AI & Soc (2000) 14:440-453 9 2000 Springer-VerlagLondon Limited

A I ~t S O C I I ~ ' r ~

Open Forum

The Creative Landscapes Column: Metacognition

Bob Muller
There are three contributions in this issue. You may enjoy working out, dear reader, in what way each one deserves to be viewed as metacognition!

The Creation of Understanding

The ability to think about your own thinking (metacognition) is essential in a world of continuous change. John Abbott The first contribution from Kenneth R. Blochowiak (blochowiak@delphi.com) tackles the vital topic of understanding. Kenneth' s example could be a model for all of us to try: at our group discussions, evening class, at home with our family, at work, in workshops, perhaps on holiday. It would be fascinating to hear of the different experiences and perspectives gained by readers' experiments. Kenneth now explains. One important type of creativity is the creation of understanding. As a community educator my wife, Jo, takes history and literature out of the university classroom and into the community with the aim of promoting understanding as well as creativity and learning. Leading adult book discussion groups is one of her projects. One group became interested in tackling a scientific book of some sort and I was asked to make a recommendation. The group's usual focus is fiction, supplemented by the occasional biography. The group's background is diverse in many respects - it ranges from autodidacts to a professionally trained historian to a theologian turned novelist - but their scientific background is uniformly minimal. I recommended A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes by S. Hawking for its clarity, interesting stories, and public visibility. I also wrote the following brief essay to provide a context for their reading. I had a number of goals with respect to the essay. Attitudes towards science and scientists among non-scientists can range from uncritical acceptance of anything labelled

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scientific to knee-jerk rejection of the same. I hoped to encourage a deeper understanding of the nature of real science as practised by real scientists. I also hoped to make scientific creativity more understandable to the members of the group to enable them to appreciate the strange and wonderful intellectual creations of scientists. The knowledgeable reader will notice the influence of computer science and knowledge-engineering ideas and methods in the essay. Implicitly drawing on such concepts as the Turing machine, the physical symbol system hypothesis, and my own work on justification systems - a generalisation of my previous work on the growth and validity of knowledge - I present a set of examples of symbols and their interpretation that range from cases the group was familiar with to unfamiliar ones of a scientific or technical nature. I also introduced the concept of an ideal of rationality and presented a small set of examples. Because what people believe has a strong effect on what they do and what they achieve - both on a personal and a societal level - I think that mutual understanding among people with differing ideals of rationality is a desirable thing. I think this is true with respect to the general public's understanding of scientists. I also think that it is true with respect to scientists' understanding of the general public.

Reality, Appearance, and the Interpretation of S y m b o l s

The nature of reality has been the subject of speculations and investigations by multitudes of people. Going beyond the veil of appearance to the essence is a perennial goal. Those who have engaged in this enterprise have left us various symbols that aid (or hinder) us in our own attempts and we interpret these symbols as best we can. A set of examples of symbols and their interpretation: 9 a work of literature and its interpretation 9 a work of art and its interpretation 9 a religious text and its interpretation 9 a work of history and its interpretation 9 a primary source and its interpretation 9 a secondary source and its interpretation 9 a scientific theory and its interpretation 9 an observation oi" experiment and its interpretation 9 a work of interpretation and its interpretation 9 a set of archetypes and their interpretation 9 a set of equations and their interpretation 9 a set of axioms and their interpretation 9 a set of proverbs and their interpretation Various people have approached this enterprise in various ways. Some people have used various ideals of rationality and belief presented by various authorities and institutions. Some people have examined the lives and works of individuals who are generally recognised as having succeeded (or made progress) in this enterprise. Some people have used the various methods to investigate the methods themselves in an attempt to get to the reality behind the appearances of methods of getting to

