Creative Thinking Exercise: Combine Ideas

Here you can get some practice at combining ideas. Choose at random two words from
the lists below. When you've selected two words, think about the words. Get clear in
your mind what each represents. In a notebook, do a rough mind map of each word and
figure out what each means and represents to you.

For example, say I have chosen the word stone (as in a pebble) and the word camera.

First, I look at stone. And I figure its: hard, mineral, roundish, smooth, textured, solid,
cold, that it can be used as a weapon, or decoration, or to build with, or to play with, as
a weight.

Next, I look at camera. A camera can be a pin-hole camera, film camera, digital camera,
video camera. It captures photos, pictures, images, or movies. It has a shutter to let light
in. It has buttons to adjust settings or initiate taking a picture or filming. There's usually a
lens that can be adjusted to focus near or far, and a lens cap. The camera shutter
opens briefly to allow light in to register on a sensitive film. I don't know how it works in a
digital camera so I will take a trip to Wikipedia to find out. You could further think about
all the ways that cameras are used: to capture and record events, to entertain, for art, to
create dramatic images to sell things, for security and so on.

Once you have gotten clear on what each word means to you... then you can start
combining ideas. Think about how the one thing relates or could relate to the other.

 Could you make a camera that looks like a stone? For a novelty item or for spy
purposes.
 Could you make a stone look like a camera? Carving a stone sculpture of a
camera.
 Could you defend yourself by throwing a camera or use it in some kind of
catapult?
 Could you hunt and kill an animal with a camera?
 Could you design some kind of stone-like camera that you could throw near
wildlife in order to film it? I think I've seen remote control movie cameras
camoflaged as stones or rocks that can drive slowly over rough terrain to get
close to animals.
 Stones are used to build walls. Could you build a wall of cameras, or a whole
house of cameras where every 'brick' had the capacity to film or record
information or events in the house? Hmm sounds a bit like the reality TV BIg
Brother house!
 Or could you build houses out of old cameras or disposable cameras that aren't
wanted anymore?
 Could cameras incorporate more natural mineral elements than manufactured
chemical-based parts?
 Could stones be painted with some kind of film to measure and show
environmental changes?
  Cameras shutters let in a certain amount of light via the focal lens to leave an
impression on the film. Is there some kind of application where sunlight could be
focused through a lens onto stones? The stones would absorb the heat energy
and perhaps that could be released somehow at a later time when it is dark.
 Stones can be heated in fires, is there anyway of stone-cladding cameras so that
could be used in fires. A remote controlled camera that can explore a building on
fire showing fire fighters what's going on.
 Stone is hard as rock! Lol! Can we make super tough cameras that can be
thrown about, that can be hit and abused without getting damaged?
 Stones are used as weights. Can cameras be used to weigh something down?
Provide balast and function as recording device. Could you work out with a
camera?
 Light makes an impression on camera film and forms a picture. Could stones be
used to make impression on soft substances to create pictures?
 Stones that absorb light and release it when it's dark?

SCAMPER-THINKING EXERCISE

SCAMPER is an an acronym created by Bob Eberle to represent a set of idea-triggering

questions. Some of these questions were originated by Alex Osborne -- yes, that's right,
the advertising guy who invented Brainstorming. You can use SCAMPER as an
excellent creative thinking exercise. Generate new ideas with it. Come up with
groundbreaking new concepts. Revolutionize your business. Start scamper-ing!

When to use it

Use it to discover more ideas when you are running out.

Use it to stimulate new ways of thinking about the problem, perhaps to kick you out of
your current rut.

Quick   X        Long

 
 Psychologic
Logical   X      
al

 
Individual     X      Group

 
How to use it

SCAMPER is an acronym for useful list of words that can be applied as stimuli to make
you think differently about the problem area.

Substitute

What can you substitute? What can be used instead? Who else instead? What other
ingredients? Other material? Other process? Other power? Other place? Other
approach? Other sounds? Other forces?

Instead of ... I can ...

Combine

What can you combine or bring together somehow? How about a blend, an alloy, an
assortment, an ensemble? Combine units? Combine purposes? Combine appeals?
Combine ideas?

I can bring together ... and ... to ...

Adapt

What can you adapt for use as a solution? What else is like this? What other idea does
this suggest? Does past offer a parallel? What could I copy? Who could I emulate?

I can adapt ... in this way ... to ...

Modify

Can you change the item in some way? Change meaning, colour, motion, sound, smell,
form, shape? Other changes?

Also: Magnify: What can you add? More time? Greater frequency? Stronger? Higher?
Longer? Thicker? Extra value? Plus ingredient? Duplicate? Multiply? Exaggerate?

And: 'Minify': What can you remove? Smaller? Condensed? Miniature? Lower? Shorter?
Lighter? Omit? Streamline? Split up? Understate?

I can change ... in this way ... to ...

Put to other uses

How can you put the thing to different or other uses? New ways to use as is? Other
uses if it is modified?
I can re-use ... in this way ...  by...

Eliminate

What can you eliminate? Remove something? Eliminate waste? Reduce time? Reduce
effort? Cut costs?

I can eliminate ... by...

Rearrange

What can be rearranged in some way? Interchange components? Other pattern? Other
layout? Other sequence? Transpose cause and effect? Change pace? Change
schedule?

I can rearrange ... like this ... such that...

Example

I want to invent a new type of pen.

Substitute - ink with iron, nib with knife

Combine - writing with cutting, holding with opening

Adapt - pen top as container

Modify - body to be flexible

Put to other uses - use to write on wood

Eliminate - clip by using Velcro

Rearrange - nib to fold outwards

How it works

SCAMPER works by providing a list of active verbs that you associate with your
problem and hence create ideas. As they are all verbs, they are about doing, and so get
you to think about action.

SCAMPER was defined by Robert Eberle, after an initial list from Brainstorming
originator Alex Osborn.