a list of books that influenced your view of CreativeIT

Books that Influenced My View of CreativeIT

Holger

I couldn't name any single book or article that really combined the fields of creativity and IT in a satisfactory way. However, influential to me were writings by Csikszentmihalyi and also popular-science books like "Tipping Point" and "Rise of the Creative Class". All these authors have in common that I'm still trying to figure out how to use their findings. How could they translate into computer systems (which is the field I'm mostly interested in).

Writings on media by McLuhan, Benjamin, Manovich, Mark Amerika, Eco, as well as semiotic writings by Peirce and Eco (again) have also influenced my view on (digital) media and how they relate to creative processes. To me, creativity has a cog-sci ("individual") and a cultural ("social") side. As is probably apparent in the list of authors, my focus is on the social/cultural side of creativity.

Hairabedian

Csikszentmihalyi's 'Creativity' and 'Flow' have influenced my thinking, especially lately, as well as David N. Perkins' writings, and K. Anders Ericsson's. All of these seem to emphasize the cognitive aspect of creativity and problem-solving, but, as many were written in the 1990s, they touch only lightly on the specific role of IT. At the same time, I've been reading Anita Albus' 'The Art of Arts', which views creativity (specifically painting) in a much more sensual light. Even the language of the book is poetic. It's an interesting contrast. Creativity after all often caters to human senses (vision, hearing, touch, etc.), which are channels for interaction.

I've been wondering how virtual media can capture more of the human sensual experience that belongs to creative activities–maybe be more an accessory to a real experience than being a medium that supplants it.

Last modified 1 October 2008 at 3:45 pm by SonaHairabedian