The symmetry, the beautiful simplicity of the solution, and the fact that 80 percent of the participants were effectively blinded by the boundaries of the square led Guilford and the readers of his books to leap to the sweeping conclusion that creativity requires you to go outside the box. Only 20 percent managed to break out of the illusory confinement and continue their lines in the white space surrounding the dots. Even though they weren’t instructed to restrain themselves from considering such a solution, they were unable to “see” the white space beyond the square’s boundaries. At the first stages, all the participants in Guilford’s original study censored their own thinking by limiting the possible solutions to those within the imaginary square (even those who eventually solved the puzzle). The correct solution, however, requires you to draw lines that extend beyond the area defined by the dots. If you have tried solving this puzzle, you can confirm that your first attempts usually involve sketching lines inside the imaginary square.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |