Creativity and Scientific Insight in the Case Study for S2

I can now move to the second issue raised in the introduction to Chapter 6 – the pace of theory change. This chapter continues the analysis of the case study protocol in Chapter 6 by asking: “Does S2 make progress via Eureka events that involve sudden reorganizations, or does he progress smoothly in an incremental manner?” The answer to this question is not obvious. It seems to be possible to argue in either direction from this protocol. One can point to what appear to be sudden insights, but on the other hand, sections precede these insights in which the subject prepares the context and groundwork for having them. Some of his work fits the pattern of the improvement (GEM) cycle shown in Fig. 6.8, and that would appear to be symptomatic of a more gradual, evolutionary approach. Sometimes his methods appear to be systematic, but at other times ideas arrive in a rush, as if they are partly outside of his control. Thus, there seem to be mixed signals in the protocol on this issue.