Four Groups Blog

I’ve been doing some research on creativity and problem solving and have come across the idea of Blending. I think its a neat idea and one that possesses a great deal of power and application.

Blending is a concept which describes how we integrate, or blend, a number of different ideas into a single whole. The idea has roots in the study of language but it can be applied equally to many fields including creativity and problem solving. Originators of this work have include Turner (1996) and Fauconnier (1997) and their focus on CIN or a Conceptual Integration Network.

The diagram above outlines how, by combining generic space (or information) with two different inputs, a ‘blend’ or solution is created. One of the key ideas behind blending is the idea that while information is shared between the generic space and both of the inputs, it is the unique information that stems from the inputs that creates the specific solution. There are some further links and references below.

Links;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Conceptual_blending/Resources
http://www.humaniora.sdu.dk/~thewaywethink/encyclo.htm
http://markturner.org/blending.html

References;
Turner, Mark. 1996. “Creative Blends” and “Many Spaces.” Chapters 5 and 6 of The Literary Mind. New York: Oxford University Press.
Fauconnier, Gilles. 1997. “Blends.” Chapter 6 of Mappings in Thought and Language. New York: Cambridge University Press.