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reality. Some people have attempted to construct systems which could achieve this goal. There are a great many alternatives. A few ideals of rationality include: 9 the logically omniscient perfect reasoner: a theorem prover which can prove all consequences of its axioms; 9 the expected utility maximiser: a decision maker who selects the alternative that maximises their expected utility, where expected utility is defined as the probability of an outcome occurring times the utility of the outcome. But I would also include as ideals of rationality: 9 characters in works of literature that speak with the voice of reason (Sherlock Holmes for example); 9 omniscient deities. One ideal of rationality which has gained enormous authority and legitimacy over the centuries is the ideal of the scientist. There are, of course, many different variations on this theme, and they are not always consistent with one another. In contemporary society, science is o f great importance. Therefore a truer understanding o f the essence of the scientific enterprise seems likely to be of value to people who wish to understand the nature of the society we live in. The strange and wonderful ideas and discoveries of various scientists are creative works of astonishing imagination and beauty. This is an added benefit. To better understand science and the scientific enterprise, one might focus on various individual scientists. People such as: 9 Rene Descartes 9 Galileo Galitei 9 Isaac Newton 9 Ada Augusta 9 Albert Einstein 9 Srinivasa Ramanujan 9 Rachel Carson 9 Stephen Hawking 9 Richard F e y n m a n 9 Andrei Sakharov 9 Candice Pert 9 Murray Gell-Mann 9 Herbert Simon I have found most theories or models of the scientific enterprise to pale in comparison to the richness o f the actual historical process. They may give some insight into various aspects o f the scientific enterprise, but I challenge someone unfamiliar with the detailed history o f science - h o w e v e r much or little familiarity they have with various abstract descriptions of science and the practice o f science - to read a biography of any scientist. I believe that they will find it necessary to m a k e substantial revisions to their c o n c e p t s o f science, scientists, and the

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scientific method. True stories of real scientists are much more interesting than stereotypes and abstract models. And real stories of real scientists engaged in real research give better guidance for people who are seeking real knowledge in their own lives than second or third hand descriptions of science, scientists, and the scientific method.

A Few Discussion Questions

A few questions of possible interest to the intelligent non-scientist who has recently read a work of popular science or the biography of a scientist: 1. In what ways has your concept of science, scientists, and the scientific method changed as a result of your reading? 2. What did you find most strange and disconcerting about this subject during your reading? 3. What have you learned that you might be able to use in your own activities?

Intelligence and a Model of Creativity: A Personal View

Yet another perspective is contributed by Barry Landsberg (barry@bmlandsberg .softnet.co.uk). Barry serves us two courses: first, a personal view on intelligence and creativity; second, a personal - and original - model of creativity.

Intelligence versus C r e a t i v i t y
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein I am intelligent! At least I ought to be. I have a first-class degree and a Ph.D. The sausage-machine of school and university produced another successful result. So what does my Ph.D. say about me? Why do many of my colleagues not even know I have got one? I think it is because I did three years of research, with very little originality. Yes, a good background knowledge was required, a bit of luck, and the ability to program advanced mathematics, but where was the creativity? I did find some new things, even clever things, mainly by ringing some changes on what existed previously, and putting those through an already established process. Looking back 25 years later, I do not get a sense of having been creative. Einstein was creative. Much of it was constructive. He asked a question that nobody else had thought of asking, and that was 'What would it be like to travel at the speed of light?' More specifically he asked whether you would see your own reflection in a mirror, and if you could, how would this appear to someone watching you do this? He asked this for years. As a result, the Theory of Relativity was born. He was also very unhappy with the quantum theories that were emerging, as they were based on probabilities. Convinced that God does not play dice with the Universe,

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he spent many years and much effort creatively trying to disprove those elements of quantum theory that did not fit his philosophy. His creativity was not always welcome! So what is intelligence, and what is creativity? There are almost as many answers as there are people, so here is a personal view. In this culture, left-brain ability is highly prized. To be able to analyse, to be process-oriented, to do mathematics, to be logical and step-wise, to think in a reductionist way. These are very valid skills, and I have been very good at them myself. Right-brain ability is usually only highly prized when it is extremely well developed. Great musicians, artists, actors are forgiven quirks and weaknesses, but not the poor student who is highly intuitive and artistic but does not perform well in exams. In the right brain lies the sense of art, rhythm, intuition, mental leaps, imagination. For me, creativity is crossing discontinuities connecting things that were not previously connected, perhaps writing, painting, or composing something that previously did not exist for the person who was creating it. This itself is a point of debate: does it always have to matter whether someone else has ever created something similar? And a route to creativity? Crossing the discontinuity between the left and right brain. Moving from lecture notes to Mind Maps, or at least a balance of the two. Embracing Accelerated Learning to get into more relaxed learning states, as opposed to the old style of effort and force. Reading but still to take the full right-brained jump to Photoreading. De Bono himself stresses the nature of discontinuity in creative thinking processes. Also, as I mentioned in the case of Einstein, asking questions that nobody else has thought of asking, which can take courage, confidence, but most of all, curiosity. As I get older, I feel the urge to be creative and express it, and I have a long way to go before I feel satisfied. I may even raise my standards as I get better, and may never feel satisfied. But the direction for me is still further to the Right.

