A little background ─ after Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in the 4th century BCE, a combined Hellenistic-Egyptian god in human form was introduced to reconcile the two belief systems. An impressive temple was built (apparently vaulted in lodestone) that housed a colossal wood and iron statue of Serapis “which was neither supported on a base, nor attached to the wall by any brackets, but remained suspended.”
Later Christians considered this engineering feat diabolical trickery and the
temple was ordered destroyed in the 4th century CE.
This miraculously suspended statue of
Sirapis may not have actually existed, which would account for its absence in
the list of the
. . . . .
Historiometrics is a quantitative method for the study of creativity and its sociocultural context. The technique depends on the scientific analysis of retrospective biographical references and historic data.
It has been used by D.K. Simonton to examine different hypotheses about the creative process:
- Psychometric data about creative individuals (skills and knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personality traits, educational achievement, as well as creative precociousness and productivity) is derived from biographical references.
- This is quantified and analyzed, using statistical methods such as factor analysis, multiple regression and hierarchial linear modeling,
- in terms of available information about the individuals’ environments – role model availability, geographical marginality, economic or military/political circumstances during their particular period in history
Behavioral techniques:
·
Lowering cognitive control
·
Cognitive flexibility in
generating and evaluating ideas
·
Incubating ideas
·
Psychological distancing
·
Visualization techniques
