Mike Sutton
Dr Mike Sutton is the author of 'Nullius in Verba: Darwin's greatest secret'.
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Sutton’s Mythbusting Protest: Wikipedia Myth No. 2 The Osborne Brainstorm Myth
Nov. 3, 2013 4:29 am
Here on Best Thinking, everyday I am publishing a newly busted myth, or newly discovered fallacy, which is currently being disseminated by the online encyclopedia known as Wikipedia.
Throughout November I am highlighting Wikipedia’s unreliability and dreadful quality of information in protest against its deliberate policy of stealth plagiarism of information from others. Everyday this month I will bust a myth or fallacy currently disseminated by Wikipedia.
At the time of writing (3 Nov 2013), Wikipedia’s senior editors refuse to cite Best Thinking as a reliable source, yet Wikipedia regularly plagiarizes the original content on this site to pass-off my unique myth busting discoveries as though they are discoveries made by its own replicators who refer to themselves collectively as ‘Wikipedians’. Wikipedia passively sanctions this self-serving fraudulent behavior in order to conceal its unreliability and pervasive mythmongering. (Click here: for the full story).
Today’s blog reveals that Wikipedia is publishing both fallacies and a myth about the word ’brainstorm’ and the associated term ‘brainstorming’.
Wikipedia currently has the traceable origin of the word brainstorm going back only to the group idea generation termed ‘brainstorming’ of 1948. The source of Wikipedia’s typical dreadfully poor information can be found here for ‘brainstorming’ :and here for brainstorm .
Wikipedia’s implied origin ‘Brainstorm Fallacy’ and ‘Osborne’s Brainstorming Myth’ (on 3 rd November 2013) According to Wikipedia Alex F. Osborn is the originator of the notion of the brainstorm and brainstorming:
‘Advertising executive Alex F. Osborn began developing methods for creative problem solving in 1939. He was frustrated by employees’ inability to develop creative ideas individually for ad campaigns. In response, he began hosting group-thinking sessions and discovered a significant improvement in the quality and quantity of ideas produced by employees. Osborn outlined the method in his 1948 book 'Your Creative Power' on chapter 33, “How to Organize a Squad to Create Ideas.” '
Fact
The word Brainstorm can be found using hi-tech histographic research methods to at least 64 years earlier in a Homeopathy journal (The Medical Counselor, 1884. Volume 8.
page 626):
‘…he came out of it visibly an old man in body and mind, but in no respect a dotard or unfit to manage his affairs in a quiet way. This was a case of senility ushered in by a brainstorm. Mentally he at first resembled a general paralytic.’
And the term brainstorming goes back 32 years earlier than Wikipedia has it. The term goes back to at least 1907. Where it appears in yet another homeopathic publication - see page 12 .
The modern notion of the term ‘brainstorming’ as a means to generate ideas dates back to 1921 and, contrary to Wikipedian myth-mongering, has nothing to do with Alex Osborne.
1921 - the true modern meaning arrives 18 years before Wikipedia has it:
“For heaven’s sake, Linda,” said Donald, “don’t start any big brainstorming trains of thought to-day!”
References to support the fallacy and mythbust:
Stratton-Porter, Gene (1921) Her Father's Daughter. New York : Grosset & Dunlap. pp 354 and 432.
How to cite the source of this discovery:
Sutton, M. (2013). Sutton’s Mythbusting Protest Wikipedia Myth No.2 The Osbourne Brainstorm Myth. Best Thinking. 3.11.2013:
POSTSCRIPT 2017
Note the OED gets back further than my IDD method on both "brainstorm" and "brainstorming",
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