A Personal Model of Creativity

Original thought, and respect for originality of others, must surely lie at the heart not just of creativity, but also individuality - our only chance of twenty-firstcentury escape from zombie-ness. Professor Susan Greenfield I am delighted to have the opportunity to write about the areas of creativity which I would like to improve on. When I was first asked by Bob Muller, I found this difficult to express until I started thinking creatively about what creativity actually means to me. Bob Muller's definitions of Master Creativity (in his 'Prologue' column) are very inspiring. In those terms, I simply want all aspects of his definition. However, I wish to propose a different model which describes my world of creativity, just in case it is useful to others. Not all aspects of it are original and, as you will see later, this does not worry me very much. So, at the risk of mixing innovation with creativity, I can think of creativity in three directions like mutually perpendicular axes in space.

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Dimension 1: Originality
This dimension spans historical creativity on one side, through to psychological creativity on the other. The former may be where I create something that nobody before has ever created, and the latter is where I create something irrespective of whether it is totally original. To quote one facet of Bob Muller's definition of creativity, 'When we produce something, if we find its production satisfying and instructive, if we find the result new or distinctive and it gives us pleasure - not necessarily longlasting satisfaction - and we have been totally absorbed in its production and embodied part of ourselves in the result, then we can say that we have been using our creativity. A b o v e all, the act of creation is a powerful form of loving and learning.' This is a wonderful definition of psychological creativity. As for historical creativity, I only ask whether C h o p i n ' s work would have been less great if a failed and unknown composer who died a pauper twenty years before Chopin was born had written pieces with similar melodies. The main relevance of historical creativity is surely tied in with the public's acceptance of what they perceive to be creative.

Dimension 2: Value
This is perhaps the most subjective of the measures. If I write '93 violet mice hibernated in a loud submarine', I would be surprised if anyone else had ever written this exact sentence before, or even admitted it if they had! Historically creative, yes, but hardly valuable. Creations of value surely depend on the context, perhaps pertaining to whether a new insight is made, a new type of solution to a problem is found, or even whether the current culture is ready for the new idea. Many times it has been said that someone is ahead of their time.

Dimension 3: Solution-Oriented versus Free Creation

Here I suppose two extremes of why one creates. The first, which I catl solutionoriented, is where there is a problem or goal, and a creative solution is born from reflecting or pondering that specific problem. An often-quoted example is Kekule who, after thinking about the structure of benzene, had a dream which led to his suggesting a ring structure for the molecule. At the other extreme is the pure act of creation for its own sake, or at least certainly without a conscious goal in mind. This may be followed by the r e c o g n i t i o n that what has been created could be used or built on for something real. The main difference between the two types is the order of goal creation. So, if I could have what I wanted in terms of creativity, what would it be? In day-today living, creating something historically original (Dimension 1) is not of total interest to me. I am happy to be creative in using what I know and the ideas of others to solve problems I encounter, or to help others to do the same.

