?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=The+Beer+Can+Theory+of+Creativity&rft.creator=Gabora%2C+Liane+M.&rft.subject=Cognitive+Psychology&rft.description=In+lieu+of+abstract+(since+it+is+a+book+chapter)+I+provide+the+outline+and+introduction.+OUTLINE+1.+Introduction+2.+Culture+as+an+Evolutionary+Process+Variation+and+Selection+in+Biology+and+Culture+Is+More+than+One+Mind+Necessary+for+Ideas+to+Evolve%3F+Meme+and+Variations%3A+A+Computer+Model+of+Cultural+Evolution+Dampening+Arbitrary+Associations+and+Strengthening+Meaningful+Ones+Chaos%2C+Order%2C+Connectivity%2C+and+Information+3.+Creativity+as+the+Origin+of+Culture+Theoretical+Evidence+Evidence+from+Animal+Behavior+Archeological+Evidence+What+Caused+the+Onset+of+Creativity%3F+4.+The+Cognitive+Architecture+Underlying+Conceptual+Fluidity+Evoking+from+Memory+is+a+Contextual%2C+Reconstructive+Process+Defocused+Attention+and+Flat+Associative+Hierarchies+What+is+an+Inkling%3F+The+Pre-Inkling+Courtship+5.+The+Crystallization+of+a+Creative+Idea+The+Drive+To+Unify+or+Reconcile+Creations+as+Mirrors+that+Reflect+and+Reinforce+the+Self+Variable+Fluidity+as+the+Crux+of+Creative+Potential+Annealing+on+a+New+Worldview+Gestation+and+Birth%3A+From+Inkling+to+Insight+6.+Closing+Thoughts+1.+INTRODUCTION+I+had+to+laugh+this+morning+while+reading+the+Ottawa+Citizen+when+I+saw+a+crafty+yet+bafflingly+incompetent+vandal+described+as+%22He's+got+a+full+six+pack%2C+but+the+plastic+thingy+that+holds+them+together+is+missing%22.+It's+a+spin-off+of+the+saying+%22He's+one+can+short+of+a+full+six+pack%22%2C+which+itself+is+a+Canadianized+version+of+%22He's+lost+a+few+marbles%22+or+%22He's+not+playing+with+a+full+deck%22.+Not+only+does+the+newspaper+description+beautifully+exemplify+one+of+the+main+issues+of+this+chapter-the+interplay+of+variation+and+continuity+as+a+creative+insight+is+adapted+from+one+context+or+circumstance+to+another.+But+content-wise%2C+it's+a+pithy+summary+of+another%2C+related+issue+dealt+with+here%3A+in+order+to+adapt+the+idea+to+a+new+context%2C+in+order+to+evolve+it+in+new+directions%2C+it+must+originally+have+been+stored+in+memory+in+a+way+that+implicitly+identifies+its+relationships+to+other+ideas.+In+other+words%2C+when+it+comes+to+creativity%2C+how+your+'beer+cans'+are+connected+together+is+as+important+as+how+many+of+them+there+are.+This+chapter+explores+the+cognitive+mechanisms+underlying+the+emergence+and+evolution+of+cultural+novelty.+Section+Two+summarizes+the+rationale+for+viewing+the+process+by+which+the+fruits+of+the+mind+take+shape+as+they+spread+from+one+individual+to+another+as+a+form+of+evolution%2C+and+briefly+discusses+a+computer+model+of+this+process.+Section+Three+presents+theoretical+and+empirical+evidence+that+the+sudden+proliferation+of+human+culture+approximately+two+million+years+ago+began+with+the+capacity+for+creativity-that+is%2C+the+ability+to+generate+novelty+strategically+and+contextually.+The+next+two+sections+take+a+closer+look+at+the+creative+process.+Section+Four+examines+the+mechanisms+underlying+the+fluid%2C+associative+thought+that+constitutes+the+inspirational+component+of+creativity.+Section+Five+explores+how+that+initial+flicker+of+inspiration+crystallizes+into+a+solid%2C+workable+idea+as+it+gets+mulled+over+in+light+of+the+various+constraints+and+affordances+of+the+world+into+which+it+will+be+born.+Finally%2C+Section+Six+wraps+things+up+with+a+few+speculative+thoughts+about+the+overall+unfolding+of+this+evolutionary+process.&rft.publisher=Morgan+Kaufman+Publishers+Inc.%2C+San+Francisco%2C+CA&rft.contributor=Bentley%2C+Peter&rft.contributor=Corne%2C+David&rft.date=2002&rft.type=Book+Chapter&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F4768%2F1%2Fbeercan.htm&rft.identifier=++Gabora%2C+Liane+M.++(2002)+The+Beer+Can+Theory+of+Creativity.++%5BBook+Chapter%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F4768%2F