There is something inherently self-contradictory about trying to force someone to develop their intrinsic motivation. Intrinsically-motivated creativity can be enormously valuable, but does it make sense to bring out the carrots and sticks?
It seems no one wants to practice “problem solving.” Because of the ways our minds work, people are usually pleased to be generating ideas and crossing things off lists as “solved,” but these activities might not be the ones that require practice. Generating an idea, coming up with what should be an obvious approach… When we […]
The other day, I met with some members of an undergraduate engineering design team. They had asked if I would meet with them, because they wanted some guidance on whether to keep going or give up on their current design for a heliostat. A design team usually answers to a customer. Sometimes, the customer is […]