7. KNOWLEDGE AND CREATIVITY

Cognition is a creative process. How and why do scientists discover the secrets of nature? Creativity is that which comes from within, from a bottomless and inexplicable depth. Creativity is an activity as a result of which something new is born. At the same time, it is distinguished by its originality and originality. One may ask: isn’t any human activity characterized by uniqueness? To a certain extent, of course, it is. Activity is the birth of that which was absent in nature. In this sense, it is always new, if we compare its results with what is in nature.
In the human activity itself one can see acts of extraordinary ingenuity, radical novelty. There is also an activity where creativity is not so clearly expressed. Let's say the person who invented the wheel was definitely a genius. But after all, people need more than one wheel, which this nameless creator himself may have built. When the wheel is already invented, it is necessary to reproduce it on a massive scale. This is also an activity, but, strictly speaking, it cannot be called creativity.
Recall an amazing line: “And the star with the star says ...” The words here are simple, well-known. However, the image of immense outer space is immediately born in consciousness. In Lermontov, this is not only a life story of a heavenly goal. This is also a certain mood. Your soul seems to touch the roll of stars. The mood of sadness, humility of spirit, feeling of loneliness is born.
Intuition in science is a kind of inspiration, the comprehension of the truth directly, without the participation of consciousness. Intuition is a direct experience of reality or, in the words of the German poet Johann Goethe, “a revelation that develops inside a person”. Intuition is close to the state of inspiration, spiritual vision, revelation, which is rooted in the unconscious layer of the psyche.
No one seems to dispute today the indisputable fact that intuition is a blessed human gift. However, for many scholars, she still looks like a freedwoman of restless reason. Intuition is remembered when the all-pervading mind reaches the limits of fatigue and unconsciously thinking processes find themselves. Such intuition is in demand. The underlying work of consciousness begins to bear fruit. A spark of inspiration crowns the analytical work of the intellect, demonstrating the inexhaustible potential of thinking. So the mind adopts the subtlest mechanisms of creativity, sudden enlightenment.
Let us give an example. Cybernetics (the so-called science of control and communication in the world of cars and animals) was "invented" by the physicist Norbert Wiener in 1948 (the Greek word "kybernetes" means "helmsman" or "ruler"). Science is complex, but the impetus for its creation was a simple observation. The simplest example of cybernetic control was the float in the drain tank. When the tank is filled with water, the float floats freely on its surface. Having shown a little ingenuity, you could use this system to control when closing taps in the bathroom, when the water reaches a certain level and you, sitting in the bath, do not worry that water will overflow.
Of course, in science and production, the process that needs to be controlled may be many times more complicated than closing the taps in the bathroom. It may be, say, some chemical process that develops under many conditions. In this case, in order to control all possible situations, you can resort to using some special computer program. One card with several holes punched in it is enough to ensure the implementation of computer commands and force the computer to perform the functions of a foreman who is watching that the work is done well.
Since the end of the XIX century. it became clear that living things get their qualities from small cells called genes, which are contained in both the male seed and the female egg. The color of my hair and eyes, the size of my legs are all determined by genes. But until the mid-50s of the last century, no one really knew how the genes do it. And only in the middle of the century it gradually became clear that the genes are like a computer map with holes punched in it. “Holes” are DNA molecules that are connected to each other in the form of a double helix, which somewhat resembles two springs, curled together in opposite directions.
It is known that most discoveries are accomplished in the most unforeseen way. Thinking is really connected with creative impulse. It is known that Albert Einstein loved to play the violin. He tried to achieve an emotional boost to overcome the difficulty of thought. It is no accident that his theory of relativity is the fruit of ingenious intuition. The German chemist A. Kekule came to the idea of ​​a benzene ring, because he had a dream. He saw a snake whose tail is in its mouth. This led him to the discovery of the formula of benzene.
In the process of scientific creativity interact intuition and logic. One of the central questions of creativity is how new ideas arise. At the time of illumination, logic can be turned off. The ability to not pass by chance, notice them and give them the appropriate interpretation is an important side of creativity. When V. Herschel discovered the planet Uranus in 1781, it turned out that many astronomers had already observed this celestial body (at least 200 recorded observations), but believed that it was a star. After the discovery of X-rays, it turned out that some physicists encountered this type of radiation and regarded it as a hindrance due to which photographic plates deteriorate.
Of course, the case favors the prepared mind. The ability for scientific discoveries is manifested in people who have been distinguished by curiosity since childhood and who have received such training and education who have not suppressed the ability to see from an unexpected angle.
Creativity is an individual act, deeply personal and subject to the influence of prejudice, prejudice. The criteria for evaluating the new in science are the same for all scientists of the world. The new discovery is verified by comparing it with the already known, well-established views in science. One of the conditions of scientific discovery is the ability to pay attention to oddities, to unusual, albeit seemingly insignificant, events. These oddities can be a source of important discoveries. Scientists argue about whether a "happy guess" is possible in science. Some believe that guessing is always associated with blind faith, a rejection of critical judgment. However, a guess may be “wild”, made “at random”, but it may also be based on deep reflection.
