Talk:Brainstorming

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This article is related to Wikipedia:WikiProject Method engineering.
Please note that the use of Wikipedia to host this project has been questioned. Please read this discussion and, if you wish, contribute your thoughts there.

This page was placed on Votes for Deletion in July 2004. Consensus was to keep; view discussion at /Delete.

Why could thought shower be discriminatory? And isn't this really just a definition? Exploding Boy 12:28, Feb 17, 2004 (UTC)

Actually, I guess that should be, why could brainstorming be considered discriminatory? And by whom? Exploding Boy 03:43, Jul 10, 2004 (UTC)

That's an interesting new external link on wikis for brainstorming. I just skimmed the report, but it sounds like Wikipedia is the rare stellar example of a good wiki community. Nice. Spalding 12:02, Dec 3, 2004 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Political Correctness

The political correctness section misses the point - as with all politically correct phrases, the supposed banning was not because it offended epileptics but because the idiots who dream up these politically correct ideas thought it might. 130.88.173.23 (talk) 20:06, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Thoughtshowering

I added a little about this phrase. Thought it was highly appropriate to the article and also of interest. Ivesfreak 16:30, 30 August 2005 (UTC)

It is appropriate and I don't understand why people keep removing all mention of the PC controversy from this article. However, I think the BBC dropping it is an urban myth (quickly exploded by Google searching the BBC site for the term). An older edit by User:Quercusrobur included an reference to an article in the British newspaper The Telegraph. I'd like that paragraph/link restored along with a link to the Epilepsy Action Epilepsy Facts, Figures and Terminology page. A survey by Epilepsy Action in their journal Epilepsy Today (Issue 73, October 2005) showed that people who have epilepsy do not associate the word "Brainstorming" with epilepsy and do not find it offensive. The suggestion therefore is that the concern over this word has been invented. --Colin 19:04, 16 September 2005 (UTC)

I have now removed the BBC story and replaced it with two that can be verified by links to the newspaper articles.--Colin 16:18, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Disambiguation

I removed the link to the disambig page from the top of the page, as all the other links in the page are proper nouns "Brainstorm". Feel free to revert if you disagree.

Forgot to sign - Bjmurph 09:58, 9 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Thoughtshowering... delete?

I say we delete the thought shower segment or drastically improve it. Up until now, it didn't even mention that it was offensive BECAUSE of the epilepsy connection until the end of the segment. Fix it or get rid of it, it's nearly unreadable. --64.251.53.130 14:17, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Brainstorming doesn't work

Sorry, but it doesn't. Years of research have demonstrated that the usual method of brainstorming is no more effective than other group discussion methods, and actually less effective than individuals generating ideas on their own. I put a criticism section with scholarly references and a note in the introduction section about this.

Now the question is what to do with this article? I think much of the content regarding how to do brainstorming could be trimmed down, considering that it doesn't work. Sorry! The section on newer variations on brainstorming could be developed further, since that's where there is still some hope of progress. Time will tell.

It's really a shame that brainstorming continues to be so popular among so many well intentioned people, or maybe not so well intentioned. Some of the advocates of this stuff are spending more time giving workshops and making money than reading negative research reports. There's still room for a variety of group techniques to make group discussions more fun and interesting, but if you really want to generate good ideas, it might be better to have people work on their ideas separately and then bring them in for group discussion afterwards. This is what the research suggests is most effective. Jcbutler 22:31, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

My comment hasn't led to much discussion or editing on the article, so today I made some extensive changes, streamlining the article, and removing some of the more extravagant claims of brainstorming. I also added a section on electronic brainstorming, which appears to be more effective than face-to-face brainstorming because it doesn't lead to production blocking. The article could still use some polishing and fine-tuning, and perhaps a conclusion section that sums up the research and clearly states what brainstorming can and cannot do. --Jcbutler 00:26, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Brainstorming can be effective

Brainstorming can be a solo activity, or group based it is just the action of generating a lot of ideas around a central point fast.

It is a natural start point to any project. The reason grouping is used is primarily for inclusion. I agree with Jcbutler if the group consists mainly of solo players who clam up with others, then brainstorming face to face can be counter productive. So, his idea of using email is valid in such instances, though of course there are other ways.

The point is any idea is further extended by making a list of related points, whether that be in written prose or just in a series of bullet points.

A problem does occur if people think that was is brainstormed is the final list of ideas for inclusion - that of course would be wrong - but it does act as a great way to get a list of a lot of ideas to work from or even to ignore.

If you go shopping you often make a list, now that list could be held in the mind or written down, but you go through a period of time just making a list of things you want to buy, it is an effective way to get the shopping done, and it is an effective way to get projects started. I suppose you could just wander around the shop, or wander around projects, but at some point someone has done some initial thinking.

I think people perhaps are making brainstorming out to be more than it is, brainstorming is just listing ideas on a topic. I personally find it invaluable on solo and group projects, it is just initial thoughts on a matter. Brainstorming is not mind mapping and I think this is where the confusion is coming in. Mind mapping works for those who are more inclined to remember things through visual cues, and to be fair pre-generated graphics don't help that much, it is more the act of actually of drawing the icon yourself that creates the association --PoisedSolutions 23:34, 16 June 2007 (UTC)