Creative Analogies Research Articles

Designing Child Nutrition Interventions to Engage Fathers: Qualitative Analysis of Interviews and Co-Design Workshops.

Fathers play a pivotal role in parenting and child feeding, but they remain underrepresented in intervention studies, especially those focused on disadvantaged populations. A better understanding of fathers' experiences and needs regarding support access and child nutrition information in the context of disadvantage can inform future interventions engaging fathers. This study aims to explore fathers' experiences; perceived enablers; and barriers to accessing support and information related to parenting, child feeding, and nutrition and to co-design principles for tailoring child nutrition interventions to engage fathers. Australian fathers of children aged 6 months to 5 years with lived experience of disadvantage participated in semistructured interviews and co-design workshops, primarily conducted via videoconference. Creative analogies were used to guide the ideation process in the workshops. A total of 25 interviews and 3 workshops (n=10 participants) were conducted, with data analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and the Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation-Behavior model. The interview data illuminated factors influencing fathers' initiation in seeking support for parenting, child feeding, and nutrition, including their experiences. It highlighted fathers' diverse information needs and the importance of an inclusive environment and encouragement. Enablers and barriers in accessing support related to parenting and child nutrition were identified at the individual (eg, personal goals and resource constraints), interpersonal (family support and false beliefs about men's caregiving role), organizational (inadequate fathering support), and systemic levels (father-inclusive practice and policy). Digital data collection methods enabled Australia-wide participation, overcoming work and capacity barriers. Videoconferencing technology was effectively used to engage fathers creatively. Key principles for engaging fathers were co-designed from the workshop data. Interventions and resources need to be father specific, child centered, and culturally appropriate; promote empowerment and collaboration; and provide actionable and accessible strategies on the what and how of child feeding. Fathers preferred multiformat implementation, which harnesses technology-based design (eg, websites and mobile apps) and gamification. It should be tailored to the child's age and targeted at fathers using comprehensive promotion strategies. Fathers faced barriers to accessing support and information related to parenting and feeding that may not adequately address their needs. Future interventions could integrate the co-designed principles to engage fathers effectively. These findings have implications for health service delivery and policy development, promoting father-inclusive practice.

How broad cognitive abilities contribute to traditional analogies, creative analogies, and general creativity

The purpose of this research study was to examine the contributions of three broad cognitive abilities to traditional analogies, two types of creative analogies, and general creativity. The three cognitive abilities were broad retrieval ability (Gr), crystallized intelligence (Gc), and fluid intelligence (Gf). Four hundred and forty-three sixth-graders from six elementary schools located in Taiwan were recruited to participate in this study. A carefully self-designed instrument, composed of eight parts, was administered to find out the delicate relations between cognitive abilities, traditional analogies, and creative analogies. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to address the main research questions. As results demonstrated, Gc (β = .62, p<.001) and Gf (β = .28, p<.001) had significant effects on traditional analogies, whereas Gr (β = .06, p = .310) did not have significant effect. Gr (β = .30, p<.001) and Gc (β = .28, p<.001) had significant effects on creative analogies with incomplete simile sentences (abstract analogies), but Gf (β = .002, p = .982) did not have significant effect. Gr (β = .54, p<.001) had significant effects on creative analogies concerning emotional experiences (concrete analogies), but Gc (β = .084, p = .318) and Gf (β = -.01, p = .851) did not have significant effect. The two types of creative analogies (abstract and creative analogies) exhibited different patterns of relations with the three cognitive abilities. In addition, Gr (β = .54, p<.001) had a significant effect on general creativity, whereas Gf (β<.001, p = .966) and Gc (β = -.14, p = .126) did not have significant effects. Overall, Gr contributed most to creative thinking of the three cognitive abilities. These results, exhibiting some consistencies and inconsistencies with those of previous studies, were discussed in the context of existing literature.

