand paper
(assorted grits), sanding blocks,
pencils, erasers, combination square,
protractor, drawing compass -- and
LOTS of time and patience.
b. Tools of doubtful safety: hobby craft
knife, block plane (requires lots of
muscular strength -- it's difficult for
young children to use.), sharp chisels
2. "Breadboards" and kits from Radio Shack
These are expensive, but many present ways to
connect circuit components which are simple
and easy enough for children to use, with
proper instructions and guidance.
3. Is the $40 machine shop a workable idea?
Electric Discharge Machining is versatile --
it can cut almost any conductive material
(even hardened steel) into intricate shapes.
Known hazards: possible exposure to 110 volt
electricity; some dielectric fluids (e. g.,
kerosine) are toxic and/or flammable.
4. Is a $20 (child powered) scroll saw possible?
A scroll saw can cut wood into almost any
shape, and is probably the one power tool
safest for responsible children to use.
Building enough scroll saws for a class of
students would probably require the $40
machine shop to make metal parts for hinges
and clamps.
D. Craft Activities
1. Paper Engineering
2. Making puzzles and furniture
V. Creative Problem Solving
A. My puzzle collection
1. Physical ("real reality") models
2. On-line ("virtual reality") models
B. On-line resources
1. The works of Stewart Coffin
(One of the world's foremost designers of
non-orthogonal puzzles)
2. References to Martin Gardner and his works
(deceased author of "Mathematical Games" column
in _Scientific_American_ magazine for 25 years)
3. Pictures of the puzzle collections of very
many other puzle collectors
4. Down-loadable computer "free-ware"
(CAUTION! We will need to be careful to
avoid "mal-ware"!)
VI. The immediate goal of the course is to encourage creativity in
as many students as my educational material can reach. Then, I
would like to offer some challenges and attempt to apply some
principles of "Crowd Accelerated Innovation" in hopes of
beginning an intellectual "chain reaction" in an on-line
community.
The ultimate goal of the course is to see that "Simple Simon",
the smiley-faced tour guide extraordinaire for the Wikiversity,
gets created in computer-compatible form, and gets promoted
to the position of "acting Director for the Wikiversity",
designing custom courses and leading special tours for
wikiversity users and visitors. (It's [about] bot time! --
_The_Singularity_Is_Near_ -- Raymond Kurzweil)
I believe that the Wikiversity could become the Singularity!
:-D
The end.