Design Thinking and Discovery

Study Notes

Design Thinking

Design thinking is a human-centered approach to problem-solving that focuses on understanding the target audience, their challenges, needs, culture and lifestyle.
Solutions can take many forms including:
- Changing systems, policies and strategies
- Developing goods and products
- Providing services
- Developing infrastructure

Discovery

Discovery is about observing new events, procedures, or phenomena.
It involves using senses to perceive the world, absorbing information, and merging knowledge with what has been discovered.
Questioning is a key element in discovery.

Divergent vs. Convergent Thinking

Divergent thinking:
- Involves contemplation and seeing situations or problems from different perspectives.
- Aims to find new ways of solving problems, reaching alternative solutions, and generating creative ideas.
Convergent thinking:
- Follows a traditional approach to problem-solving, focusing on well-known steps and common solutions.

Mental Operations of Creativity

Creativity is fueled by intellectual operations designed to help us discover, understand, and explain the world.
Mental operations of creativity:
- Observation:
  - Involves using senses and tools to carefully examine phenomena and record accurate information.
  - Includes:
    - Recognizing features using senses
    - Formulating notices quantitatively
    - Distinguishing between observation and inference
    - Identifying differences among similar things
- Experimentation:
  - Testing phenomena to observe and validate specific results..
- Analysis:
  - Moving from complex to simple or from results to reasons.
  - Can be physical (decomposing a complex thing into its simple elements) or intellectual (breaking down a mathematical concept).
- Synthesis:
  - Opposite of analysis, moving from simple to complex or from reasons to results.
  - Can be physical (combining elements to create a complex whole) or intellectual (combining ideas or principles).
- Classification:
  - Grouping things or events based on specific characteristics.
- Measuring:
  - Using measuring tools to estimate a specific characteristic quantitatively, for example, area, volume, temperature, or speed.
- Communication:
  - Conveying ideas and information using various methods such as written words, spoken words, photos, models, charts, maps, mathematical equations, tables, and figures.
- Data Interpretation:
  - Analyzing data to reach conclusions and explanations related to a specific problem.
- Using Numbers:
  - Applying mathematical equations to solve scientific problems.
- Using Space/Time Relations:
  - Developing skills to describe spatial relationships and how they change over time.
  - This includes defining velocity and creating charts for three-dimensional figures.
- Inference:
  - Formulating conclusions based on given information and data.
- Prediction:
  - Anticipating future events based on past information, shaping them into scientific theories.
- Scientific Guessing:
  - Relying on senses and imagination to arrive at knowledge.
  - For example, an engineer imagining various stages of a project to reach its final form.

Description

Explore the concepts of design thinking and discovery in this quiz. Understand divergent and convergent thinking, and how these processes contribute to effective problem-solving. This quiz covers key ideas and definitions essential for fostering creativity and innovation.