Ronsard et la fabrique des 'Poëmes' by François Rouget

Reviewed by: Ronsard et la fabrique des 'Poëmes' by François Rouget Alice Roullière Ronsard et la fabrique des 'Poëmes'. By François Rouget. (Cahiers d'Humanisme et Renaissance, 166) Geneva: Droz. 2020. 362 pp. SwF 45. ISBN 978-2-60006059-2. In this monograph, François Rouget rethinks the distinction between 'homogeneous collections', 'mixed collections', and 'recueils d'attente' that have hitherto been used to describe Ronsard's balancing act between multiple re-editions of his Œuvres and stand-alone collections. Within this careful design, the Poëmes hold an unusual place: this title designates a section in five books of the Œuvres, first published in 1560, to which the collection of the Sixième et Septième livres des Poëmes (1569) is considered a later add-on. In 1569, Ronsard transforms what was a section of his 'Complete Works' into an independent collection, thus retroactively formalizing the genre. As Rouget shows in his study, the choice of compiling such a variety of poems hindered Ronsardian scholarship from tackling the section as a whole, or offering a serious definition of the Ronsardian 'poëme' since Krystyna Anktowiak's attempt to look at its formal features('A propos de la défintion du "poëme" chez Ronsard', in Ronsard en son IVe centenaire, vol. I, ed by Yvonne Bellenger and others (Geneva: Droz, 1988), pp. 47–52). Rouget's aim is paradoxically vaguer and more precise, uniting a study of the atmosphere of the 'poëme' with a careful rehistoricization of the genre. This erudite study, at the intersection of psycho-poetics, genetic, and the history of the book, follows up on the question of the definition of the 'poëme' raised by Rouget in his previous work (Ronsard et le livre II (Geneva: Droz, 2012)). The structure of this study defends a narrative in which the specificity [End Page 299] of the Poëmes claimed by Ronsard is revealed to be the result of the poet's wish to collect in one book all his previous poems placed under the sign of varietas. Thus, although the Poëmes are the centripetal focus of this study, Rouget discusses a range of Ronsardian 'minor' collections: in Chapters 2 and 3, the Livret des folastries (1553), Bocage (1554), Meslanges (1555-59), in Chapter 4 the Recueil des nouvelles poësies (1564), Elegies, mascarades et Bergerie (1565) before turning to the Poëmes (1560–69) in Chapters 5 and 6. The 'poëme' is placed within the broader aesthetic of the miscellany and Poliziano's silva underpinned by the concepts of varietas, 'poésie naturelle' and concordia discors. Rouget does not claim radical scholarly originality, but rather shows how the Poëmes correspond to a dynamic equilibrium within Ronsard's works, embodying a Horatian mediocritas or 'style moyen' which aspires to find balance while reclaiming an irretractable lacuna: 'Cette carence, nous croyons qu'elle est l'expression d'une imperfection assumée par Ronsard, et qu'elle souligne l'inachèvement du livre conçu comme une œuvre ouverte, régi par le principe d'inchoativité' (p. 25). Throughout the volume, the conceptual metaphor of the garden is used, building on the understanding of the 'poëme' as natural object, to clarify the long meanderings of Ronsard's corrections, and the deceptive impression of chaos. Rouget generously walks the reader step by step through the volume, describing the content of the collections and choosing selected extracts that are delightful to read. This fluid prose is peppered with creative analogies and distinctions (for example, between hybridity and heterogeneity) but unfortunately they are rarely fully explored. Moreover, the breadth of Rouget's scope makes his approach somewhat generalizing and the phrasing regrettably imprecise: emotions, for example, are approached in a loosely psycho-historic way but are rarely connected to the field of the history of emotions. Despite these minor issues, Rouget's study fills an important gap in Ronsardian scholarship by powerfully retracing the origins of the collection through the problematic and hybrid genre that is the French sixteenth-century 'poëme'. Alice Roullière Wadham College, Oxford Copyright © 2022 Modern Humanities Research Association

