Inventive Mind Research Articles

Testing, best practices, and the teacher intellectual

Linking A Nation at Risk (1983) with the testing fetish that followed the No Child Left Behind Act (2002), Robert Bullough explores the perceptions of the good teacher and of good schooling that dominate American public education. Arguing that while training has trumped education as the commonplace conception of teaching, the “inventive mind” noted by William James (1911/1899), indicative of the teacher working as an intellectual, still stands at the core of quality education. Teacher intellectuals with inventive minds love and ponder ideas, theorize, criticize, experiment, and re-imagine their practice in relationship to educational aims that matter and that go beyond achieving high scores on a standardized test.

Calvin F. Quate (1923-2019).

Nanoscience pioneer who invented advanced microscopes

Barbaric Culture and Black Critique: Black Antislavery Writers, Religion, and the Slaveholding AtlanticBlack Well-Being: Health and Selfhood in Antebellum Black LiteratureHumane Insight: Looking at Images of African American Suffering and Death

Barbaric Culture and Black Critique: Black Antislavery Writers, Religion, and the Slaveholding AtlanticBlack Well-Being: Health and Selfhood in Antebellum Black LiteratureHumane Insight: Looking at Images of African American Suffering and Death

Olin B. Vaughan, 1920-2017

Olin B. Vaughan, 1920-2017

Do-si-do: Dan Christensen.

Painting in typical fashion with a brush only was seemingly too limited in its scope for the inventive mind of abstract painter Dan Christensen (19422007). With tools that included spray guns, rollers, and squeegees, he created pictures of festively tinted looping strips resembling ribbons, mysterious wedges of color, and spheres that were all a-shimmer. His painting processes were fascinating in their own right, and in making the bright pictures that epitomize his body of work he may have had more fun than just about anyone else. Christensen was born in Nebraska, in the same region where renowned painter Robert Henri had lived for a time in his younger years during the 19th century. An important point along Christensen’s artistic path occurred when in his teens he encountered work by painter Jackson Pollock, which may have suggested to him the possibility of developing one’s own unique style (Peters L. Dan Christensen: The Stain Paintings, 1976-1988. New York, NY: Spanierman Modern; 2011:3-7). Christensen received a degree from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1964 and shortly thereafter moved to New York. As a measure of his soon-realized success, his work was exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art while he was still in his 20s. It seems likely his early approaches to abstract painting were influenced by that of contemporaries who were color field painters, including his friend, the artist Jules Olitski (Adlmann JE. Dan Christensen (1942-2007): Pure Painting: A Forty-Year Retrospective. Santa Fe, NM: LewAllen Contemporary; 2007:2-4). Indeed, some of Christensen’s own work during his bold experimentations with methods was considered to be color field in character, a style of painting in which sections of uninterrupted color are salient features of the picture. Although his brilliant spray-painted ribbony bands were well enough received, Christensen seemed compelled to find newways toexpresshisdelightwith color, and in several years or so hence he began juxtaposing rectangular blocks of pigment inworks that came tobeknownashis “plaid” series. For this group of his paintings, he used squeegees and paint rollers to apply paint to canvases secured to the floor. This experimentwas followed by another one, resulting inwhatwas termed “slab” paintings. The technique for these works included the layering of different colors that created a sense of depthand intrigue.Theprocessof creating theslabgenrecould include use of trowels or squeegees or involve forceful brushwork (Peters, p 3). Other artistic approaches for Christensen included a lyrical etching of lines and other ciphering on a painted surface. In later developments around the 1990s, his work evolved tohis admired “circle” images. Thepaintings of radiant rounded forms at this stage of his careerwere someof his more sought-after pieces (Adlmann, p 4). An example of the glowing disks that characterized his work during this era isDo-Si-Do, in which a retina-searing seriesofconcentric circles is seen.Thecoreandsurroundingrings each seems to have its own oscillating nimbus of energy. Perhaps in creating this image, Christensenwas recalling a childhood with sweltering summer days dominated by a relentless fireball in the sky.Theviewer’s gazemaypause inaneffort to register the flux of galvanic hues rippling out from the center. As noted, “Do-Si-Do is a work from late in his career, but showshis career longobsessionwithcolor.Thecircular shapes in the painting are less of a focus than the vibrant color. ... ” (http://acm.wichitaartmuseum.org/acm/detail.php?action =v&id=1424724902535936.) An alternate interpretation of the work involves consideration of the “do-si-do” dance maneuver in which participants move around one another. Christensenmayhave intended to convey a dynamic sense of elements rotating around a central entity not unlike that seen in a solar system. Christensen is said to have had a condition thought to be polymyositis. He died in 2007, leaving behind his wife and children. The curiosity that characterized his adventurous tryouts of new color interplay, techniques, and forms resulted in images that in some cases seem to nearly pop from the picture in 3D. More particularly, his enjoyment in working with color as it pleased him seems reflected in the vivid effervescent renderings that become unforgettable images in the mind’s eye of the viewer. Perhaps Christensen’s philosophy of his artistic pursuits is best summarized by his proposition that “ ... painting is for pleasure. It’s like listening to music. That’s all.” (Adlmann, p 3.)

