Situated ideation

Although the ideation workshop suggests a physical space, typically the studio, for generating and communicating ideas, the participants are free to roam for ideas because ideation is not only situated in the studio, but in many "other places". Interestingly, research involving professional writers and physicists, found that ideas generating during episodes of "mind wandering" were more likely to be associated with overcoming an impasse on a problem, compared with ideas generated while on task (i). However, mind wandering happens in studio enviroments too although perhaps more likely to be referred to as daydreaming also known in research terms as “positive constructive daydreaming (PCD),” where the mind is cast forward and imagine future possibilities in a creative way. But daydreaming has also been associated with a lapse of concentration, or "poor attention control", that is, where a person struggles to focus on a particular thought or task, particularly troublesome for those with attention deficits. Yet ideation suggests focused attention on the task at hand. Where, then, does this leave daydreaming as attributed to the stimulation of creativity, and the generating of ideas towards problem solving? Well, says cognitive psychologist Stefan Van der Stigchel: 'The next time you need a [brain] reset, go outside and let your mind wander. Who knows what might happen in your stream of consciousness.'(ii) - (i) Psychological Science, Volume 30 Issue 3, March 2019, pp 396-404; (ii) https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/daydreaming-and-concentration-what-the-science-says/