Abstract
The cognitive processes involved in the production of novelty are examined in Chapter 5. While it is common to think of creativity only in terms of divergent thinking, the importance of analytical, or convergent, thinking is explained. Creative, engineering problem solving requires the ability to generate a wide range of alternative concepts, but it is just as important to be able to select among those ideas in order to arrive at a viable solution. To be creative, engineers therefore must develop skills in divergent thinking, skills in convergent thinking, and the ability to know when each should be applied. Chapter 5 examines these questions and also considers how divergent thinking is measured. Finally, the interaction of divergent and convergent thinking is explained.
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