First Stage Mission Accomplished!

Today, we started off smoothly even though we were missing a few people. Since we have been going through this process for a couple of times, some members seem to have gained endurance and a driving power, visioning the end to labeling the patterns.  

With the motivation to keep moving on, members of the Iba lab maintained their concentration for five consecutive hours.
Although each group finished their tasks in a slight time lag, it was amazing to see that everyone was very satisfied, ending up writing 131 seeds of pattern language! The atmosphere of the lab was joyful and vibrant when we are cleaning up the room after such big accomplishment.

Next week, we will be conducting the KJ method once more in order to make the pattern making process more efficient.

Burn-Out

The first Monday of June was just another day.
Still immersed in the feeling of Sunday, most of the members were absentmindedly talking to each other and taking a short break before they had to ignite themselves to take on the tasks.

Soon after, as we teamed up in three groups, each group reviewed their assigned archipelagos and started giving feedback to each other.
Well, this was a great idea of diversifying a heavy workload but the problem was that we were missing a common understanding among the members. Gradually, sharing and adapting our thoughts and ideas, we came up with a common perception of the label name and the reason why the pattern is important.
As the previous session, our professor took on the role to go around the groups to check their progress and give his opinion whenever the groups needed a third opinion.

We have been continuing this process for days and months and some people might ask why not adopt a more efficient  method? To simply answer to your question, this is a process of creation. Because this is a fairly new method, we need to find out a way on our own. If we find out that we cannot move on, we change our approach and explore a new way to keep moving with twists and turns It is the drive to move on and never stop that motivates the members of Iba lab.

After four hours of consecutive work, most of the members were burned-out.
How ever this is the proof that we squeezed out our intellectual thoughts and ideas to the max. We still have a long way to go but we are definitely moving on to the next step.

Syllabus for Iba Lab B2 (Fall 2012) - Exploring Theories, Methods, and Practices for the Creative Society

We welcome GIGA students who don't speak Japanese!

Syllabus for Iba Lab B2 (Fall 2012)

Exploring Theories, Methods, and Practices for the Creative Society

Takashi Iba (Associate Professor at the Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University)

Important Dates

July 3, 2012: Iba Lab information session (5th hour @ K11)
July 21, 2012: Entry submission deadline
July 26-27, 2012: Interview sessions (dates subject to change)
July 28, 2012: Lab spring presentations

Course Goals and Overview

Our society today is becoming more complex and diverse day by day. Finding a way to design the future with our own hands has become the fundamental problem for us today. To be creative in such a society, we must create our own visions, and design tools and methods to make the vision become a reality.

In our lab, we define a Creative Society as a society where various people design and create new perceptions, new products, new methods, and ultimately the future for ourselves, by ourselves. The lab aims to seize the sprouts of the creative society, imagine its growth, and nurture it through actual practice.

Members of the lab would either work on Personal Projects based on their interest in a certain field, or they can work in one of the Frontier Projects formed by members of the lab.

Examples of Personal Projects include analysis of open collaborations, research on social media, putting creative workshops to practice, analysis of the creative process, creation of tools to support creative processes, building new forms of communication media, or the creation of a pattern language in a new field. Of course, any other topic that you are interested in is welcome.

We are planning on starting the following Frontier Projects.

• Documentary Filming - Filming, production, and streaming of the world's first documentary film about pattern languages. Those with skills in film editing are welcome.
• Web Application Development - Launch a new kind of social networking service based on pattern languages. We welcome those with high programming and software development skills. 
• Global Expansions - Introduce pattern languages and workshops based on them overseas. For all of you out there with high English skills, this is the place for you.
• Workshop Design - Develop and carry out new forms of workshops using pattern languages. For those interested in creating environments for effective study or creation.
• Education to Nurture Creativity - Study methods of education that would nurture the creativity of children, and put it into practice. Future teachers and anyone interested in education is welcome.

Upon conducting your project, you must first let go of the knowledge and methods fixed to existing sciences, and commit to the project by reconstructing a new method for a new era of study. To help the process, we will take time to read and discuss books about related topics.

The theme for our lab is Creativity. We are looking for prospective lab members who are willing to commit creatively to the future!

To find out more about our works, visit our lab blog:
The Creative Systems Lab
http://creativesystemslab.blogspot.jp/

Course Schedule

• Progress on each member's project will be shared at lab meetings. In addition, we will read and discuss books, and exercises to polish up skills will be given. 
• Members are required to work on their projects outside of class time.
• Sessions are planned on 5th hour Tuesdays.

Course Language

English, Japanese
We welcome GIGA students who don't speak Japanese!

Course Requirements

• Members are required to take classes held by Professor Iba besides the lab sessions, since skills and knowledge necessary for the lab will be taught there also. Professor Iba will be teaching "Pattern Language" and "Complex Systems Theory" in the Fall semester of 2012. 
• We are looking for members who are willing to study together with us in a long perspective. Breakthrough in knowledge and skills can be expected through long-term commitment.

Available Seats

Approximately 20

Misc. Information

• Since members of the lab each have a different field of expertise, knowledge necessary for each member's project must be acquired outside of class.
• Classes will most likely be extended without notice. We also go for dinner after lab sessions, so please keep your schedule open for the night on days with lab sessions. 
• You are welcome to take both Iba Lab B1 and B2 in the same semester, or belong to another lab besides the Iba lab at the same time. 
• Prospective members are asked to attend the Iba Lab Spring Presentation on 7/28/2012 (Sat).
• Join us on opportunities to go on overseas trips to attend workshops and academic conferences. This year we will be visiting Germany in July and the US in October. 
• Iba Lab members are required to write their graduation thesis in English.