Five eighteenth-century medical polymaths

Abstract Five eighteenth-century medical men, like many of their contemporaries, achieved renown for their medical skills and research abilities. They lived during an exciting period marked by the questioning of many traditional beliefs. Coeval scientific achievements increased knowledge of the challenging natural world around them. Outside medicine, John Wall (1708–1776) established the fashionable spa of Malvern, known for the purity of its water, and co-founded the prestigious Worcester Porcelain Company. Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802) had a remarkably inventive mind ranging over many interests, including canal construction, steering equipment for carriages and a copying machine for documents. Edward Jenner (1749–1823) was interested in bird migration, and researched the brood parasitism of the cuckoo. His vaccination of cowpox to prevent smallpox eventually led to the elimination of the disease in 1980. Caleb Parry (1755–1822) practised medicine in Bath and was admired for his knowledge and integrity. He was interested in sheep and produced high-quality merino wool. Since boyhood he had hunted for fossils with his friend, Edward Jenner. John MacCulloch (1773–1835) produced the first geological map of Scotland, published posthumously in 1836. A prolific writer, his book on the Western Isles (1819) is considered a classic.

The Man, the Myth, the Legend: Professor Terry V. Callaghan and His 3M Concept

During almost half a century, Professor Terry V. Callaghan has been active in polar research focusing on Arctic environment and the ecology of Arctic plants, animals, and ecosystem processes, including ecological responses to changes in climate, atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and UV-B radiation. Professor Callaghan is an excellent scientist who has carried out outstanding research and he is also a role model for colleagues and young scientists, and an excellent friend. Through his hard work he has made himself a strong and positive reputation within the polar community and beyond. Professor Callaghan has contributed to and led numerous international scientific synthesizing processes. He was a member of the United Nations Environment Programme’s expert panel on Stratospheric Ozone Depletion Effects for many years (Zepp et al. 1998, 2003), he was a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Polar and Ecosystems Chapters (Anisimov et al. 2007) as well as of the Millennium Assessment of Ecosystems’ Polar Chapter (Chapin et al. 2005). He has also been a major contributor to the Arctic Climate Impacts Assessment (ACIA 2005; Callaghan et al. 2005) and the Snow, Water, Ice, Permafrost in the Arctic Report (Callaghan et al. 2011a, b). In addition, Professor Callaghan is the coordinator of SCANNET1 and its large EU infrastructure program INTERACT2 that now includes activities at over 40 research stations throughout the Arctic. Professor Callaghan’s contribution to Arctic research has been recognized at a high level. In 2007 he was included in the group award of the Nobel Peace Prize, and in 2011 he was personally awarded the Vega Medal by the King of Sweden. Professor Callaghan’s achievements in Arctic research in general are eminent, but it is for his outstanding work as the Director of the Abisko Scientific Research Station between 1996 and 2010 that we would like to honor him with this Festschrift. Professor Callaghan first visited the Abisko Scientific Research Station in 1973. Already from the beginning Professor Callaghan initiated collaborative projects with many senior and young researchers. He encouraged both Swedish and international colleagues and students to establish projects in the Abisko area. He attracted and supervised many PhD students and was successful in obtaining financial support from both domestic and international sources. His thorough knowledge of scientific methods, his brilliant and inventive mind that thinks unconventionally, his humble, friendly, and encouraging approach, his deep sense of humor, are all qualities which explain the attraction and success among colleagues and students. During the past 10–15 years the Abisko Scientific Research Station has become an international hub for the planning and execution of ecological projects related to climate change in the Arctic. The role of Professor Callaghan for the scientific progress at the Station cannot be overestimated. Under his leadership the number of scientific papers and the number of scientists establishing projects and collaborative works in the area have been steadily increasing and hence also the international visibility of the Station. There are few Arctic researchers that have not heard about the Abisko Scientific Research Station and its activities.

