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Subscription : TechTrends is published six times per year by Springer + Media, LLC. Volume 58 (6 issues) will be published in 2014. Abstracting as a Trans-disciplinary ISSN: 8756-3894 (print version) ISSN: 1559-7075 (electronic version) Habit of Mind Subscription Rates, Orders, Inquiries: Please contact the Springer Customer Service Center for the latest rates and information: by Danah Henriksen, Chris Fanhoe, Punya Mishra, The Americas & the Deep-Play Research Group*, Michigan University (North, South, Central America, and the Caribbean): Springer Journal Fulfillment 233 Spring Street New York, NY 10013-1578, USA “Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.” TEL: 800-777-4643; 212-460-1500 (outside North America) – Aesop E-MAIL: [email protected]; [email protected] (Central and South America) “Abstraction is real, probably more real than nature. Outside the Americas: I prefer to see with closed eyes.” Springer Customer Service Center GmbH – Joseph Albers Haberstrasse 7 69126 Heidelberg, GERMANY “Abstraction is one of the greatest visionary tools ever invented by TEL: 49-6221-345-4303 E-MAIL: [email protected] to imagine, decipher, and depict the world.” – Jerry Saltz SpringerAlert Service: The SpringerAlert service is an in- novative, free-of-charge service that notifies users via e- We have previously described seven “tools for thinking” that are part of trans- mail whenever new journal issues become available, and disciplinary thinking and creativity: Perceiving, Patterning, Abstracting, Embod- automatically sends the table of contents with direct links to the abstracts of papers in a newly published issue. Eas- ied Thinking, Modeling, Play, and Synthesizing (Mishra, Koehler & Henriksen, ily register for the SpringerAlert service on the journal’s 2011). The last two articles in this series focused on the skills of Perceiving and homepage: www.springer.com/11528. Patterning, respectively. This article highlights the third trans-disciplinary habit of mind: Abstracting. In our conceptualization, this involves a multisensory ap- ©2014 Association for Educational and proach, emphasizing analysis of the domain and seeking across do- Technology mains, to discover the core essence of some phenomena or of study. Periodicals postage paid at New York, New York and ad- ditional mailing offices. t is common practice at the end of an interview, to ask an applicant to engage I in a seemingly simple task – to describe themself in three words. There are Postmaster: Send address changes to TechTrends, Springer, of course variations of this, where the interviewee must identify their greatest 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA. strengths, or summarize why they would be the best candidate for a position. This type of question forces one to go beyond the details of the resume, the layers of experience or the of accomplishments, to capturethe core of what defines a person, and what they may have to offer. Each candidate’s response may be similar in , but almost certainly unique in the details and substance of how they encapsulate themselves. This essence may not remain static across time, since one’s response may vary depending on the context, or recent developments in life. That said, abstracting the key elements from your personality, accomplishments, education and potential (boiling all the details down to a set of fundamentals) may provide the interviewers with the insight they need to hire you. In a more general sense, the mental skill of abstraction can yield new insights about an , an , a thing, or a process, because it involves cutting to the core essence by stripping away details not essential to the task at hand. Abstraction can allow us to forge deeper connections and understandings, through a process of analysis as well as through making analogies to other * The Deep-Play Research group at the college of education at Michigan State University includes: Punya Mishra, Danah Henriksen, Laura Terry, Chris Fahnoe, William Cain, Colin Terry, Jon Good, & Rohit Mehta. Address all to Punya Mishra: .

Volume 58, Number 6 TechTrends • November/December 2014 3 areas. We explore these further in the nections for deeper For example, a of things sections below. and new and creative thinking. This based on “strength” may contain such is the process of analogizing, which is objects as a tank, a gorilla, and tung- Experiencing the Abstract often central to abstraction. Mishra sten. Thinking about the items in these et al. (2011) highlight this aspect of categories may provide new insight Abstraction is a process of the skill as, the “finding of analogies about how they are connected, struc- revealing a critical essence of some between seemingly disparate things.” tured or designed through compar- real object that exists by removingSo in this sense abstraction is a mul- ing and contrasting (Root-Bernstein, everything except a finite numbertilayered skill, involving the ability to 2013). The obvious surface differences (often just one) of its key elements. focus on one key feature of a thing, as between a tank, a gorilla, and tung- To identify a key element, one must well as the ability to think in analogies sten fade away as we focus on this new, focus on one specific area or feature of to foster deeper understandings, con- shared aspect of their nature. the object relevant to the current task nections and creative thinking. (Mishra, Koehler & Henriksen, 2011). Analogies in Disciplines Abstracting allows us to consider “Abstracting is Just Like”… these core elements or properties of and Human Categories and Analogies the object, not just by looking at it but Hofstadter and Sander’s (2013) also through a multisensory approach Through focus and , argument that analogies are the ba- with “all the wealth of sensations that the essence of an object, process, per- sis of human cognition arises from we experience” in the real world (Root- son or a thing can be revealed and the field of . Linguists have Bernstein, 2001). In order to truly identified. After this fundamental na- noted how the essence of communica- understand a thing and “abstract out” ture is recognized, we can start to look tion, or itself, is abstract in its core properties – the essence of it, across seemingly different objects or nature (Chomsky, 1968). Language is or its fundamental nature – you must processes for similarities or differences, a system of connection between two examine all of its different properties and through the process of comparison disparate things – i.e. signs/ and nuances, by experiencing the and contrast begin to build analogies and the “things” that they describe – object using different senses and that help us to better understand the which help us communicate with oth- engaging in a process of analysis that object under scrutiny. Finding con- ers and share meanings and . questions these properties and their nections between objects moves be- This act of relating different things, to relevance to the goal pursued. yond an identification phase and into better understand and explain them, For example, simply looking at an developing new possibilities for how is a process of abstraction, and thus a orange may provide information about we see objects and their relation to crucial part of our mental life. its shape, color and size. However this another. Hofstadter & Sander (2013) In a similar vein, the Root-Bern- would miss the insights that could be discuss the fact that once connections steins (1999) have noted that the basis gained through feeling the texture, are developed through categorization, of all art is abstraction (to communi- tasting the juice, cutting through the they can also be grouped based on a cate an idea or an impression through skin or smelling the fruit. Such ad- set of differentiating properties or at- a piece of visual work). But art is not ditional insights allow you abstract to tributes. In fact, in their recent book, alone as a field for abstract thinking. the “orange-ness” of an orange (not Surfaces and Essences, Hofstadter and For instance – what is if just in terms of color, but in the essence Sander argue that lies at the not a language based on ab- what makes it an orange). This multi- “core of all thinking.” They emphasize stract thought? It is a system of signs sensory interaction brings out unique the importance and value of analogical and symbols that requires abstrac- meanings, and can lead to different thinking, suggesting that the only way tion (and logic) to describe quantities, impressions and new understandings we can understand new phenomena is measures, calculations, phenomena, of its essential nature. This process by making an analogy to something we and more. And by that token the sci- often takes time, as it requires careful have experienced in the past. The only ences are inherently abstract, not only observation and sustained engagement way we can grasp the new is by seeing because they use mathematical/sci- with the subject – which is part of the one thing in terms of another. entific language, but also because sci- “perceiving” skill discussed in a prior This leads us to groups of ence involves the relational aspects of column (Henriksen, Mehta, Mishra & with common themes or unique differ- different phenomena, organisms, par- the Deep-Play Research Group, 2014). ences based on distinct characteristics. ticles, or natural objects and events. It At this level, the process of ab- Whether we identify similarities or dif- requires us to make connections, and straction remains a relatively isolated ferences, this technique of categoriz- as mentioned before, explain one thing activity. To abstract out the core ideas, ing, comparing and contrasting, can in terms of another (Gentner & Jezior- you strip away extraneous details and often bring us to a new understanding. ski, 1993). In fact, Nersessian (1984) define the essence of a thing. But This process of analogizing helps us to and Tweney (1983) have suggested there is another aspect to the skill of “see” things in new ways, and better that analogy and metaphor are at the abstraction, which helps to build con- understand them through connection. core of scientific thinking.

4 TechTrends • November/December 2014 Volume 58, Number 6 Abstracting in Action of art, where there is no shortage of due to the added weight. After study- abstract thinking. ing the mechanics of the lizard mo- Hofstadter and Sander (2013) But analogy goes far beyond this. tion, researchers understood that it suggest that abstraction connects to It can be seen in scientific analogous was about the shape and size of its feet, our everyday life experiences, but the thinking across a range of situations. along with the precise angle in which authors also highlight dozens of ad- Niels Bohr’s model of the atom, which the lizard propels itself forward. This vancements in science and art based made an analogy between the atom understanding has led to designs for on analogous thinking. In the way that and the solar system, is a classic - exbiomimetic robots that can be used analogies help us to see through and be- ample. Bohr’s model built on a previ- for improved water safety/rescue op- yond categories, they provide a deeper ous model by Rutherford, but a cru- eration (Floyd, Keegan & Sitti 2006). and comprehensive understanding of a cial aspect of his explanation focused Another example, from Profes- thing by making connections. on comparisons to the solar system. sor Frank Fish from West Chester Artists regularly engage in abstrac- His analogy showed how electrons re- University, seeks to transform energy tion. For instance, consider Picasso’s volve around the nucleus like planets efficiency through the application of famous “Bull’s Head”, a found object revolving around the sun. However, about humpback whale artwork, in which Picasso saw the instead of gravity being the force of at- flippers. His exploration revealed shape and figure of a bull’s head clearly, traction, electrostatic forces keep the that the bumps on front edge of the within the lines and shape of an old electrons in orbit. humpback whale flippers do not cause bicycle seat (see http://bit.ly/1nlC72W Or in another case, Newton’s anal- drag, as existing principles of hydro - to view the actual artwork). The anal- ogy, comparing the moon to a cannon- dynamics predicted – instead these ogy lies in shape and form, and Picasso ball propelled with enough velocity bumps made the whales even more noted that the piece requires the viewer that it passes into orbit, is a scientific aerodynamic (Fish, Weber, Murray to see both the bicycle and the bull, in analogy that ultimately led him to & Howle, 1995). He then abstracted order for the piece to be complete and his of Universal Gravitation. out this idea, and applied this under- impactful. In other words, the bull These examples had major effectsstanding, on called the “tubercle effect”, shape informs the lines of the bicycle their scientific fields, yet they are just to wings and fan blades to increase seat and vice versa. a couple, out of many and varied illus- the efficiency and output. These leaps The cartoons of Saul Steinberg, trations of effective analogous think- in design and understanding range of The New Yorker, are another ex- ing. In each of these cases, creativity from the commonplace to the trans- cellent example of abstraction in art emerged from drawing seemingly hid- formational, but are always fueled by a and culture. His most famous car- den connections and new applications deep study of the core components of toon, “View of the World from 9th based on conclusions drawn about an a thing, to make new connections that Avenue”, shows the world laid out object’s essence from information re- can solve real world problems. from 9th Avenue, with a bit of 10th vealed at the surface. Such creative Avenue behind it, a small portion of analogies continue to impact the areas Abstracting and Creativity America beyond it, then the rest of of science and technology today. The skill of abstracting involves the world barely registers beyond this The field of bio-design is a con- both identifying the core essence of depicted as a series of small islands tinually developing field that has sig- an object, as well as the ability to draw (noted as Russia, China, Japan, and nificantly changed the landscape of connections through analogies – and so on). Within this single visual, the science, transportation and medicine. this begs the question of where this larger and more complex notion of Designers and scientists often look to process can lead? Simply connect- American parochialism that ignores nature for inspiration, simplicity and ing meanings and drawing mundane other cultures is revealed, without a beauty to try and better understand analogies help us make sense of our need for detailed explanation. Or we how our world works. After intense place in the world, and allows us to might look to Steinberg’s drawing of study and contemplation, leaps of cre- accomplish our routine tasks and re- a cocktail party, in which guests are ativity are possible based on drawing sponsibilities in life. But at a broader depicted in different artistic styles connections (analogizing) and seeing level, abstracting can also assist in – from Pointillist, to Impressionist, possibilities between nature’s activi- to Cubist, etc. – to demonstrate an creative and help us ties and the ideal vision. For example,to seek out alternatives or new ap- analogy between art idioms and psy- seeing insects scoot across the top of proaches. This type of productive cre- chological types. Consider also his the water without falling into it is a ativity is an essential component of “passport photo” created just from his phenomenon that has been observed 21st century thinking, in being able fingerprints (http://bit.ly/1nYaDeZ). for centuries and fosters a discussion to offer solutions, modify designs and This image captures at multiple lev- about weight and surface tension. come up with different approaches to els the meaning of identity and how However, watching a heavier basilisk it is represented. These are just a few lizard effortlessly skim across the wa- address complex issues. In Mishra, Henriksen and the examples, which abound in the world ter is a different phenomenon entirely Deep-Play Research Group (2013),

Volume 58, Number 6 TechTrends • November/December 2014 5 we offered a definition of creativity abstraction, and to better understand ric is intricately dyed and decorated, as being NEW: novel, effective and a complex idea, is the tool of analogy. through a process involving wax and whole. In this model, the creative Abstraction can be rather abstract dye). This teacher typically spent process yields things that are “not just (pardon our recursiveness), and stu- some time lecturing to her students new or interesting, they are useful dents don’t always immediately or about the cultural implications of ba- or effective, and they have a certain instinctively understand how to cut tik, before entering into the artwork/ aesthetic sensibility, which is tied to to the core or get to the essence of a craft lesson on batik. In this case how- their specific context—thewhole !” thing. Thereby, analogy can often be ever, she designed a short activity in Creative work is often viewed through the easiest entry point into beginning which they would make a brief film, the perspective of generating NEW to think in abstraction. to abstract out the bigger idea of what products (ideas, objects, processes, Gentner and Jeziorski (1993) have batik is about culturally. To exemplify etc., that are novel, effective and noted how in processing analogies, this for her lesson design, she created whole). Abstraction and analogous people innately hone in on particular such a short movie herself, to abstract thinking drive creative acts, and types of similarities and ignore others. the core of this unique art form. Her the process of connecting objects, So for example, they suggest that a film was a 30 second slideshow that attributes and becomes student seeing the analogy “a cell is emphasized the simple, central prem- a method for stimulating NEW like a factory” is unlikely to assume ise that “batik is life” – with images approaches and designs. that cells are literal buildings made that focused on the many cultural and Abstraction involves thinking of brick and mortar. Instead most life contexts in which batik is central deeply about an object to discover its people can figure out that, like a to life in Java, Indonesia. She noted fundamental nature, and to make com- factory, a cell has materials coming in that, parisons for understanding, and find to aid the process of production. It is Abstraction provides a connections to other objects, ideas, this emphasis on common relational unique tool to closely consid- or things. The connections revealed tendencies that makes analogous er batik’s position as art, craft, may be used for enhanced design, new thinking so illuminating (Gentner & livelihood, social indicator breakthroughs, and fresh , Jeziorski, 1993) – and is a valuable way and celebratory flag… I felt and it is this process that leads to cre- for teachers to help students get access a movie that focused on the ative production across domains. to abstraction. physical characteristics would have eliminated the most vi- Abstracting in Education Examples of Abstraction in tal element – the function of batik in the everyday lives So how does a student or teach- Education of Indonesians. My abstrac- er leverage abstracting to engage in In our Master of Arts in Educa- tion (in the form of a short creative thinking and design? First, tional Technology program at Michi- film) focuses on the variety adequate time must be designated to gan State University we have a course of ways batik is used in soci- the task of abstracting the essence of focused on creativity in teaching in ety, including status, wedding an object. The process can be time which the students (who are also celebrations, welcoming new intensive, as it requires examining classroom teachers teaching a variety babies, and burying the dead. multiple viewpoints required to peel of different subject matters, topics, away the unnecessary components. and age levels) work on developing So, this art teacher was able to use A multisensory approach is also criti- lessons or pedagogical ideas based on abstraction in an activity that helped cal—seeing the object from diverse the seven trans-disciplinary thinking her cut to the core of what the topic sensory perspectives offers us new skills. In the previous articles in this of batik is really about – cultural life. ways of identifying the essence. Prior series (Henriksen, Mehta, Mishra & Design elements, and skills/tech- - knowledge and context are signifi the Deep-Play Research Group, 2014; niques can be learned in the action of cant contributors to the development Henriksen, Cain, Mishra, & the Deep- working on batik, but this abstraction of abstractions and must be valued Play Research Group, in press) we not- through a short movie helped hone in as for different perspectives ed a few examples of how the first two on cultural relevance. about the same object. Categorization skills (of perceiving and patterning) and analogous thinking are also es- In another example, a science can be employed in teaching settings. teacher focused on abstraction with sential in order to compare, connect Here, we offer two examples based on the concept of heat transfer. Her idea - and extend the various essences iden the skill of abstracting, and how this was to create a concrete poem that in tified. Once these relationships are de- has been effectively used in the work its words and typographical layout fined and considered, novel, effective our teachers do in their courses. maps onto some key characteristics of and whole solutions can emerge. In the first example, a high school the science underlying heat transfer. In the field of teaching, one of the art teacher focused her project on the Her poem is shown in the image above. most critical tools that an educator topic of batik (an ancient, traditional She described how this visual has for helping a student to think in Indonesian art form, in which fab-

6 TechTrends • November/December 2014 Volume 58, Number 6 Fish, F. E., Weber, P. W., Murray, M. M., and Howle, L. E. (2011). The humpback whale’s flipper: Application of bio-inspired tubercle technology. Integrative and Comparative Bi- ology, 51, 203-213. Floyd, S., Keegan, T., & Sitti, M. (2006) A Nov- el Water Running Robot Inspired by Basi- lisk Lizards. Proc. of the IEEE/RSJ Intelligent Figure 1. A conrete poem. Robot Systems Conference, pp. 5430-36, Bei- analogy helped to give a better sense portant, then this is the place where jing, China, Nov. 2006. of the essence of the idea, as such, meaningful creative acts take place. Gentner, D. (1983). Structure mapping: A the- Heat transfer can be the shape We end with an example from the oretical framework for analogy. Cognitive of the air movement and the dif- poem Design by Robert Frost, which Science, 7, 155-170. ferent directions in it. I made an demonstrates how abstraction/anal- Gentner, D., Jeziorski, M . (1993). The shift analogy between the invisible from metaphor to analogy in western sci- ogy can convey a complex idea inence. In A. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and directions of air movement and a very simple but real and relatable Thought (2nd ed) (pp. 447-480). Cambridge, visible letter spreading (which is manner. In this poem Frost describes England: Cambridge University Press. happening between two differ- an everyday scene in nature, where a Henriksen, D., Cain, W., Mishra, P., & the ent temperatures.) As a result, the spider on a flower is holding a moth Deep-Play Research Group. (in press). shape and the color of the poetry captured as its prey. But Frost’s de- Making sense of what you see: Patterning provide us with an image to reveal scription uses deathly metaphors to as a trans-disciplinary habit of mind. Tech an aspect of the invisible phenom- imbibe this scene with a sense of evil Trends. ena of heat transfer. purpose. The scene sounds cold and Henriksen, D., Mehta, R. Mishra, P. & the malevolent, to suggest that the larger Deep-Play Research Group. (2014). Learn- Note as well the richness of the design of nature must then, by exten- ing to see: Perceiving as a trans-disciplinary - sion, be cruel and wicked. Then, the habit of mind. Tech Trends, (58)4, P. 9-12. poem—where it constructs an anal Henriksen, D., Mishra, P., & the Deep-Play ogy both in its choice of words as well final lines reveal a critical question: Research Group (2014). Twisting knobs their layout to scientific ideas (a great What brought the kindred and connecting things. Tech Trends, 58(1), example of the integration of form, spider to that height, 15-19. function and meaning). Moreover, the Then steered the white moth Hofstadter, D. & Sander, E. (2013). Surfaces poem is also a complex acrostic where thither in the night? and essences: Analogy as the fuel and fire for the first letter of each line repeats the What but design of darkness thinking. New York: Basic Books. word HOT, and the last letters spell to appall? -- Mishra, P., Henriksen, D., & The Deep-Play out the word COLD (each of course If design govern in Research Group (2013). A NEW approach represented by and blue colors!). a thing so small. to defining and measuring creativity. Tech In this course on creativity for Trends, 57(5), 5-13. With this brief and simple anal- teachers, our students do teaching Mishra, P., Henriksen, D. & The Deep-Play Re- ogy, Frost forces the reader to confront search Group (2012). Rethinking Technol- projects based on trans-disciplinary beliefs about purposeful (“God-given”) ogy & Creativity in the 21st Century: On be- skills across a range of subjects. Al- design in nature. Through analogy, ing (in)disciplined. Tech Trends 56(6), 18-21. though the two we have briefly noted Frost creatively and succinctly makes Mishra, P., Koehler, M.J., & Henriksen, D. here focus on science and art, it is us consider profound questions related (2011). The Seven Trans-Disciplinary Hab- clear that abstraction is a skill that has to the meaning of life and the impor- its of Mind: Extending the TPACK Frame- work Towards 21st Century . Edu- relevance and value for exceptional tant role that is played by chance, in thinkers in many different disciplines. cational Technology, 51(2), 22-28. how it unfolds. Frost constructs a stark Analogy may be one of the clearest Nagai, Y. & Taura, T. (2009) Design motifs: comparison between the beauty of the and most relatable entry points for Abstraction driven creativity - A paradigm scene and the random nature of the utilizing this skill – but in any way it is for an ideal design-, What is “What’s the De- gruesome encounter occurring within employed abstraction is always about sign”? Special Issue of Japanese Society for the it. Through this he manages to ponder Science of Design, 16(2), 13- 20. cutting to the core, the essential na- the bigger question of whether a larger Root-Bernstein, M. (2001). Abstracting Bulls: ture, of a thing, to help us better un- design is at work, or whether our lives A Dancing Words/Writing Dance Work- derstand it. This skill has the potential and universe are happenstance. The shop. Journal of Dance Education, 1(4), to illuminate one object, idea, or thing 134–141. (often in terms of another known use of small and explicit connections to make a larger, more implicit point Root-Bernstein, R. S., & Root-Bernstein, M. quantity), which makes it valuable M. (1999). Sparks of genius: The thirteen reveals a fragment of the greater power for true comprehension, as opposed thinking tools of the world’s most creative of analogy and abstraction. And who to just knowing facts. When we get people. New York: Houghton Mifflin. better than a poet to reveal this? students to this place of genuine un- Ward, T.B., Patterson, M.J., & Sifonis, C. (2004). The role of specificity and abstrac- derstanding, where they are able to References cut to the essence of what is really im- tion in creative idea generation. Creativity Research Journal, 16(1), 1-9. Volume 58, Number 6 TechTrends • November/December 2014 7 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.