Joe's Jottings
Jottings Number 70, Reply B, by Benjamin Lloyd:
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 97 07:10:47 -0800
I wanted to send a quick note on your discussion of Mozart's creative response to circumstances, resulting in his composing the symphony #36. I think there are several differences between that situation and what we see today: First, that was genius, not mere creativity. Mozart had a reputation as a genius and a prodigy, a reputation (regardless of its truth) that cost him dearly to maintain; this story exemplifies this. Today, we hold genius in awe, but apply it mostly to people (scientists, writers, etc.) who spend a great deal of time developing and/or proving a theory. We respect their ability to think outside the box, to create breakthroughs. For Mozart, and the world of his time, the symphony #36 was not a breakthrough (symphony #40, yes; Die Zauberflote, yes; the Requiem, yes). His accomplishment with this symphony is a little like writing some piece of software from scratch in a short period. I know engineers who can churn out the code, and it works, but I would not necessarily say that creativity was the root of that achievement. Next, there is the re-use question. J.S. Bach, another genius, was constantly under even more pressure than Mozart to produce: for long periods he had to produce a cantata every week. He, though, mastered the art of re-use, recycling melodies, even whole movements from earlier works. While Mozart also did this to a lesser extent, transcribing pieces for different instrumentation to make more money, I think that he was more concerned about creating new works as much as he could. In this situation, were he less concerned, he could simply recycle some components of his earlier work to construct the piece, but he didn't. In our world, we revere effective re-use: we demand it from our product developers, we're building it into evaluation and reward systems. In effect we want our product developers to say, "OK, you want a symphony. Do you want a slow or a fast movement? Sonata-Allegro form OK with you? Long or short introduction? A minor key section in the development? Great. I've got just the thing, let me just change this from A major to D major, and... here you are." If we were commissioning a new piece and a composer did that to us, we'd be outraged! THe next point, closely related to the re-use one, has to do with innovation. Generally speaking, new inventions are created by extending the use of existing components/forms in a new way. The fax, for example, combined scanning/photocopying technology with modem and telephone technology. The light bulb combined existing knowledge of electricity, materials science, and vacuum technology. Mozart's symphony extended Haydn's symphonies, adding instruments, recasting roles, etc. Haydn, in turn, expanded the sinfonias of the baroque period; Bach enhanced the role of wind instruments, etc. Creativity, then, is often combining existing material with one new feature to create something new. Was Mozart acting creatively when writing his 36th symphony? Yes. Was he being innovative? Probably not very. Finally, combining all of these thoughts and applying them to software development alone: Is there value in ignoring available technology when solving a problem (e.g. with software)? Maybe. Can we quantify the value to allow comparison with the other approach (use every available technology)? Probably not. If we are rewarded for the end-product (as opposed to the production/creation process), with time as a limiting factor, we will probably use every piece of technology we can to save time. Now, given that there might indeed be value in ignoring the technology (to discover new ways of solving a problem), we might want to attach a few "back-to-basics" or "no-tech" creative exercises to our development process. A couple of hours spent on these might not help the current project, but they could easily help a future project, by opening a crack in a new direction we hadn't previously investigated. To recall the music analogy, these cracks are like Mozart's unprecedented use of the trombone in the Requiem; or Beethoven extending the final coda in his 5th symphony to an unheard of (and, at the time, very uncomfortable) length; or Schoenberg et al deciding to experiment with all 12 notes in the well-tempered scale, as opposed to sticking to a "key;" or Hindemith using chords emphasizing fourths to support his theory of "undertones;" or early rockers of the 50's emphasizing the "back-beat" (the 2nd and 4th beats of a measure, instead of the 1st and 3rd). Each new crack contains the possibility of exposing new vistas, new ways of solving problems. Can we afford NOT to search for these cracks? Regards, Ben
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