Love and invention

Reluctant genius: The passionate life and inventive mind of Alexander Graham Bell Charlotte Gray; HarperCollins Canada; 2006; 464 pp Can$36.95; ISBN-10: 0–00–200676–6 Most Canadians know that “Alec” Bell invented the telephone, used it first in Canada, spent summers in Cape Breton, Nova

Reading the Fascicles of Emily Dickinson: Dwelling in Possibilities (review)

Reviewed by: Reading the Fascicles of Emily Dickinson: Dwelling in Possibilities Sally Bushell (bio) Heginbotham, Eleanor Elson . Reading the Fascicles of Emily Dickinson: Dwelling in Possibilities. Columbus: Ohio State UP, 2003. $47.95 The primary aim of Reading the Fascicles of Emily Dickinson: Dwelling in Possibilities is to assert the value of reading Dickinson's poetry contextually and of "reading the poems in their places" (104) by means of the fascicle groupings. For Heginbotham, such groupings are "quite simply the most important clue she provided for reading the poems within them. They are Dickinson's own context" (viii). Thus, the study privileges a comparative, cross-poem and cross-fascicle interpretative structure and in particular organises itself around the examples of "repeated" poems occurring in more than one place. Such an approach allows the critic to dwell on "the effects of the pressures of the surrounding work—the contiguous poems, the shape of a book, [. . .] the peculiar tone of each book" (xi-xii). Heginbotham tells us that there are eleven examples of repetition across the forty fascicles. She chooses not to look at all of these, but at a "representative sample" (xii) of four pairs in Fascicles 1 and 40, 6 and 10, 14 and 3, 21 and 8. However, there are potential contradictions in such a position. Firstly, we might question the assertion of the value of a contextual reading which is followed by only a partial exploration of a certain kind of meaning (although Heginbotham does cover quite a lot of ground in the examples chosen). Secondly, there seems to be some ambiguity in the way she positions herself within the larger fascicle debate. On the one hand she stresses that she wishes to avoid an overly intentionist reading of the fascicles, on the other she centers herself upon the "intentional artistry she [Dickinson] used to compile these books" (ix). One of the strengths, and weaknesses, of the study is the way in which it resists falling into the more speculative authorial [End Page 113] approach, but it also resists pushing toward a clear conclusion of its own and thus tends to suffer from a rather unfocussed critical ambition: "what I want to share in this study is not any single interpretation but rather my own excitement at the glimpse the fascicle groupings provide in the playful and inventive mind of Emily Dickinson" (ix). The book is organised around the pairs of poems. Chapter 1 addresses two opposing poems in Fascicle 21; Chapter 2 looks at the poems around this pairing in Fascicle 21; Chapter 3 looks at a duplicate within Fascicle 8 and between 8 and 21 and then reads across poems; Chapter 4 gives a contextual reading of two versions of a poem in Fascicles 6 and 10. In Chapter 5 Heginbotham turns her attention to other critics who have adopted a contextual reading and to the issue of intentionality in such readings. Here she places emphasis on a need to "discover what she was doing more than why she was doing it" (107), that is to avoid an (unrecoverable) intentionist approach in favor of analysis of materials. Chapter 6 looks at two further pairs of fascicles (1/14, 3/40) before the conclusions of Chapter 7. At a localised level Heginbotham works hard to illustrate "the way two poems speak to each other across the page" (5) and is able to illustrate convincingly the value of contextualised meaning for interpreting the poems. She also provides a clear context for the fascicle debate itself, although her own position is again frustratingly undefined. She states: "I come to this study with neither a conviction that the fascicles tell a unified story of passion [. . .] nor a willingness to attribute to Dickinson a prophetic sympathy for postmodern critical theory" (12-13). Instead, her position is "primarily the result of simply looking long enough at the fascicles" (13). This seems to me disingenuous, not least because Heginbotham in fact has quite a rigid conceptualisation of the fascicles as a "self-publication project" (7) which she asserts more or less uncritically throughout. This becomes problematic later on when she describes Dickinson as "the tricky editor of Fascicle 8" (59) or calls the...