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D i m e n s i o n 2, value, is a m a t t e r of c o n t e n t a n d context. I t h i n k the i n t e r e s t i n g c h a l l e n g e here is r e c o g n i t i o n of v a l u e , p e r h a p s f r o m an i n i t i a l c r e a t i o n . I m a y h a v e c r e a t e d m a n y v a l u a b l e t h i n g s f l e e t i n g l y i n s i d e m y head, a n d it w o u l d all be to no a v a i l w i t h o u t the r e c o g n i t i o n of v a l u e or o p p o r t u n i t y . D i m e n s i o n 3, s o l u t i o n - o r i e n t e d creativity, is s o m e t h i n g I have practised m u c h of the time, b u i l d i n g b r i d g e s (or t u n n e l s ! ) f r o m a c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n to a future desired state. M u c h has b e e n w r i t t e n on this, and it is n a t u r a l l y a v a l u a b l e skill. H o w e v e r , I w a n t to h a v e t r u l y free c r e a t i v i t y . To q u o t e B o b M u l l e r ' s other d e f i n i t i o n of c r e a t i v i t y : ' H u m a n c r e a t i v i t y i n v o l v e s a f r e e - f l o w i n g p l a y of the m i n d i n w h i c h n e w ideas c o n s t a n t l y s u r f a c e a n d i n t e r a c t with each other. Ideas are like p a t t e r n s i n a k a l e i d o s c o p e w h i c h m o v e and t r a n s f o r m u n t i l s o m e n e w p a t t e r n s w i n g s into p e r c e p t i o n . ' So, this is free c r e a t i v i t y with a k e e n r e c o g n i t i o n of v a l u e a n d o p p o r t u n i t y . If this m o d e l is at all useful or relevant, I w o u l d be keen to learn of any material or e x p e r i e n c e that could e n h a n c e this slice of the whole g a m u t of creativity.

The Oxford Institute

I believe very strongly that the type of thinking needed for creative growth is the type of thinking which I call the 'what can be' thinking. The last millennium or two millennia - or even three millennia - have been concerned with the 'what is' thinking, identifying standard situations, providing standard answers. We need to supplement that - not replace it, but supplement it - with 'what can be' thinking; that is, design thinking, creative thinking, and constructive thinking. Advances in technology and availability of information only provide a limited value; unless in the first case, we can use the technology to deliver new values and, unless in the case of information, we can analyse information within some creative frameworks which allow us to see things which we would otherwise not see. The need today - and in the coming millennium - is much greater than ever for the 'what can be' thinking: creative thinking, design thinking, constructive thinking. So, I wish the Institute the best of luck. Edward de Bono W o r l d Leader on Creativity and T h i n k i n g ; Advisory Panel m e m b e r of The Oxford Institute 1 The final contribution of this issue is mine. Readers have asked me to describe The Oxford Institute, which I have founded and direct. M a n y years of thinking about t h i n k i n g - especially how we can think, create, i n n o v a t e and co-operate more effectively - has been invested in the new Institute. Readers comments on the following description are most welcome.

Overview
The Oxford Institute's vision is a world in which people - in their personal lives and m e m b e r s of groups and organisations - will j o y o u s l y access, use and develop their full potential throughout their lives. The Institute is founded on three beliefs. First,
The Oxford Institute consists of two companies: 1. "Oxford Institute for Creatiye Growth Ltd", which is a CommercialLimited Company focussing primarily on business; 2."Ph0enix Ltd", which is a non profitmaking company focussing on reseach and serving the community.

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that creativity holds the key to the development of enterprises and of individuals and will be increasingly critical in coping with the global changes of tomorrow. Second, that everyone can benefit from applying creativity to their problems and opportunities. Third, that there are no 'no-go' areas for creativity: it is relevant to, and can be made accessible to all. Its approach and resources aim to grow the creative potential of individuals and organisations through a network of local centres of excellence that treat creativity and innovation - and their effective application - as disciplines which can be taught, nourished and improved using methods which repeatedly produce successful results. These include an integrated range of activities with participative research with its members. Our resources are a strong mix of Executive Team, Associates and Partners, led by a highly experienced Director. The eminent Advisory Panel is very actively involved and includes: Min Basadur, Margaret Boden, Tony Buzan, Mike Cooley, Colin Crook, Edward de Bono, Robert Dilts, Richard Duggan, Richard Ennals, Karamjit Gill, Richard Gregory, Sir Douglas Hague, Norman Strauss and Anthony Storr. The Institute's hallmarks are: excellence (in relevance to participants, in content, in the contributors to each activity); major differences from other organisations in the field, primarily in three key elements. These are: the underlying methodology (ACCELERATOR), local franchised 'hands-on' Creation and Innovation Centres, and 'The Phoenix Programme'. The ACCELERATOR methodology encompasses a disciplined process for creative problem solving and enables each participant to work with an Institute mentor to construct a personal creativity development plan; this plan is executed in co-operation with other Institute members through meetings, projects, study visits etc. The local Creation and Innovation Centres aim to facilitate the development and implementation of the personal development plans. These unique centres are designed to help users release their creativity, increase their innovation and become more cooperative in group working. People learn how to enhance their thinking effectively; personal freedom is nurtured in a structured way and in an environment which encourages creativity, allows failure and is 'safe' from the critical eyes of peers, superiors and others. Local centres will be gradually established through franchises. The Phoenix programme is a major initiative to serve very knowledgable and experienced people, initially those over forty years old.

