"Critical Mass of Ideas": A Model of Incubation in Brainstorming
DS 73-1 Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Design Creativity Volume 1
Year: 2012
Editor: Duffy, A.; Nagai, Y.; Taura, T.
Author: Sosa, R.; Gero, J. S.
Section: Design Process
Page(s): 157-168
Abstract
This paper presents the results of experiments with a computational model of group brainstorming as an environment to study the role of incubation in creativity. In this model, exploration refers to the random search for solutions, exploitation refers to the guided search for new solutions based on existing solutions, and incubation is defined as the re-organization of the search processes used previously to find solutions but with no direct output of actual solutions. This work suggests that the beneficial effects of incubation in ideation could depend on the type of ideation processes carried out in previous stages of the creative process, and it provides insights for understanding the complex nature of incubation. We suggest the concept of
Keywords: incubation, brainstorming, multi-agent model