Combinatorial creativity as blind-variation and selective-retention: A definitional update.

Simonton (2010) presented a combinational model of exceptional creativity based on Campbell's (1960) theory of blind-variation and selective-retention (BVSR). The presentation provided an explanatory and predictive basis for comprehending the phenomenon with respect to individual, domain, and field systems. Although the model inspired future research, such as that regarding the "equal-odds baseline," its formal definition of "blindness" was inadequate.

Phenomena complexity, disciplinary consensus, and experimental versus correlational research in psychological science.

The target article ignores the crucial role of correlational methods in the behavioral and social sciences. Yet such methods are often mandated by the greater complexity of the phenomena investigated. This necessity is especially conspicuous in psychological research where its position in the hierarchy of the sciences implies the need for both experimental and correlational investigations, each featuring distinct assets.

Scientific Creativity: Discovery and Invention as Combinatorial.

Although scientific creativity has often been described as combinatorial, the description is usually insufficiently formulated to count as a precise scientific explanation. Therefore, the current article is devoted to elaborating a formalization defined by three combinatorial parameters: the initial probability , the final utility , and the scientist's prior knowledge of that utility . These parameters then lead logically to an 8-fold typology involving two forms of expertise, two irrational combinations, and four "blind" combinations.

A publication missing from Lewis M. Terman's CV? Ralph K. White's 1931 "The versatility of genius".

Lewis M. Terman's publication list is impressively long. Even a selective bibliography includes around three dozen articles and books (Watson, 1974).

Intellectual Brilliance and Presidential Performance: Why Pure Intelligence (or Openness) Doesn't Suffice.

In recent years it has become popular on the internet to debate the IQ of the incumbent president of the United States. Yet, these controversies (and hoaxes) presume that IQ has some relevance to understanding the president's actual performance as the nation's leader. This assumption is examined by reviewing the empirical research on the intelligence-performance association in political leadership, with a special focus on U.