Millennium as Opportunity: Chaos,Creativity, and Guilford's Structure of Intellect Model

In this new millennium, our prospects for creative change may be particularly fluid. Chaos theory is used metaphorically to address aspects of creative process we therefore might note well, linking these both with (a) the operations, products, and contents dimensions of J. P. Guilford's structure of intellect (SI) model and (b) healthier balances we can create between Guilford's divergent and convergent production, both within individuals and cultures. Divergent production, a key operation in Guilford's model, may be viewed both as the major departure it was half a century ago and via the dramatic emergences we see today using a nonlinear dynamic of creativity. The intersection of divergent production with Guilford's products dimension might be linked to multiple creative processes we can ponder metaphorically as strange attractors, and attractor complexes, in a dynamic phase space of mind. Such attractors might trap as well as free us, however, and potential examples are given involving abstraction, unconscious processes, and socially restrictive models of normalcy. Next, Guilford's diverse content areas remind us of aspects of our-indeed, dynamically connected-experience as human beings that may be artificially disconnected and underemphasized in traditional education. All divergent processing operates within a larger context, and its tension with convergent processes contains potential for creative leaps and bifurcations, discussed at both the social and individual levels. Preliminary data on aesthetic preference suggest creative people also may seek challenges and chaotic attractors of higher "dimensionality"; this may help drive the process. Finally, a societal shift toward greater creative openness and growth is recommended, based on advantages for physical and psychological health, and clues to paths that nature finds adaptive. Chaos theory gives us models and metaphors based on an ever more rapid, sensitive, and holistic nonlinear creative process; this can honor one's mental history and complex preconditions while responding instantly to information as subtle as a puff of air. Now, when global change is needed badly, we can use this potential malleability to evolve together toward a healthier future.