You See Me Rolling...

Have you ever been strolling through the park after a beautiful refreshing spring rain? The birds are chirping, the air is crisp and clean, and you are absolutely enamored by the beautiful vibes that comes with a revitalizing spring shower. You realize however midway through your stroll that your feet are getting tired and you want to rest for a bit. Now you could go inside somewhere but you still want to enjoy the blooming outdoors. You find a park bench at the top of a grassy hill that perfectly overlooks a group of lush trees surrounding a small pond. As you approach the bench you can’t believe your luck; your senses are overwhelmed by the beauty. However, when you arrive at the top of the hill, you discover something that ruins your entire day. THE BENCH IS SOAKED. Now if you’re a regular person you’ll exhibit behaviors that indicate a disappointed or frustrated disposition.

That was not the reaction of Sung Woo Park, a South Korean manhwa (comics) artist, who had a brilliant flash of creativity. Park took inspiration from this common daily occurrence in rainy environments to invent a bench that would have a fail-safe just in case you ever wanted to sit down and enjoy a the weather after it rained. As distinguished in the Smith and Ward article, there are two different types of problem solving. Park displays creative problem solving because he did not follow any known algorithm to solve his problem. He was the first human to develop this type of bench, rather than modifying an already present design. It can also be categorized as an ill-defined problem because there are multiple hypothetical solutions to this problem. Park decided the most practical solution was to create a bench that can be rotated if one side is wet. The benches are made of wooden slats that can be rotated with a crank at the side of the bench. An extremely practical solution for an extremely practical problem, or so it seems. Despite how often you have faced this problem in your life, has it ever occurred to you that a rotating bench would be the solution? I bet it hasn’t. And that’s exactly what makes it creative: despite its perceived simplicity, it hasn't been done before. In his article, Sternberg defines creativity as the ability to produce work that is novel, high in quality, and appropriate. While Park may not display "as much creativity" as Gardner's 5 creatives, I believe the bench he developed meets all these criteria: it is original, it is a high quality product, and it is very appropriate for this day and age. Any further studies into the creativity of Park would be challenging because as Viskontas and Miller state, it is nearly impossible to measure creativity due to the many variables that should be taken into account. Although there isn't much public discourse regarding this invention, it certainly has not taken the world by storm just yet. With few exception in Seoul, South Korea, this bench isn't widely manufactured and distributed around the word. This can be taken as a sign that the world's urban planners are hesitant to adopt such a style for their parks. New innovations such as the Rolling Bench as changing the world one seat at a time.

Sources:

http://www.coroflot.com/sungwoopark/The-Rolling-Bench

http://www.yankodesign.com/2008/01/31/the-dry-side/