The goal of this set of assignments is to
get you to move past [SOUND] our habits and self
imposed limitations, and to develop in you the habit
of trying new things, [SOUND] new adventures and new ideas.
Along with the smaller exercises for the class, these larger
challenges will build your confidence, your creativity and your courage.
When we were kids, we were less inhibited and at the same time less grown up.
We were creative and sometimes did adventuresome things
that our parents and others thought were inappropriate.
We learned to play by the rules, got used to school and became more mature.
We also biologically evolved and our brains were more conscious of
what could go wrong and what we really should be doing.
Unfortunately, this also cut down our capacity for creativity and innovation.
So we do need to consciously step past our set of boundaries.
The do something different exercises are ways to
help us break past our self imposed limits.
First of all, each response to the assignment
is to do something that is, for you, different.
That means for the wear something different you won't be able
to wear the same thing you did last Thanksgiving or last Halloween.
And for the eat something different you can eat
the same old breakfast cereal in the same old way.
You have to make it different than what you've done before.
Your response should also be a step beyond what is different for you.
The level of challenge has to be explained in
the writeup of your assignment because something that is easy
for most people, such as eating Chinese food or dressing
up as a clown, might be extremely difficult for you.
For example, you might have a fear or dislike of clowns because you watch too
many clown horror movies or you were scared
by a clown at your second birthday party.
At the same time, you'll need to complete your assignment in a
way that is a little unique or unusual for the rest of us.
Creativity is often evaluated by the rest of society and this class is no different.
Assignments will be evaluated, and so responses that are
more unusual will probably be viewed as more creative.
And regarding being creative by eating Chinese food,
it may be different in your life up
until now, but at least a billion people
ate Chinese food yesterday, so, it's not that unique.
You can have a very challenging experience in a Chinese
restaurant, but you probably won't get it through the lunch special.
Your do something different assignment must also be
done in a manner that involves other people.
We probably don't learn to be creative in
the privacy of our own bedroom, bathroom or closet.
Dancing around naked in your bathroom is not as
challenging as dancing around fully clothed in a public space.
Involve others, tell them what it's for and that it's for class and
ask them to take pictures, both of you will have a lot of fun.
There are also three rules that help
structure and organize the do something different exercises.
The idea is that we also need to be safe and civil in our pursuit of the creative.
You will not get creat, credit for the
assignment if any of these rules are broken.
Specifically, you are responsible for your own
actions in completing the do something different assignments.
First, DSD should not expose you to the
dangers that would result in serious and permanent harm.
In other words, you can't jump, jump off the biggest
bridge in town, because no one else has ever done it.
There could be a strong chance of physical damage to yourself or others.
Second, you can't complete a DSD that would
be harassing or demeaning to yourself or others.
And third, you cannot complete a DSD that would result in you being arrested and
charged with an offense that carries with it, penalties of 30 days in jail or more.
Breaking the law is serious and some crimes are much more serious than others.
Jay-walking on a deserted street, for
example, is probably less dangerous and less
serious than a car theft, and would not result in the same penalty.
And this will vary with locations.
You're responsible for your own actions
in completing the do something different, assignments.
As part of the assignment, we ask that you
take digital photographs, and post them online for the course.
These will be seen by others in the class, and
may be selected as good examples for this class and others.
Along with your written description, these pictures should help tell the story
of what you did, how people reacted, and why this response was creative.
Someone else can take the pictures.
It's very difficult to take good pictures
of yourself when you are doing something creative.
You will need at least three pictures per assignment, and
these should be good quality resolution, like two megabytes per image.
This can be done with a smartphone or a camera.
Please don't upload more than 10 images, and make sure you rename
all of your pictures with your last name in the assignment number.
A picture for the first assignment would be something like Holkinson1A.jpg.
Video can be used instead of still images, but
you should not upload more than 100 megabytes per assignment.
You can also upload video to your own website
or Vimeo and link it to the Coursera course folders.
I hope you find these challenges worthwhile for your development
as a more creative person and engaging as a learning experience.
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