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freshman seminar course at Penn State that he calls “Failure 101.”

“the frequency and intensity of failures is an implicit principle of the course. Getting into a creative mind-set involves a lot of trial and error.”

“As soon as someone in the class starts breaking the sticks,” he says, “it changes everything.”

“Examine what in the culture is preventing you from creating something new or different. And what is it like to look like a fool because a lot of things won’t work out and you will look foolish? So how do you handle that?”

be willing to fail but that failure is a critical avenue to a successful end.

When ideas from different fields collide, Dr. Cramond says, fresh ones are generated.

rephrasing problems as questions, learning not to instinctively shoot down a new idea (first find three positives), and categorizing problems as needing a solution that requires either action, planning or invention. A key objective is to get students to look around with fresh eyes and be curious. The inventive process, she says, starts with “How might you…”

“A lot of people can’t deal with things they don’t know and they panic

make creativity happen instead of waiting for it to bubble up. A muse doesn’t have to hit you.”

requires effort.