Shibutani and Pragmatism

Tamotsu (Tom) Shibutani was generous in revealing the secrets of his inventive mind with other people. This article, the second in Symbolic Interaction's symposium tribute to this exceptionally creative sociologist, is written by a University of California colleague. The author shares some of Shibutani's creative ideas with those of us who were not fortunate enough to know Shibutani personally.

THE KENNETH FITZPATRICK RUSSELL MEMORIAL LECTURE: ‘Of Books and Libraries: A reflection inspired by surgeon William Bland's copy of Manec's Treatize on the Ligature of Arteries’

Kenneth Russell, bibliophile, anatomist, surgeon and historian helped to acquire Leslie Cowlishaw's historical library for the College, and subsequently cared for and catalogued the collection. One book in the collection is especially interesting as it bears the name of every owner since 1656; another belonged to William Bland of Sydney, sometime surgeon, convict, educator and legislator, whose surgical ability and inventive mind stimulated this reflection on libraries and book lovers. Bland was almost certainly Australia's first vascular surgeon.

Arthur C. Guyton, MD

The sudden loss of Dr Arthur C. Guyton in an automobile accident on April 3, 2003 and the loss of his devoted and remarkable wife, Ruth Weigle Guyton, one week later as a result of injuries from the accident stunned and saddened all who were privileged to know them. Arthur Guyton was a giant in the fields of physiology and medicine, a leader among leaders, a master teacher, and an inspiring role model for people throughout the world.⇓ Arthur Clifton Guyton was born in Oxford, Mississippi, to Dr William (Billy) S. Guyton, an eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist and dean of the University of Mississippi Medical School, and Kate Smallwood Guyton, a math and physics teacher who had been a missionary in China before their marriage. During his formative years, he enjoyed watching his father work at the Guyton Clinic, playing chess and swapping stories with William Faulkner, and building sailboats (one of which he later sold to Faulkner) and countless mechanical and electrical devices, which he continued to do throughout his life. Arthur Guyton’s brilliance shone early. He graduated top in his class at the University of Mississippi, distinguished himself at Harvard Medical School, and began his postgraduate surgical training at Massachusetts General Hospital. His medical training was interrupted twice—once to serve in the Navy during World War II and again in 1946 when he was stricken with poliomyelitis during his final year of residency training. Suffering paralysis in his right leg, left arm, and both shoulders, he spent nine months in Warm Springs, Georgia, recuperating and applying his inventive mind to building the first motorized wheelchair controlled by a “joy stick,” motorized hoists for lifting patients, special leg braces, and other devices to aid the handicapped. For those inventions he received a Presidential Citation. He returned …