The Evolution of Dysfunction

Cultural ecological theory has typically assumed that evolutionary processes lead inevitably to the emergence of positive functions and useful adaptations (Vayda, Harris, Durham, Barkow, Adams). But biologists are aware that dysfunctions, as well as positive functions, may result from evolution. In both biology and anthropology, dialectical models are better able to incorporate dysfunctional evolutionary trends. In this paper, a “thought experiment” illustrating dysfunctional evolutionary processes is provided. The strengths, and weaknesses, of using biological ideas as “creative analogies” for cultural processes are discussed. We need to pay more attention to the evolution of dysfunctions and to the emergence of contradictions in cultural systems.

Deconstructing the isolated astronaut-artist paradigm

In the context of a viral outbreak and necessary physical distancing, the emergence of new or the evolution of older artistic behavioural schemes becomes evident. We correlate the isolation space of the artist with the cockpit of a spaceship and the navigation and communication interfaces used by an astronaut. The cybernetic domain between physical space(s) and artist(s) can be thought of as consisting of many ‘organs’. It includes a core (black box), many-layered limits: skin, walls, mental and digital borders as well as mechanisms of connectivity with external entities (other astronauts in art spaceships). This space could be a bedroom, a studio, an office or any different location the artist uses as an isolated bubble of information sharing and manipulation (material and immaterial). For the construction of such an (astronaut, artist) ontology we use metaphors, etymological references, transformed concepts and creative analogies between the actual and the subjective space. As one case study for this paradigm, we experimented with a telematic performance of Heiner Müller’s Hamlet Machine titled, I want to be 171.

Natural logic is diagrammatic reasoning about mental models

Abstract Diagrammatic reasoning, based on visualization and analogy, is the foundation for reasoning in ordinary language and the most esoteric theories of mathematics. Long before they write formal proof, mathematicians develop their ideas with diagrams, visualize novel patterns, and discover creative analogies. For over two millennia, Euclid’s diagrammatic methods set the standard for mathematical rigor. But the abstract algebra of the 19th century led many mathematicians to claim that all formal reasoning must be algebraic. Yet C. S. Peirce and George Polya recognized that Euclid’s diagrammatic reasoning is better match to human thought patterns than the algebraic rules and notations. A combination of Peirce’s graph logic, Polya’s heuristics, and Euclid’s diagrams is better candidate for natural logic than any algebraic formalism. Psychologically, it supports Peirce’s claim that his existential graphs (EGs) provide a moving picture of the action of the mind in thought. Logically, EGs have formal mapping to and from the ISO standard for Common Logic. Computationally, algorithms for Cognitive Memory (CM) and virtual reality (VR) can support cross-modal analogies between language-like and image-like representations.

How the creative use of analogies can shape medical practice.

Analogical reasoning is central to medical progress, and is either creative or conservative. According to Hofmann et al., conservative analogy relates concepts from old technology to new technologies with emphasis on preservation of comprehension and conduct. Creative analogy however brings new understanding to new technology, brings similarities existing in the source domain to a target domain where they previously had no bearing, and imports something entirely different from the content of the analogy itself. I defend the claim that while conservative analogies are useful by virtue of being comfortable to use from familiarity and experience, and are more easily accepted by society, they only lead to incremental advances in medicine. However, creative analogies are more exciting and productive because they generate previously unexpected associations across widely separated domains, emphasize relations over physical similarities, and structure over superficiality. I use kidney transplantation and anti-rejection medication development as an exemplar of analogical reasoning used to improve medical practice. Anti-rejection medication has not helped highly sensitized patients because of their propensity to rejecting most organs. I outline how conservative analogical reasoning led to anti-rejection medication development, but creative analogical reasoning helped highly sensitized and blood type incompatible patients through domino transplants, by which they obtain a kidney to which they are not sensitized. Creative analogical reasoning is more likely than conservative analogical reasoning to lead to revolutionary progress. While these analogies overlap and creative analogies eventually become conservative, progress is best facilitated by combining conservative and creative analogical reasoning.

