Don't Make A Choice; Choose "And"

Framing solutions as either/or options ignores the power of "and." What R. Edward Freeman, Kirsten Martin and Bidman L. Parmar prescribe for business in their book, The Power of And provides structure for the expression, "Think outside the box." Just as executives are invited to imagine ways to satisfy stockholders, customers AND employees, those in other fields also can achieve greater benefits by creative thinking. How can the U.S. cut federal spending on space exploration and reach Mars? How can public education improve teaching methods and deal with student medical and emotional problems? Women loved Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg but they never challenged her assertion that they could not be full participants in civic life without the option of abortion to prevent motherhood. Yet, Senator Tammy Duckworth lost both legs serving in the military in Iraq and gave birth while she served in the U.S. Congress. What can help people in any field learn to think creatively? The authors of The Power of And suggest tuning into the arts. Each objective is like a note in a symphony, one color in a painting or one step in a dance. Integration can produce harmony, a composition or a ballet. Even something out of place can lead to a new solution, the way a different note leads to jazz. By combining journalism and fiction Tom Wolfe created a new literary genre. Improv comedians keep a gag going by simply saying "and" after each other's statements like "I went to the store, and...." Try converting "I'm going to visit my grandmother on Thanksgiving or stay home?"

Don't Only Think Outside the Box, Put More in the Box

Richard Thaler, who just won the Nobel Prize for economics, created behavioral economics. He combined what is known about human behavior from psychological analysis with economic theory. Before making economic policies, he urged policy makers to consider how humans are influenced by their cultures, lack complete self-control, and act on less than pure economic considerations. Policy makers around the world have been influenced by his book, Nudge, which emphasizes how humans are more likely to respond to gentle persuasion rather than compulsory measures.

     In many respects, diversification or the combination of fields is nothing new. It's done with stock portfolios and by actors who sing and dance to increase their career options. I remember reading how the structure of trees helped an architect design skyscrapers. If you look at a Jaguar automobile, you can see the jaguar animal inspired its design. There's music in elevators and serious films.  In science, the fields of biology and chemistry are merging. Technology puts LED lights in kids shoes and in women's evening gowns.

     The more information we can draw on, be it from the arts, sciences, economics, military history, or religion, the better prepared we will be to face the challenges of a very challenging future. Thaler makes you wonder what  sort of gentle persuasion, i.e. a nudge, would be better than sanctions to stop the military build-up in North Korea or a spanking from preventing a child from throwing another tantrum.

      Maybe we should be creating prompts to foster combinations. What combinations might foster learning, new products, people-sensitive policies?

Cosplay Is No Child's Play

Guess what people are spending $399 for this weekend. It's not a new phone but a chance to attend three days at Wizard World Comic-Con;  to meet and get an autograph from Spider-Man's creator, Stan Lee; and to pick up a gift bag.

     I used to tell bored students to use their imaginations to turn doodles into money-making characters like Snoopy and Hello Kitty. With all the emphasis on equipping students for future careers involving STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), every so often it's wise to step back and encourage students who'd prefer to make their way in the arts or to combine their interests in the arts and STEM subjects. After all, some comic book characters exist because radiation, lab accidents, and Iron Man's implant gave them superpowers. And drawing and coloring often now is done on a computer instead of by hand.

     The cosplay idea that combines costumes and play grew out of science fiction conventions. In 1984, Nobuyuki Takahashi coined the cosoplay term which now applies to those who wear costumes representing characters in Japanese anime and manga or characters in cartoons, books, comic books, action films, TV series, and video games. Although people who come to today's Comic-Con conventions around the world still make their own costumes, manufacturers also produce costumes, as well as wigs, body paint, contact lenses, costume jewelry, and prop weapons, for sale.

     If you think about all the revenue generated by and for those who produce and sell cartoons and comic books, films, TV shows, books, and video games, you get an idea of the major global market open to creative students. As I learned from a student who is taking a comic book course in college, there also is a market for those who teach about these "playful" subjects.

Back to School with a New Perspective

Preparing for a new school year probably doesn't require the purchase of a harmonica, paint brush, and Thesaurus. Yet Einstein played the violin, Samuel Morse painted portraits, and Galileo wrote poems.

     Study after study shows the value of the arts. Playing music asks the brain to coordinate the notes eyes see and two hands play, to listen, and to recognize rhythms. Add dance and the whole body gets involved. In the process of drawing, painting, sculpturing, and writing stories, essays, and poems, students tap into their creative juices, express emotions, and discover their individual identities. Mistakes are made and corrected just as they are in every subject and life.

     Music, art, and literature connect students to each other, their communities, and the world. One study, for example, found that children who participated in a dance group for eight weeks were less prone to anxiety and aggression compared to a control group. At the same time, the arts promote the creativity and innovation needed to deal with a rapidly changing global economy.

     Consider how one kindergartner used an art project to discover there were two ways to find the total five. While one student had shown five by taking a photo of two red scissors and three blue scissors, another saw five, because the direction of four scissors pointed left and one pointed right. Math and science thrive on the same unexpected discoveries and strategies celebrated in the arts. Is there another way to do something is a question that has produced a Salvador Dali and a Thomas Edison.