The People Equation

CHAPTER 1

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF INNOVATION

The classic experiment on the concept of creative insight is the candle problem (figure 2a and 2b). Proposed by Gestalt psychologist Karl Duncker in his master’s thesis in 1926 and published posthumously twenty years later, the experiment involves a box of tacks, a candle, and a book of matches.¹ The test subjects are told to attach the candle to a corkboard by using only the items presented to them. Typically, some subjects try to use the tacks to attach the candle to the corkboard, while others creatively melt some candle wax and attempt to attach the candle to the corkboard with it. Unfortunately, none of these methods work. What does work is to realize that the box that holds the tacks can also be used ...