Aims
Why do businesses now want more creativity? The world of work is changing beyond all recognition. New technologies are transforming work, who does it, and how they do it. In practical terms, firms want peoplewho can adapt, innovateand roll with the changesthey face. Theywant peoplewho cml corrmmnicate, work in teams and change direction as quickly as the landscape is moving around them. Ken Robinson Chairman, U K National Advisory Committee on Creativity and Culture in Education; Advisory Panel member The Oxford Institute is an enabler of change. It aims to grow the creative potential of individuals and organisations through the network of local centres of excellence that treat creativity and innovation - and their effective appIication

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- as disciplines which can be taught, nourished and improved using methods

which repeatedly produce successful results. The Institute will also undertake research into, and disseminate knowledge about, 'best practice' for enhancing creativity and innovation. Its launch in 2000 aims to strengthen the trend that forward-looking enterprises now recognise that creativity, innovation and co-operation are vital to survival and success. Its long-term goal is to enhance the effective thinking of individuals, groups, enterprises, governments and other organisations. Initially, its focus is to enhance creative thinking, innovation and co-operation. The Institute recognises no limitations for individuals. For example, The Phoenix Programme to serve people over forty. The Oxford Institute is the result of the vision of its Founder and Director, Robert Campsie Muller. It has been planned and designed over five years and, during this period, members of the Executive Team have given workshops for specific organisations and groups as pilots for the Institute, together with undertaking foundation research. Meeting the Institute's aims is the responsibility of a highly qualified Executive Team which, under the leadership of the Institute's Director, has and continues to draw on the wealth of skills in the Institute' s distinguished Advisory Panel and Associates to develop the Institute's research and services framework.

The Five Pillars o f Masterful Creative Thinking

The OxfordInstitutecan create and release the intelligenceof a powerfulgroup of innovativeand original thinkers that may lay the groundworkfor the importantinnovationsof our new millennium. Robert Dilts (USA) NLP pioneer and writer on creativity; Advisory Panel member The term, concept and personal development of 'Masterful Creators', has been created by the Institute Director to heighten the underlying purpose of the Institute and all its activities and events are designed to grow people through a journey of development, exploration and experiment towards becoming masters (mistresses) in successful applied creativity, i.e. Masterful Creators. The Institute's activities - both research and practice - are built on five pillars of Masterful Creative Thinking. 1. Transformation. After years of planning and pilot running The Oxford Institute has unique experience in effective thinking. Through its initial focus of enhancing Creative Thinking, Innovation and Co-operation, it enables individuals, groups and organisations to transform themselves continually. 2. Personalised. The far-sighted among us recognise the great need for creativity - now and in the challenging years ahead. This is why the Institute's methodology personalises its services for each participant. 3. A community. Members of The Oxford Institute form a community, co-operating in learning, shared experience and experience transfer. In short, the Institute's top accomplishment is co-operative value in use. 4. Hands-on. Unique facilities will exist for people to enhance their creativity and work on their problems in local centres and via the Internet through hands-on learning and purposeful play.

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5. Expertise. The Oxford Institute integrates world class research with world best practice to be the centre of excellence for Creativity, Innovation and Co-operation through its consultants, associates and the active support of a group of distinguished creative thinkers from many disciplines on its Advisory Panel.

Creativity as a Discipline
The Institute is determined to treat creativity as a discipline. Through its comprehensive programme the Institute aims to avoid 'reinventing the wheel' and treating creativity in isolation. Particularly through its special 'Masterful Creators Foundation Programme' it ensures that creativity is applied: after the aim or root problem is identified; with a wide-range of techniques considered; in the context of the environment; in cognisance of thinking principles; bringing other established disciplines and techniques to bear on the process. Among a country's strongest assets is the inventiveness and creativity of its people. These result in the ideas and inventions which feed the growth of industry and commerce. Managers desperately seek the right people, those who identify the root problems - and opportunities - and generate effective solutions. Individuals and organisations need to develop their creative thinking to meet the problems now beginning to bear down on them. The Institute's belief that creativity needs to be a discipline is its cornerstone; it aims to grow useful creativity in individuals, groups and organisations through practical, tailored and structured education programmes.

