In another great post, Jonah Lehrer explores The Cognitive Cost of Expertise. Through a process called “chunking,” we use our expertise and knowledge as a lens; it helps us quickly recognize patterns within our field of expertise. But that same ability creates a strong bias–we’re always trying to fit the patterns we see into our existing models.

It makes me think about creativity. Is there something about a creative person’s “chunking” ability that lets them see patterns other don’t? Or, is it actually that they rely less on “chunking,” so they are not swayed by their existing knowledge? For people who don’t consider themselves creative, how can we help them see patterns in new ways? The immediate answer seems to be “cross-functional collaboration.”

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