This is the snag with making obervations without reliable measurements. You
end up having to try things 'at random' in the hope some might seem better,
but not then be sure if or why... (JL)
This is true, but it doesn't rule out trial and error as a legitimate way of
getting results. When you think how many times Beethoven re-wrote the 5th
symphony (a process typical to composition), you can see that the final result
was in fact a process of trial and error. I think it's quite fair to think of
creating a sound system as an act of creativity, and as we know from the
initial stages of the creative process multiple choices are combined with
feedback of the effects of these choices to gradually narrow down the practical
possibilities. This process of "divergent thinking" is the crucial part of
creativity, since without trying out original and novel solutions there would
effectively be no new solutions and therefore no continuance of creativity. It
is only when the divergent thinking merges into "convergent thinking" as the
solution is approached that testing begins in earnest. The two processes are
essential - without divergent thinking (and by implication trial and error)
there would be no original creations, and without convergent thinking there
would be no worthwhile products. The convergent thinking may range from very
complex testing to something as simple as 'I like it best and it satisfies my
creative needs'.
The other thing to be borne in mind here is that there are several personality
factors which mitigate the manner of creation. The planner will plan an outline
of the work to be done, the spontaneous thinker will experiment. The rational
thinker will use logical steps, the emotive thinker will use instinct (both
processes can be pesent in any one individual, of course, but there are
dominant and shadow processes). We go on to consider Belbin's team role
behaviour patterns. The Creative will try a large number of solutions and be
less interested in following through, the Monitor Evaluator will soberly and
coldly try out a restricted number of solutions in a methodical way, the
Completer Finisher will agonise over details and make sure everything is
correct. In a successful production business all roles may be required, but a
single person can and will be any of these personalities, and a single person's
thinking will be different depending on personality and typical strength of
team role function. We will see, in audio, logical thinkers and instinctive
thinkers. We will see creatives that work by trial and error, and we will see
strategists and detail fanatics. The approach is different, the strengths are
different, the thinking is different, and probably the products are different,
although one would like to think they all work. Clearly we have different
personalities on this newsgroup, and the very first thing to bear in mind with
personalities is the idea of 'gifts differing' (MBTI) - the idea that all
personalities are valid, and that they simply differ. Although the larger
percentage groups in the population - extraverts, practical people rather than
imaginative ones, thinkers (men) or 'feelers' (women) (in a male dominated
society, therefore logical thinking), and planners (rather than improvisers) -
tend to weight the thinking of a society as a whole, this weight of assumed
preference is primarily a question of numbers rather than intrinsic worth of
personality factors. Add to that the differences in micro-groups within the
macro society, and we have another set of weighted parameters. The scientist
will be cool, detached and critical (16PF factor A-) whereas the classical
musician will typically be more instinctive and emotional, though in fact no
less intelligent (16PF data). Sound to each group will have different meanings.
One consequence of the above is that scientists are two things - people trained
in science and its methods and people with personalities typically found in
science. Care should be taken to differentiate necessity from personality. And
vica versa - creatives are good at creating and understand the processes which
bring it about, but they are also creative personalities - prone to trial and
error, disrespectful of and rebellious against the establishment, and
disinterested in following through once the more interesting divergent thinking
has passed.
Not scientific but less tedious... :-)
As above.
Far simpler IMHO to buy a Meridian and listen to the music. :-)
Saying this to a creative is like asking a claustrophobic person to go
potholing.
=== Andy Evans ===
Visit our Website:-
http://www.artsandmedia.com
Audio, music and health pages and interesting links.
CD transports and resonance
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