Inventive Minds: Creativity in Technology

Jacket Description/Back: Is invention really "99 percent perspiration" and "one percent inspiration" as Thomas Edison assured us? Or does invention involve little recognized, often hidden principles that are accessible to most of us? Inventive Minds assembles a group of authors well qualified to address these questions: contemporary inventors of important new technologies, historians of science and industry, and cognitive psychologists interested in the process of creativity. In telling their stories, the inventors describe their groundbreaking work on ultrasound, synthetic fibers, petroleum cracking catalysts, electron microscopes, wonder drugs, artificial diamonds, and underground observatories. The historians help us look into the minds of innovators like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Michael Faraday, and the Wright brothers, drawing on original notebooks and other sources to show how they made their key discoveries. The historians also reveal the dramatic transition from craft shop to the modern industrial laboratory. Finally, psychologists and educators explore the mental processes that figure in creative thinking and its cultivation in children and adults. Contributing to the authors' insight is their special focus on the "front end" of invention - where ideas come from and how they are transformed into physical prototypes. They answer three questions: How does invention happen? How does invention contrast with other commonly creative pursuits such as scientific inquiry, musical composition, or painting? And how might invention best happen - that is, what kinds of settings, conditions, and strategies appear to foster inventive activity? The book yields a wealth of insight for all those fascinatedby the psychology of creativity, the history of invention, and the roots of human ingenuity. Review Quotes: "Successful contemporary inventors, historians of science and industry, and cognitive psychologists explore the nature of creativity as it surfaces in technological innovation." --SciTech Book News"Weber and Perkins . . . assembled an impressive panel of historians, inventors, and psychologists who examine, in some detail, the work leading up to the development of various new technologies. . . . this book is well worth reading because it provides some important clues about the cognitiveprocess used to solve technical problems." --Contemporary Psychology"This is an excellent collection that brings together both work on innovation by people who study it and the reflections of those who have done it. It provoked several class discussions that went well beyond the material and into issues none of us had thought about."--Thomas Hewett, DrekelUniversityReview Quotes: "Successful contemporary inventors, historians of science and industry, and cognitive psychologists explore the nature of creativity as it surfaces in technological innovation." --SciTech Book News "Weber and Perkins . . . assembled an impressive panel of historians, inventors, and psychologists who examine, in some detail, the work leading up to the development of various new technologies. . . . this book is well worth reading because it provides some important clues about the cognitive process used to solve technical problems." --Contemporary Psychology "This is an excellent collection that brings together both work on innovation by people who study it and the reflections of those who have done it. It provoked several class discussions that went well beyond the material and into issues none of us had thought about."--Thomas Hewett, Drekel University Table of Contents: PART I: Setting the Stage 1. Perspiration in Perspective: Changing Perceptions of Genius and Expertise in American Invention, Robert FriedelPART II: Classic Inventors 2. Inventing the Field: Michael Faraday and the Creative "Engineering" of Electromagnetic Field Theory, Ryan D. Tweney3. A Cognitive Framework to Understand Technological Creativity: Bell, Edison, and the Telephone, W. Bernard Coulson and Michael E. Gorman4. Why Wilbur and Orville? Some Thoughts on the Wright Brothers and the Process of Invention, Tom D. CrouchPART III: Contemporary Inventors 5. Electron Microscopy and Microprobe Analysis: Recalling the Ambience of Some Inventions, U James Hillier6. The Origin of Soft Tissue Ultrasonic and Early Instrumental Application to Clinical Medicine, John J. Wild7. The Soil Biotron: An Underground Research Laboratory, James A. Teeri8. The Synthesis of Diamonds, Robert H. Wentorf9. The Origin and Development of the First Zeolite Catalyst for Petroleum Cracking, Edward Rosinski10. Discovery and Invention in Polymer Chemistry, Paul W. Morgan11. The Genesis of the Antiparasitic Drug Ivermectin, William C. CampbellPART IV: The Logic of Invention 12. Stone Age Knife to Swiss Army Knife: An Invention Prototype, Robert J. Weber13. The Topography of Invention, David N. Perkins14. The Analytic Inventive Thinking Model, Jacob HelfmanPART V: The Social Context of Inventions 15. Invention in the Industrial Research Laboratory: Individual Act or Collective Process? The Case of the Pioneering Research Laboratory, Du Pont Fibers Department, 1928-1968, David A. Hounshell16. Inventors and Corporations in the Maturing Electrical Industry, George Wise17. Technology on the Move, Donald J. QuiggReview Quotes: "Successful contemporary inventors, historians of science and industry, and cognitive psychologists explore the nature of creativity as it surfaces in technological innovation." --SciTech Book News "Weber and Perkins . . . assembled an impressive panel of historians, inventors, and psychologists who examine, in some detail, the work leading up to the development of various new technologies. . . . this book is well worth reading because it provides some important clues about the cognitive process used to solve technical problems." --Contemporary Psychology "This is an excellent collection that brings together both work on innovation by people who study it and the reflections of those who have done it. It provoked several class discussions that went well beyond the material and into issues none of us had thought about."