Many scientists talk about the role of intuition in their work. DI. Mendeleev saw in a dream for a long time the arrangement of elements of the periodic table which was not given to him. The famous scientist Louis Pasteur said that his discoveries are based on a variety of ideas taken from different fields of science. For example, the process of fermentation of grapes served him as a clue to unravel the mechanism of meat rotting. The inventor of the steam engine, James Watt, claimed that he began his work on the basis of the analogy between the steam flow and the water flow in a hydraulic turbine.
There is a general impression that everything that we believe in can be proved, or at least can be shown as something very likely. Many understand that faith, which cannot be justified, is an unreasonable faith. Basically this view is correct. Knowledge is usually contrasted with faith, which in many respects refuses doubt and evidence. At the same time, faith is a necessary element of the process of knowledge. It is difficult to imagine the process of knowledge without social trust, without reliance on faith.
The English philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) illustrates this point with such reasoning. Almost all of our ordinary beliefs are derived or can be derived from other beliefs that can be considered as their basis. As a rule, this basis is either forgotten or never realized. The philosopher argues as follows: let us imagine an insistent Socrates, who, not being satisfied with any foundation, continues to demand a foundation. Going from ordinary everyday views, we can go backwards, from point to point, until we reach a certain general principle. So in the process of learning a scientist can question everything he works with. At the same time, he has to rely on self-evident truths. The degrees of self-evidence are important in cognition.
Science proclaims: the truth is not achievable, while the person is limited to the immediate sphere of his direct experience. Instead of describing isolated and isolated facts, science seeks to give a comprehensive view of the world. Science seeks in phenomena not only one simplicity — it seeks order. The existence of regularities, a single form in the phenomena of nature - in the movement of the planets, in the rotation of the Sun and the Moon, the change of seasons - was one of the first great discoveries of mankind.
Science is the last step in the mental development of mankind. It can be considered the highest and most specific achievement of human culture. The words of Archimedes can be applied to science: “Give me a fulcrum and I will turn the world around.” However, one should not understand science only as a multitude of discoveries. In ancient China, gunpowder was invented, paper and silk were made. Various technical devices appeared like rocker arms. However, science did not appear there, because for science it is important that individual discoveries be formed into relative integrity. It happened in ancient Greece.
Modern science uses various methods of scientific knowledge. We call the picture of the world the knowledge we have about the world, man and the place of man in this world. Modern science has included powerful mathematical methods in its arsenal. Many processes can be analyzed on the basis of specific quantitative parameters. Scientists have sophisticated equipment that allows you to monitor the material world and its particles. However, science is born not only through the accumulation of facts. The power of generalizing thought, the concrete analytical work of the mind, retains its value.
Science is universally significant, necessary knowledge. It is based on conscious, verifiable methods and is always aimed at individual, specific objects. New results obtained by science are actually being realized, and not just as a tribute to a transient fashion, but everywhere and for a long time. Any scientifically established truth can be clearly demonstrated or proved so that a reasonable person who is able to understand the essence of the matter cannot challenge its necessary character. Science is extremely diverse. The object and meaning of scientific knowledge vary depending on the methods used. It is impossible to demand from any one method something that can only be achieved through the use of completely different research methods. With a scientific approach, any way of achieving truth is acceptable, provided that it meets such universal criteria of scientific nature as validity, the necessary nature of conclusions (repeatability and provability), methodological clarity and openness for substantive discussion.
Speaking of science, it is necessary to emphasize its responsibility to humanity. Indeed, many scientific discoveries can be used not only for the benefit of people. Modern technologies allow unleashing powerful destruction of all life on earth. It is not by chance that the desire for knowledge has long been a source of human ills.
Many myths tell how the possession of this or that information led to a catastrophe. The heyday of modern science was accompanied by the appearance of the legend of Dr. Faust, who sold his soul to the devil. That is why science needs social control. Society is interested in the development of science, but it is also concerned about how the fruits of knowledge will be used.

TEST 7
1. Is it possible to consider that knowledge is a creative process?
? it is impossible, because these are different things
? possible because knowledge without creativity is impossible
? possible only in some cases
? it is impossible if cognition is routine
2. Why can a person who invented a wheel be considered a genius?
? you can if you're a genius too
? it is impossible because people were always on wheels
? can not, because the wheels do on the conveyor
? because it is really a brilliant invention, which allowed technology to develop rapidly
3. Is it possible to consider intuition a direct experience of reality?
? possible because intuition is close to inspiration
? it is impossible, because intuition is manifested only in prophetic dreams
? possible because sometimes intuition is ahead of knowledge
? it is impossible, because intuition is not developed at all
4. Who invented cybernetics?
? Archimedes
? Fantasy Arkady Weiner
? Norbert Wiener
? Taylor
5. Who saw in a dream a snake whose tail is in the mouth?
? Prophetic Oleg
? D. Mendeleev
? A. Kekule
? Uncle Chernomor