Services An integrated set of products and services are offered by the Institute, including: workshops, briefings, local 'hand-on' centres, study visits/tours, coached masterclasses, tailored activities, co-operative projects, publishing, networks and participative research. Where possible, they focus on participants' working on their real-life problems. They provide a set of integrated activities, techniques and tools for creative development of individuals and organisations in a way that enables the delivery of consistent and complete improvement. They advise, educate and develop individuals, companies and government bodies in practical methods of implementing policies that nurture creative environments. They provide opportunities for participants to 'step outside their box' in a number of specific ways. They generate awareness and develop expertise in the use of creativity in problem solving, learning, and achieving understanding. They also help to identify and articulate the environments that nurture and enhance creativity and innovation. Highlights planned for the institutes first year include: * Subsidised USA Study Tours of R&D Centres . Creativity and Innovation Fair/Market (in Venice) ~ Research Studies into: The Need; Measuring Creativity; Creativity R&D and Computer Tools

450 9 Worldwide Creativity Network 9 Creativity Campus, Web-based Creation and Innovation Centre 9 Pilot Creation and Innovation Hands-on Centres 9 Masterful Creators Foundation Programme 9 Masters Workshops and Executive Briefings 9 Coached Masterclasses (in the format of TV master classes) 9 Launch of the Phoenix (40+) and Public Awareness Programmes 9 Launch of the annual Award, Problem Solving Project and Competition 9 The inaugural Alan Benjamin Lecture 9 Launch of the full ACCELERATOR Methodology 9 Launch of The Thinkers Workbench Mark I

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Masterful Creators: The Journey

While people differ in their potential for creativity, anyone can become a Masterful Creator. Anyone can join this journey at any point, depending on their needs, and once they are Masterful Creators they can continue along the lifelong journey of advancing their creativity and exploration. Another metaphor is useful here. Creativity is the first leg of the Institute's three-legged seat for participants, the Masterful Creator journey also embraces innovation and co-operation as the other two legs. In the longer term, it is planned to add a fourth leg: effective thinking in general. A Masterful Creator has many attributes, with many personal perspectives, but the hallmark of all Masterful Creators in the Institute's view is a quartet of key attributes: I. letting go by stepping outside expectations; 2. awareness of cumulative experience and knowledge; 3. taking risk through exploration and experimentation, while accepting realworld constraints; 4. understanding personal lifelong creativity as a continuous give-and-take process. Underneath such bald statements for the key attributes lies much depth and implications for each. The culture of the Institute is based on co-operative and continuous development of participants, where they can become and continue to grow as Masterful Creators with much experience transfer between them in a highly productive and enjoyable environment.

The 'ACCELERATOR' Methodology

ACCELERATOR, which has been created by the Institute's Director, is the dynamic
methodology underpinning the whole Institute - the Institute's A to Z. Reviewers and Advisory Panel members have dubbed it: the 'Battle Plan', the ' V o y a g e of Personal and Group Exploration', and the 'Intelligent Supermarket'. It enables

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each participant to work with an Institute Mentor to construct a personal exploration and development plan, which will be executed co-operatively with others through meetings, projects, study visits etc. This will be achieved by short, medium and long-term activities targeted at participants' shared (or common) aims and issues. ACCELERATOR consists of four major parts - each with its supporting approaches, techniques and tools: 1. a complete range of processes for creative thinking and doing, including creative problem solving; 2. the dynamic integration into activities of personal and group work towards a common goal; 3. selection for activity suitability and creativity measurement of participants (before and after); 4. for efficiency and long-lasting learning ACCELERATOR uses accelerated learning, experience transfer and other techniques developed by the Institute. ACCELERATOR is planned to be extended to include a software platform, "The Thinker's Workbench", to help enhance creative thinking within a diverse and eclectic approach. ACCELERATOR is delivered through the local 'hands-on' Creation and Innovation Centres.

