Brutethink activity PDF

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Activity from the Thinkertoys book...

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Thinkertoy Activity The next Thinkertoy activity that I decided to try is called Brutethink. This activity is using random words to spark new ideas. Michalko explains, “Random words from unrelated contexts are a rich source of connection-making material” (Michalko 161). He suggested a few ways to suggest random words such as opening a random page of a dictionary, but also says “You can use any other method so long as you do not deliberately select a word” (Michalko 161). To make this process completely random, I decided to use the website randomlists.com, which gives me random lists of random objects. The website states “Just a miscellaneous collection of things. You may see these in your bedroom, in your office, outside, in the water, in the sky, etc.”, which I thought would be perfect for picking random words for a solution to my PPIP. The best part is that I was able to filter the quantity of objects it gives me and refresh it each time that way I wouldn’t be able to pick and choose which ones, making it completely random. I set the quantity to 5 objects shown at once and I made a long list of all the random objects that the generator spit out. Some examples of words on the list are objects such as buttons, tooth picks, wine cork, sandals, bowl, hanger, shoe lace, glass bottle, towel, newspaper, and many others which I wrote down. After making my list, which consists of 145 random objects, I closed my eyes and pointed to a random spot on the paper and when I opened my eyes, the word I pointed to was “bottle caps”. I began listing the variety of things that are associated with bottle caps. I started by writing down that bottle caps are primary used to seal and cover different kinds of bottles. Bottle caps are made out for sturdy and durable materials such as plastic or metal. Bottle caps range in various sizes, shapes, and colors. Next, I thought about how bottle caps, particularly plastic caps represent a significant challenge when it comes to the environment. Although bottle caps come in

different shapes, sizes, colors, designs, materials, etc., these same characteristics are what make caps challenging for recycling companies to effectively recycle them. Also, even if you are able to recycle those plastic bottle caps, recycling plastic isn’t always effective. Each time plastic goes through the recycling process, it ends up becoming a lower and lower grade of plastic. Eventually, that plastic is such poor quality that it’s headed straight to the landfill, where it doesn’t biodegrade. To come up with more effective solutions for bottle caps, I repeated the same process of closing my eyes and picking other words to help me create more ideas. The next word I randomly selected was “basket”. I thought about the material of plastic bottle caps and how they are very hard and durable. This gave me the idea of making a plastic bottle cap basket, which can be hot-glued together and painted. I could easily modify it to create any size of basket i need. My only limit with this is the amount of bottle caps I can collect. The next word I randomly selected from the list was “table”. With this, I easily was able to make connections to new ideas. Gluing bottle caps, most likely metal caps, to the top of an old table top is a really unique way to repurpose and decorate a piece of old, unused and unloved item of furniture that I have lying around the house or garage. Another word randomly selected was “crayon”. I have a drawer filled with crayons that I no longer use, but I didn’t want to simply throw away. I began thinking about the size and materials of bottle caps and how crayons are made out of colorful wax. Tea-light candles made out of metal bottle caps would be a perfect way to make use out of caps and crayons. I could pour melted crayon bits into bottle caps set with pre-waxed wicks to make itty-bitty colorful candles that can be used for any occasion. The next word randomly selected from my list was “tray”. After thinking about it, I thought about

how I could take plain white tray and give it a whole new look when lined with painted bottle caps. I could paint the caps any color combination and hot-glue them in place. After a while, I started coming up with a variety of ideas without randomly selecting from my list and I realized there’s endless possibilities of ways I could upcycle bottle caps. Being small and easy to craft with, metal and plastic caps can help to create creative, new furniture and decor accessories and decorate outdoor living spaces, fences and walls in colorful and creative style. Instead of tossing bottle caps away, I have the ability to make unique bottle cap furniture, storage boxes, baskets or wall decorations....