The Spiral of Change

1. How does Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman’s quote “Scientific creativity is imagination in a straitjacket” relate to the Paradox of Structure and problem solving styles?

2. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of different problem solving styles across the A-I continuum. Are there situations where a particular problem solving style may be more valuable at a given time within your organization? Explain.

3. As Kirton describes, problems within an organization are often likened to a moving target. As a manager or team/project leader, how would you manage the composition of your teams so that they are cognitively equipped to handle problems that manifest themselves in this way?

4. In Kuhn’s “Historical Structure of Scientific Discovery” article, he highlights the difficulties that historians and scientists experience when trying to identify exactly when a particular discovery was made and precisely which scientist(s) should be credited with the discovery. Explain (using problem solving theory) why this is such a difficult thing to do.