Arthur C. Guyton, MD

The sudden loss of Dr Arthur C. Guyton in an automobile accident on April 3, 2003 and the loss of his devoted and remarkable wife, Ruth Weigle Guyton, one week later as a result of injuries from the accident stunned and saddened all who were privileged to know them. Arthur Guyton was a giant in the fields of physiology and medicine, a leader among leaders, a master teacher, and an inspiring role model for people throughout the world. Arthur Clifton Guyton was born in Oxford, Mississippi, to Dr William (Billy) S. Guyton, an eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist and dean of the University of Mississippi Medical School, and Kate Smallwood Guyton, a math and physics teacher who had been a missionary in China before their marriage. During his formative years, he enjoyed watching his father work at the Guyton Clinic, playing chess and swapping stories with William Faulkner, and building sailboats (one of which he later sold to Faulkner) and countless mechanical and electrical devices, which he continued to do throughout his life. Arthur Guyton’s brilliance shone early. He graduated top in his class at the University of Mississippi, distinguished himself at Harvard Medical School, and began his postgraduate surgical training at Massachusetts General Hospital. His medical training was interrupted twice—once to serve in the Navy during World War II and again in 1946 when he was stricken with poliomyelitis during his final year of residency training. Suffering paralysis in his right leg, left arm, and both shoulders, he spent nine months in Warm Springs, Georgia, recuperating and applying his inventive mind to building the first motorized wheelchair controlled by a “joy stick,” motorized hoists for lifting patients, special leg braces, and other devices to aid the handicapped. For those inventions he received a Presidential Citation. He returned to …

A tribute to Alain Colmerauer

As an invited contributor to this Festschrift honoring Alain Colmerauer, I feel compelled to give not only an account of his main research contributions, but also of my perspective on the motivations behind them. I hope that this will provide the reader with a glimpse of how a focused, tenacious, rigorous, and inventive mind like Alain's picks research problems and proceeds to solve them. The history of Prolog, the language that remains one of Alain's major accomplishments, is well documented. His paper on the ‘Birth of Prolog,’ co-authored with Philippe Roussel (Colmerauer & Roussel, 1970), is a highly recommended account of the circumstances that led to the development of Prolog. Bob Kowalski (1988) presents his views of the early history of Prolog from the automatic theorem proving perspective. Finally, my own paper on the topic (Cohen, 1988) contains material complementing Alain's and Bob's narratives. Instead of recasting already-available historical material, I have opted to present here a more personal account of Alain's contributions, acknowledging in advance the individual bias inherent in such an accounting of long-past events.

Alfred Gardiner Brown (1838–1882) M.R.C.S.Eng., F.R.C.S.(Ed.)

Alfred Gardiner Brown was the first designated Aural Surgeon to be appointed to the consultant staff of The London Hospital, at the age of 38. In July 1880 he published the paper showing his adaptation of the way in which the tuning fork was applied to the head and its use in measuring hearing power by comparing it with the sense of touch. Had he been blessed with a longer life it is highly probable that he would have made a significant contribution as he was of an innovative and inventive mind. He died at the age of 44.

An inventive mind: the career of James O. Elam, M.D. (1918-1995).

An inventive mind: the career of James O. Elam, M.D. (1918-1995).

An Inventive Mind: The Career of James O. Elam, M.D.

An Inventive Mind: The Career of James O. Elam, M.D.

Comment on "Treatment of venous disease--the innovators".

Comment on "Treatment of venous disease--the innovators".

Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge und seine Musterbilder

The 8th February 1994 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of a chemist whose inventive mind and spirit and many-sided scientific activities still astonish us today: Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge. This occasion certainly deserves an attempt to appreciate not only his inventions, discoveries, and scientific work, but also the person Runge in his time.

To see life grow: The meaning of mentorship

studies over the years from varied perspectives. As James (1899/1958) succinctly put it nearly a century ago: Psychology is a science, and teaching is an art; and sciences never generate arts directly out of themselves. An intermediary inventive mind must make the application by using its originality (pp. 23-24). The mystery lies in the inventive mind that weaves a fabric of complex pattern in the name of teaching. One of the many yarns that goes into this effort has been called mentoring. That is to say, all teaching worthy of the name contains an element of mentoring, which brings to teaching such unique dimensions as trust, vision, and a sense of immortality. The essence of this special yarn in the fabric of teaching is captured by Fromm (1956):