Entry Assignment

After reading through this syllabus thoroughly, please submit the entry assignment described below via email by Saturday, July 21.

Email to: ilab-entry2012 [at] sfc.keio.ac.jp
Subject: Iba Lab B2 Entry
Please attach your entry assignment in a Word or PDF file.

Iba Lab B2 Entry Assignment

1. Name, Faculty, Grade, Student ID, login ID
2. Topic of study you wish to work on in the lab, or the Frontier Project you wish to participate in. Reason for your entry. Your Enthusiasm towards the project.
3. Other Labs you are planning on belonging to next semester (If any)
4. Labs you have been a part of (If any)
5. Favorite classes you've taken so far - Multiple answers are welcome
6. Courses by Prof. Iba which you have taken before
7. Any other introduction of yourself. (clubs, activities, interests, future visions, any other points to sell)

* Question 2 should be about 1 page in length.
** You are welcome to use any pictures or diagrams for questions 2 and 7.

The selection interview will be held based on the information given in the entry assignment.

References

• Takashi Iba, "An Autopoietic Systems Theory for Creativity", Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol.2, Issue 4, 2010, pp.6610-6625
• Daniel H. Pink, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, Riverhead Trade, 2006
• Don Tapscott, Anthony D. Williams, Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, Portfolio Trade, Expanded ed., 2010
• Peter Gloor, Coolfarming: Turn Your Great Idea into the Next Big Thing, AMACOM, 2010
• Keith Sawyer, Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration, Basic Books, 2008 
• Thomas Kelley, Jonathan Littman, The Art of Innovation: Success Through Innovation the IDEO Way, Profile Business, 2002

• Morris Berman, The Reenchantment of the World, Cornell University Press, 1984
• Gregory Bateson, Steps to an Ecology of Mind, The University of Chicago Press, 2000
• N. Luhmann, Social Systems, Stanford University Press, 1996
• Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolution, The University of Chicago Press, 1962
• Freeman Dyson, Imagined Worlds, Harvard University Press, 1997
• Peter M. Senge, et. al., Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future, Crown Business, Reprint ed., 2008
• C. Otto Scharmer, Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges: The Social Technology of Presencing, Berrett-Koehler Pub, 2009

• Stephen Grabow, Christopher Alexander: The Search for a New Paradigm in Architecture, Routledge Kegan & Paul, 1983 
• M. Lynn Manns, L. Rising, Fearless Change: Patterns for Introducing New Ideas, Addison-Wesley, 2004
• Learning Patterns Project, Learning Patterns: A Pattern Language for Creative Learning, 2011
• Christopher Alexander, The Nature of Order, Book 1-4, Center for Environmental Structure, 2001-
• Jenny Quillien, Delight's Muse on Christopher Alexander's The Nature of Order: A Summary and Personal Interpretation, Lulu.Com, 2008

• George Lakoff, Mark Johnson, Metaphors We Live By, The University of Chicago Press, 1980
• "Deduction, Induction, and Hypothesis" (Charles Sanders Peirce, The Essential Peirce: Selected Philosophical Writings VOLUME 1 (1867-1893), Indiana University Press, 1992) p.186-199
• Hayao Miyazaki, Starting Point 1979-1996, VIZ media, 2009
• Haruki Murakami, What I Talk about When I Talk about Running: A Memoir, Vintage Books, 2009
• B. Minto, The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing and Thinking, 3rd Revised ed, Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2008

A Web of Patterns

Using the KJ method, we continued grouping up some of the patterns.

Since we had too many sticky notes to deal with, we had to remove our desks of our lab and spread the sheet on the floor so that we could oversee the whole aspects.

Knowing that we had to finish the task by tonight was hard to nerve-wracking with the sheet filling up the entire lab.

Walking through the seeds of patterns, we tried to identify which pattern is close to each other. Overwhelmed by the immense amount of patterns, our members had a tough time with the task. Some sitting on the floor absentminded, others walking around trying to come up with a good idea.

However, such situation was the best time to use our creativity and breakthrough difficulties. Once one of the members began choosing specific patterns, others also was able to start moving their handsto pick up some patterns.

Finding a new way whenever your lost and disregarding the old fashion way is one of our important element to be creative. 

Even though we spent more than 5 hours to finish the KJ method, we still couldn't finish putting together the patterns. Some members had tiredness on their faces after cudgeling their brains to the utmost. But on the bright side, we were able to find some connections among the patterns, making a web of patters.

　　　　

We will (try) finishing our task net week. We truly hope that we can finish the hardest part in the process of pattern making.

Puzzle 3. The Difference of Creativity between Individual and Group

The third puzzle in creativity is the difference of creativity between individual and group.

3. The Difference of Creativity between Individual and Group

Collaboration is the affair by more than one person that brings added value that cannot be achieved by one. In organizations and teams that successfully operate the process of creation through collaboration, communication in the organizations and teams gains "momentum," and it sympathizes and amplifies in a nexus. Along with this effect, connecting the path of communication one by one, it is possible to bring up unexpected remarkable idea and innovation.

The creation through collaboration is a matter of emergence, that unable individual to understand with existing theories, and is often taken as suspicious and mysterious thing. While a number of scientists have studied this kind of collective phenomena at group level, they merely reach to understand the effectiveness of collaboration. Collaboration is something that drives creativity by encouraging generating a long sequence of sparks beyond individual minds.

After all, is there any difference between individual creativity and group creativity? If there is the difference, it means that there are two types of creativity. Otherwise, a feature called "creativity" can be realized in the different bases: mind inside an individual and group made of individuals. In order to resolve the problem, both of psychological approach and sociological approach seem be insufficient, just because the problem lied over these disciplines.