John E. Arnold
He was a pioneer in scientifically defining and advancing inventiveness, based on the psychology of creative thinking and imagination, and an internationally recognized innovator in educational philosophy.
[7] He died at the age of 50 of a heart attack while traveling in Italy on sabbatical; he had planned to write a book on the philosophy of engineering.
[8] Arnold taught summer seminars in creativity for manufacturing engineers, military researchers, and industrial designers (1953–1956 at MIT and continuing at Stanford).
[3] Arnold consulted for government agencies and large American companies, including General Electric, Ford, Alcoa Aluminum, Corning Glass, RCA, and Bell Laboratories, advising how to manage "creative personnel" for new project development and increased R&D productivity.
[2][8][11][12][13] On his passing, Arnold's Stanford colleagues described him as "an uncommon man ... a visionary thinker who set trends in design education".
[15] John Arnold's extraordinarily broad and diverse activities demonstrated his vision of what it means to work and live as a creative person.
This motivated him to become part owner of a garage, where he gained practical knowledge and confidence to get a job as an assistant designer for a company making industrial machinery.
That experience convinced him that he needed to learn the mechanical principles that made devices work, leading to acquiring an MIT engineering master's degree, which he completed in three years.
[1] Arnold broke with the prevalent approach of giving engineering students highly specified problems that by definition have only one correct answer.
[28] To prompt his own thinking, Arnold would refer to a deck of cards with probes adopted from Osborn, e.g., what could be rearranged, reversed, or put to other uses?
[35] Irving A. Taylor, social psychologist, asserted that in the associative, "productive" phase, contributions by individuals in a group brainstorming session could be synergetic.
[16] Furthermore, his case material emphasized that specialists of different disciplines, including psychologists, engineers, economists, and politicians—although not working together in the same room—did exchange questions and information necessary for defining and solving problems.
Arnold illustrated this collaborative aspect of the creative process in great detail in the Arcturus IV Case Study.
[40] He developed a case study called Arcturus IV that gained considerable attention in the public press,[16][41] but its humanistic perspective was new and controversial.
[21] The New York Times obituary stated that Arnold's "highly imaginative classroom methods to stimulate creative thinking ... caused a stir among traditional educators and conservative engineering leaders.
[44] Translated back to Earthlings, Arnold was promoting a humanistic approach[21] sensitive to the physical setting and cultural practices—an early form of user-centered design.
[40] Arnold's MIT Product Design course was conducted as an informal seminar combining discussions, demonstrations, and laboratory work.
[42] The file contained copies of correspondence of various fictitious agencies and people, presented "on specially prepared stationery and report forms, stamped and handled in the best businesslike manner"[44] to create a realistic context.
[44] The students became involved in science fiction invention itself, as they had to provide new, but consistent information that might be required to design products implied by the psychology and daily needs of the Methanians.
Making the point of his pedagogical approach, Arnold asked, "Do you think that the average, present day Terranian designer gives as much thought to human limitations?
[46] The science fiction exercise "jolted" the student, requiring an adjustment to thinking and methods that made subsequent learning easier: "He has to stretch his imagination to such a limit that it doesn't quickly shrink back to its former inconspicuous self.
"[46] Accused by some academic colleagues of "theatricalism and publicity-seeking",[47] Arnold believed it was important for designers to develop daring and confidence against what he called "a vicious jury" that might destroy ideas.
Arnold believed that the Arcturus IV case, because it raised issues about the planet and inhabitants that couldn't be resolved, would instill confidence in a student who proceeded deliberately and logically in designs based on principles.
"[51] Frederik Pohl in the science fiction novel Jem refers to an engineering design class at the "MISFITS" that created products for export to Arcturus.