Teaching English Idioms as Metaphors through Cognitive-Oriented Methods: A Case in an EFL Writing Class

Idioms have long been regarded as problematic for L2 learners due to the arbitrariness of their meanings and forms. Traditional methods of teaching idioms focus on rote learning and memorization. Recent developments in cognitive linguistics research have considered idioms as analyzable expressions which are motivated by conceptual metaphors and whose meanings can derive from associations between source and target concepts. Believed to be imageable and comprehensive, idioms should be learned through the process of raising L2 learners’ awareness of conceptual metaphors behind these expressions. Nevertheless, these methods fail to notice culture entailments embedded in conceptual metaphors. Especially for FL learners who share neither common cultural background nor living environment with the target language users, difficulties resulting from transferability between L1 and L2 idioms owing to cultural similarities and differences may be serious. To bridge the gap between idioms and conceptual metaphors caused by cross-cultural differences, this study suggests a teaching method by incorporating the idea of metaphoric mappings. A case study was conducted in an EFL writing class to investigate the effect of the methods. Essays written by the students before and after the instruction were analyzed. Results showed that the students increased frequencies of using not only common idiomatic expressions but also creative analogies comprising vivid images based on the conceptual metaphors taught. Additionally, they used L2 expressions whose conceptual metaphors also existed in L1 more often then expressions whose conceptual metaphors were exclusive in L2. Such findings affirm the importance of culture and provide valuable insight to EFL teachers in adopting cognitive-oriented method to teach English idioms.

An explicit cue improves creative analogical reasoning

Creativity is likely to be related to intelligence, though the nature of this relationship remains largely unresolved and few studies have examined creativity in the context of measures traditionally related to intelligence. Like intelligence, creativity has often been studied as a static trait or as subject to change over long durations through training or education. By contrast, creativity as a dynamic state, particularly as a state that is subject to conscious augmentation within short time durations, has been less well-studied. Here, we tested the hypothesis that performance on a task of creative intelligence (creative analogical reasoning) can be improved through the deliberate effort to be creative. Specifically, we tested whether an explicit cue to “think creatively” would elicit better identification of creative analogies among 40 participants performing a four-term verbal analogical reasoning task. Consistent with our hypothesis, on creativity cue trials, the participants were 1) more likely to accurately identify highly creative analogies as valid, and 2) no more likely to inaccurately identify false analogies as valid. This pattern of results indicates that, consistent with a widely accepted standard for measuring creativity, the cue was successful in eliciting responses that were not only novel (divergent) but were also appropriate (bounded by task constraints). The findings show, in a within-subjects design, that deliberately attempting to augment creative state can enhance performance on a reasoning task with objective criteria. These findings are discussed with respect to the state vs. trait distinction in creativity and likely neural mechanisms of creative reasoning.

A content account of creative analogies in biologically inspired design

AbstractThe growing movement of biologically inspired design is driven in part by the need for sustainable development and in part by the recognition that nature could be a source of innovation. Biologically inspired design by definition entails cross-domain analogies from biological systems to problems in engineering and other design domains. However, the practice of biologically inspired design at present typically isad hoc, with little systemization of either biological knowledge for the purposes of engineering design or the processes of transferring knowledge of biological designs to engineering problems. In this paper we present an intricate episode of biologically inspired engineering design that unfolded over an extended period of time. We then analyze our observations in terms ofwhy,what,how, andwhenquestions of analogy. This analysis contributes toward a content theory of creative analogies in the context of biologically inspired design.

Improving Adherence—Sharing Experiences

Nonadherence is a significant concern for practitioners. Adherence rates have been estimated at 50%, demonstrating the need for information regarding interventions to improve adherence. Patient education through creative analogies or stories may help overcome barriers related to patient misconceptions. There is a need for individual clinicians to have a forum for sharing successful strategies used in patient adherence on an individual level. An electronic column for clinicians to share innovative approaches may fill this need.

