The Cross of Invention: A Tool for Finding Zones of Creative Potential

Creative thinking emerges from an interplay between affirming and negating constraints. This paper presents a visual tool that may be used to explore the possibility space and generate new ideas that exploit the power of this interplay, and explains how to construct it. It is illustrated by actual situations: Einstein's theory of relativity, Zipcar's strategy, the Mann Gulch disaster and a case in which the author consulted.