Status of Our Lab & the Big Picture

As you can tell from our meetings, there is a great deal of room in the area of insight problem solving for new work (new theories and new experiments).

I am very impressed with all the work that our PuzzleLab group has been doing. You have really given yourselves to the puzzles and all the tasks that I have asked you to do. Thanks for giving yourself to the topic and making lab so enjoyable.

As you also know, I am very interested in coming up with practical results that can improve people's problem-solving abilities. First, I believe it is a scientist's responsibility to society to address research questions that can potentially benefit society. Second, I believe that given the times we live in improving people's problem-solving abilities is a very important task. In the coming decades there is going to be so much innovation required as we search for more and more "green" products, more energy-efficient devices, and new sources of energy (to name a few areas). Any psychology results that can improve problem-solving skills and enhance innovation could play an important role in this transition to a "green" world. Further, as my TV show design highlights, many clever inventions are needed to improve the basic quality of life for so many of the world's poor. Again, psychology results could assist the process of invention for this noble and important cause.

Based on the scholarship I received this year, the UMass engineering department agrees with my basic vision and sees potential in my research for results that could directly help engineers become more innovative.

Recently, other areas of application have come to my attention.

1) Shiraj Sen is a doctoral student in computer science working in the robotics lab. He is trying to make a robot that can learn about the objects in its environment and then solve problems using those objects. Although the problems are simpler than the ones we humans deal with, still they are a type of insight problem in that the representations of the objects are incomplete and the robot needs to notice new features about the objects. Shiraj and I have been meeting and he is going to be using an idea of mine in his dissertation work. I have not shared this idea with you, but I will sometime in the coming weeks.

2) There is a fairly new area of research called CreativeIT (Creative Information Technology). The premise of the area is that computers can be used to help us humans overcome some of our limitations when it comes to being creative. My research definitely fits into this new area. Here is a quote from the National Science Foundation website.

"Information technology is playing an increasing role in extending the capability of human creative thinking and problem solving. The study of creativity and computing as a way to advance computer science and information technology, cognitive science, engineering, education, or science can lead to new models of creativity and creative computational processes, innovative approaches to education that encourage creativity, innovative modes of research that include creative professionals, and new technology to support human creativity."

These are some of the reasons I think the study of insight problems is important and exciting. I am glad that you are a part of it.