The importance of retrieval in creative design analogies

Analogy is an important reasoning process in creative design. It enables the generation of new design artifacts using ideas from semantically distant domains. Candidate selection is a crucial process in the generation of creative analogies. Without a good set of candidate sources, the success of subsequent phases can be compromised. Two main types of selection have been identified: semantics-based retrieval and structure-based retrieval. This paper presents an empirical study on the importance of the analogy retrieval strategy in the domain of software design. We argue that both types of selection are important, but they play different roles in the process.

Neural correlates of intelligence as revealed by fMRI of fluid analogies

It has been conjectured that the cognitive basis of intelligence is the ability to make fluid or creative analogical relationships between distantly related concepts or pieces of information (Hofstadter, D.R. 1995. Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies. Basic Books, New York., Hofstadter, D.R. 2001. Analogy as the Core of Cognition. In The Analogical Mind: Perspectives from Cognitive Science (D. Gentner, K. J. Holyoak and B. N. Kokinov, Ed.). pp. 504–537. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.). We hypothesised that fluid analogy-making tasks would activate specific regions of frontal cortex that were common to those of previous inferential reasoning tasks. We report here a novel self-paced event-related fMRI study employed to investigate the neural correlates of intelligence associated with undertaking fluid letter string analogy tasks. Stimuli were adapted from items of the AI program Copycat (Mitchell, M. 1993. Analogy-making as Perception: A computer model. The MIT Press, Cambridge MA.). Twelve right-handed adults chose their own “best” completions from four plausible response choices to 55 fluid letter string analogies across a range of analogical depths. An analysis using covariates determined per subject by analogical depth revealed significant bilateral neural activations in the superior, inferior, and middle frontal gyri and in the anterior cingulate/paracingulate cortex. These frontal areas have been previously associated with reasoning tasks involving inductive syllogisms, syntactic hierarchies, and linguistic creativity. A higher-order analysis covarying participants' verbal intelligence measures found correlations with individual BOLD activation strengths in two ROIs within BA 9 and BA 45/46. This is a provocative result given that verbal intelligence is conceptualised as being a measure of crystallised intelligence, while analogy making is conceptualised as requiring fluid intelligence. The results therefore support the conjecture that fluid analogising could underpin general intellectual performance.

Nurturing Faculty‐Student Dialogue, Deep Learning and Creativity through Journal Writing Exercises

AbstractOne of the most difficult endeavors in the engineering curriculum is encouraging students to develop creative, independent thought and a deep level of understanding. To achieve these results, we incorporate journal writing exercises into the curriculum of a core chemical engineering course, ChE 363 (Unit Operations II: Separations) at the University of Texas at Austin. Students receive weekly prompts to develop analogies or thought experiments to describe fundamental concepts prior to discussion in lecture. This motivates students to learn material independently and deeply as they are required to link concepts to common life experiences. The instructor identifies three to five of the most creative and accurate analogies and presents them to the class. The class votes for the “best” one, which earns the student extra credit. The journal writing exercises promote dialogue between the instructor and the students, generating in‐class discussions that often extend well beyond the scope of the journal prompt.

DOUGLAS HOFSTADTER and the Fluid Analogies Research Group. Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Human Thought

DOUGLAS HOFSTADTER and the Fluid Analogies Research Group. Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Human Thought

Fluid concepts and creative analogies: Computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought

Fluid concepts and creative analogies: Computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought

Fluid concepts and creative analogies: Computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought

Fluid concepts and creative analogies: Computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought

Book Review: Fluids Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought

Book Review: Fluids Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought

Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: A Review

A review of Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies, by Douglas Hofstadter and the Fluid Analogies Research Group, Basic Books, New York, 1995, 518 pp., $30, ISBN 0-465-05154-5.

Fluid concepts &amp; creative analogies: computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought

Fluid concepts &amp; creative analogies: computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought