Creative Spark Talk Analysis

Creative Spark Talk Analysis

Danielle Cave

PHL 458

May 11, 2016

Debra Geiger

Creative Spark Talk Analysis

Creativity is a characteristic that people possess that allows them to come up concepts they might use to accomplish a task (Businessdictionary, 2016).  The creative process contains four stages which are the preparation stage, incubation stage, illumination stage, and verification stage (Creativity Portal, 2004).  The idea is conceptualized during the preparation stage.  During the incubation stage, the idea is being thought about over and over.  The illumination stage is where the idea is put together.  During the verification stage the idea is accepted (Creativity Portal, 2004).

The video I chose was from November of 2011 in Brussels, Belgium.  John Bohannon is a scientist and writer who gives a presentation at an international convention on TED.  Bohannon proposes a model for easing economic financial burdens through dance instead of power point presentations.  Bohannon’s idea first came up while he was conversing with physicist friend from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  The physicist was having difficulties explaining an experiment on how lasers could be used to cool down matter.  Science is an area that the more words that are used to talk about it the more confusing the subject gets.  By the end of the conversation with his friend, Bohannon was even more confused.  Bohannon thought the experiment could have been explained clearly through the use of dance.

After looking through a few videos, I decided on this video because it grabbed my attention.  The video I watched was “Dance vs. power point, a modest proposal by John Bohannon.”  I really do not know a lot about science and not an avid reader of the subject either.  This video presentation captured my attention and made me think more at the same time.  The statement that Bohannon makes about bad power point presentations being a threat to our global economy is interesting.  At first it sounds like a ridiculous statement, but he provides a lot of supporting details.  Bohannon explains that we spend millions of dollars a day on power point presentations and about one quarter of them are a useless waste of time and effort.  He goes on to mention that power point presentations are a tool that people abuse.  Pictures used in the presentations tend to distract the audience.  The power point presentations create a false sense of competency and understanding.

John Bohannon suggests that by cutting the power point budget in half it would help out the economy tremendously.  He goes on to suggest putting dancers to work by hiring them to do presentations.  This hiring tactic would increase jobs in that field.  Work for dancers does not come easy and millions of dollars would be saved from power point presentations.  Bohannon’s idea has become a reality in the Science world.  A Biomedical Engineer named, David Ode, builds mathematical models to explain how the cells move.  Prior to construction of the cells, he works with dancers to decide on which types of models to construct.  John Bohannon now holds an annual contest that is called “Dance your Ph.D.” in which, a scientist must elaborate and explain research they are conducting through interpretive dance.