Creative Thinking For Research

This gives you eight cognitive science frameworks for generating research ideas that aren't just incremental tweaks of existing work. It covers bisociation (combining unrelated domains like game theory and networking), problem reformulation (changing the problem space itself, not just solving it), and structure-mapping analogies (finding deep causal parallels, not surface metaphors). Each framework includes concrete workflows with self-check questions. Use this when you're stuck in a local optimum within your subfield or prepping for a real ideation session. It's the cognitive engines behind creative leaps, not the project management workflow. Pair it with the brainstorming skill if you need structured evaluation afterward.