Abstract
This article introduces a theoretical framework to conceptualize the dynamics of the phenomenon of creativity, which is then applied to the specific case of scientific missions for the exploration of the universe. Static definitions of creativity are insufficient for this purpose, as they fail to describe states of creative inconclusiveness as well as the time and culture-dependent estimation of the value of the outcomes of a creative process; therefore, a dynamic definition of creativity is introduced, justified, and adopted to build a dynamic creativity framework. Within this framework, creativity episodes are shown to be mutually interconnected through several mechanisms (past and future concatenation, estimation, and exaptation), to form a dynamic universal creativity process (DUCP), the beginning of which can be traced back to the Big Bang of our universe. The DUCP entails several layers of complexity (material, biological, sociocultural, and artificial), showing that creativity is not only a psychological construct for humans but rather a unifying cosmological principle. Context embeddedness is discussed in-depth, introducing a taxonomy based on the concepts of tightness and looseness as applied to conceptual space and time. This theoretical framework is, then, applied to the discussion of the design, realization, and operations of scientific missions for the exploration of the universe, taking as a reference the terminology adopted by the European Space Agency.
Highlights
THE DYNAMIC CREATIVITY FRAMEWORKWe live in a world of uncertainty, dynamically evolving at a very fast pace (Rosa, 2003; Corazza et al, 2010; Feather, 2013), and creativity is arguably the engine of this fundamental unpredictability
We believe that basing a theoretical framework that should embrace the entire phenomenon of creativity on a static definition is clearly insufficient; it would be like trying to understand the plot of a thriller movie only
The second reason why a static definition of creativity is not able to capture the reality of a creative process is that no one, irrespective of his/her level of expertise on a knowledge domain, is entitled to give a final judgment on the originality and effectiveness of a product pertaining to that domain
Summary
We live in a world of uncertainty, dynamically evolving at a very fast pace (Rosa, 2003; Corazza et al, 2010; Feather, 2013), and creativity is arguably the engine of this fundamental unpredictability. The estimation of a creative idea entails the conception of all of its effects that might have practical bearing on reality: a dynamic, future-oriented, and never-ending exercise For these two reasons, given the necessity to account properly for creative inconclusiveness and the subjectivity of any judgment on the outcomes of a creative process, neither of which is captured by a static definition, a complete theoretical framework aimed at describing the entire phenomenon of creativity must be based on a dynamic approach (Beer, 2000; Beghetto and Corazza, 2019). We identify the dynamic creativity framework as the theoretical explanatory construction that descends from the adoption of the above dynamic definition of creativity
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