Creation

and Innovation

Centres

The approach taken by the Institute is exciting, particularly by providing hands-on opportunities for people to explore creativity and, through this, to understand the creative process itself. Richard Gregory Neuropsychology professor, writer and broadcaster; Advisory Panel m e m b e r The Oxford Institute's local 'hands-on' Creation and Innovation Centres (CICs) form the hub of the Institute's services. These unique centres are designed to help users release their creativity, increase their innovation and become more co-operative in group working. People learn how to enhance their intellectual capabilities; personal freedom is nurtured in a structured way and in an environment which encourages creativity, allows failure and is 'safe'. The centres will be gradually established through franchises and sited in various towns and cities to provide local facilities for Institute members. Facilities of these centres will include: 9 techniques and tools, specifically designed to enhance creativity and innovation - computer and non-computer based; 9 network access to other techniques, tools and creations of others (including those at other CICs); 9 support, including helpers, facilitators and mentors; 9 ventures, including workshops, exhibitions, competitions, special events, and a 'Creative Cafe'. 'Creativity C a m p u s ' is the Internet-based version of physical local Creation and Innovation Centres. Personal creativity development can be supported through

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the Institute's Personal Study Programmes and other Institute activities/events. These study programmes, including those in the 'Creativity Campus', are available to individual and corporate members.

Membership
Many Institute activities/events will be open only to its subscribing members. There are three categories.

1. Full Corporate Members. These are subscribing organisations. They are eligible to have participants on all activities/events, some of which are open only to members. They have significant influence on the future direction of the Institute - including the choice of research subjects. Founder Full Corporate members joining before April 2001 are offered a seat on the Management Council (on a rotation basis), which drafts the programme one year in advance. 2. SME Corporate Members. These are SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises) fewer than 250 employees, who subscribe as members at an SME rate and who are eligible to participate in selected activities and events open to full corporate members. These memberships are subsidised by the total funds of the Institute to encourage the increased creativity, innovation and co-operation of these key enterprises' contribution to the economy. Founder SME Corporate members joining before April 2001 are offered a seat on the Management Council (if necessary by ballot), which drafts the programme one year in advance. 3. Individual Members. These are individual people who subscribe to the Worldwide Creativity Network, and who are eligible to participate in selected activities and events open to members only.

Members' Exclusive Entry and Discounts

Corporate and individual members who join before April 2001 are 'Founder Members' and gain special privileges, including waived joining fees and eligibility for activities with very restricted numbers. All Members of The Oxford Institute have priority for all the Institute' s activities within the scope of their membership and exclusive entry to some activities. All new members, with the exception of founder members, pay a one-off joining fee. All members pay an annual subscription according to type of membership. Through paying by annual subscription, corporate members enjoy a special price for member activities/events and enjoy discounts on all activities/events which are open to members of the public (non-members).

University Links
The Oxford Institute has an association with Oxford Brookes University, which will mount joint activities/events with the Institute and provide a permanent link for

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research, mutual exchange of expertise, together with a permanent base for the Institute in Oxford. The Institute also has been negotiating possible association with Departments of the University of Oxford.

In Error
This is the eighth 'Creative Landscapes' column. Unfortunately, all the seven previous columns were included, in error, with the journal's formal papers; whereas they should have been included in the informal 'Open Forum' section. If for this reason, dear reader, you have not read the previous columns, I hope you will now read them - and respond with your comments or contributions for future columns.

Feedback and Contributions

My thanks to Kenneth Blochowiak (blochowiak@delphi.com) and Barry Landsberg (barry@bmlandsberg.softnet.co.uk) for their most stimulating contributions. I live in hope for more contributions, especially those carrying on the theme started in this issue: metacognition. Now that this column is in its right place in the journal I look forward to contributions, of any size, from readers in all countries where the journal is distributed. Perhaps I should hold a competition to see which country wins, but I would then need to weigh quantity against quality! Any comments, feedback (including this issue) and proposed contributions for future columns from readers are most welcome. These should be sent to me by email - in the body of the email (not as an attached file). Contributions can be of any length as I edit them if accepted. With best wishes for Creative Landscaping, Bob Muller email: 100705.300 @ compuserve.corn