Information retrieval and creativity: towards support for the original thinker

Abstract

This is a speculative paper in which the requirements of IR systems to support relatively creative, as well as more convergent thinking are discussed. The nature of creative thinking is explored, as is the extent to which a range of current information systems is able to support key intellectual processes associated with it. The development of IR systems capable of providing more direct support for creative thinking will depend on the greater integration of high order knowledge representations and flexible, fuzzy pattern‐matching techniques. Such developments may enhance the ability of information seekers to place before themselves a range of information sufficiently – but not excessively – rich in diversity to facilitate the development of relatively divergent – as well as more convergent – ideas.