ruminations

i was reading malcolm gladwell's "outliers" the other day, and got to the part where he talks about iq tests. there's a section where he mentions that there are basically two kinds of iq tests, convergent and divergent.

a convergent test is where you're given a set of facts and then asked to converge on the right answer. in this type of a test, there's only one right answer, and it's your job to figure it out. for example, what number comes next in this series: 1, 2, 4, 7, 11, 16, ____?  there's only one answer, only one way to evaluate what's going on here, only one interpretation that fits the information given. [it's 22, each new number is the old number plus (n+1)].

a divergent test is one where you're given facts and then asked to interpret or use those facts in ways that diverge.... the example given in the book is the brick and blanket test. basically you're given 60 seconds to come up with as many ways to use a brick as you can, then 60 seconds to come up with as many ways to use a blanket as you can. you're scored based on how many different things you came up with, and how different they are from each other. example answer:

brick:
to smash things
to use as a paperweight
to grind up and use as pigment
to build a house with
to play catch with......

i was thinking about these two types of iq tests, and i came to the conclusion that what i like about photography is that it requires both types of intelligence. you have to both converge on answers (why isn't there any light on this area, how can i get more light over here without ruining over there.....) and diverge (what other ways can i set up my lights and camera, what would it look like if i did this setup, or put the flash over there.....)

i think when i first started taking pictures i didn't explore the divergence side very much. i saw how people set up lights traditionally, and i did the same thing. my goal was to converge onto the same solution other people had converged upon.

now, though, converging seems less interesting. diverging is where it's at. how many different ways can i set things up? is there some other way to do things that would make the picture better? what are some other ways people do this sort of thing? are they better?

diverging has more failure, it seems. most of the time, trying something new doesn't work. but i think it's important. divergence gets you halfway there, then you add some convergence to make the picture work. that seems to be the formula i'm following these days.

well, that and trying to master other people's kung fu.