--Thomas Hewett, Drekel UniversityReview Quotes:"Successful contemporary inventors, historians of science and industry, and cognitive psychologists explore the nature of creativity as it surfaces in technological innovation." --SciTech Book News"Weber and Perkins . . . assembled an impressive panel of historians, inventors, and psychologists who examine, in some detail, the work leading up to the development of various new technologies. . . . this book is well worth reading because it provides some important clues about the cognitive process used to solve technical problems." --Contemporary Psychology"This is an excellent collection that brings together both work on innovation by people who study it and the reflections of those who have done it. It provoked several class discussions that went well beyond the material and into issues none of us had thought about."--Thomas Hewett, DrekelUniversityMarc Notes: Papers presented at the Inventive Minds Conference, held in Tulsa, Okla. Nov. 3-5, 1989.; Includes bibliographical references and index. Publisher Marketing: Is invention really "99 percent perspiration" and "one percent inspiration" as Thomas Edison assured us? Or does invention involve little recognized, often hidden principles that are accessible to most of us? Inventive Minds assembles a group of authors well qualified to address these questions: contemporary inventors of important new technologies, historians of science and industry, and cognitive psychologists interested in the process of creativity. In telling their stories, the inventors describe their groundbreaking work on ultrasound, synthetic fibers, petroleum cracking catalysts, electron microscopes, wonder drugs, artificial diamonds, and underground observatories. The historians help us look into the minds of innovators like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Michael Faraday, and the Wright brothers, drawing on original notebooks and other sources to show how they made their key discoveries. The historians also reveal the dramatic transition from craft shop to the modern industrial laboratory. Finally, psychologists and educators explore the mental processes that figure in creative thinking and its cultivation in children and adults. Contributing to the authors' insight is their special focus on the "front end" of invention - where ideas come from and how they are transformed into physical prototypes. They answer three questions: How does invention happen? How does invention contrast with other commonly creative pursuits such as scientific inquiry, musical composition, or painting? And how might invention best happen - that is, what kinds of settings, conditions, and strategies appear to foster inventive activity? The book yields a wealth of insight for all those fascinatedby the psychology of creativity, the history of invention, and the roots of human ingenuity. Publisher Marketing: Is invention really "99 percent" perspiration and "one percent inspiration" as Thomas Edison assured us? Inventive Minds assembles a group of authors well equipped to address this question: contemporary inventors of important new technologies, historians of science and industry, and cognitive psychologists interested in the process of creativity. In telling their stories, the inventors describe the origins of such remarkable devices as ultrasound, the electron microscope, and artificial diamonds. The historians help us look into the minds of innovators like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Michael Faraday, and the Wright brothers, drawing on original notebooks and other sources to show how they made their key discoveries. Finally, cognitive psychologists explore the mental processes that figure in creative thinking. Contributing to the authors' insight is their special focus on the "front end" of invention -- where ideas come from and how they are transformed into physical prototypes. They answer three questions: How does invention happen? How does invention contrast with other commonly creative pursuits such as scientific inquiry, musical composition, or painting? And how might invention best happen -- that is, what kinds of settings, conditions, and strategies appear to foster inventive activity? The book yields a wealth of information that will make absorbing reading for cognitive and social psychologists, social historians, and many working scientists and general readers who are interested in the psychology of personality and the roots of ingenuity.

Contributor Bio:  Weber, Robert J About the Author Robert J. Weber began his prolific career in the Solid State Research Laboratory at the Collins Radio Company, later a part of Rockwell International. For 25 years, he worked on advanced development and applied research in the one- to ten-gigahertz frequency range and received several distinguished awards for his valuable contributions to the field. Presently, Dr. Weber is involved in ongoing experimental research in integrating microwave circuits with other devices such as MEMS, chemical sensors, and electro-optics. Also, he teaches microwave circuit design and fiber-optics communications at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University. Dr. Weber is an IEEE Fellow. Contributor Bio:  Perkins, David Perkins is Marquand professor of English and American Literature at Harvard University.