Room-Based Time Measurement

The original room-based time-measurement brief printed in Tseng, Moss, Cagan, and Kotovsky (2008), preceding the later one-line derivative used by Goucher-Lambert and Cagan (2019).

See Text Problem Catalog for the text family index.

Quick Facts

Field

Value

Problem ID

ideation_measure_passage_of_time_room_clock

Problem Family

text

Implementation

TextProblem

Capabilities

citation-backed, prompt-packet, statement-markdown

Study Suitability

human-subjects-ready, ideation-friendly

Tags

text, human-subjects, ideation, consumer, abstract, timing

Taxonomy

Formulation

textual_prompt

Is Dynamic

no

Orientation

design-exploration

Objective Mode

qualitative

Constraint Nature

informal

Tags

text, human-subjects, ideation, consumer, abstract, timing

Deliverable Type

concepts

Timebox Hint (Minutes)

10

Participants

individual

Evaluation Mode

idea_generation

Statement

The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, requiring a physical process that will proceed at a known rate and a way to gauge how long that process has run. As the seasons and the phases of the moon can be used to measure the passage of longer periods of time, shorter processes had to be used to measure off hours, minutes, and seconds.

You need to come up with as many of these shorter processes to measure the passage of hours, minutes, and seconds as you can in ten minutes. The time measurement does not have to be in any known unit so long as it is repeatable so that you can repeat it with a clock at a later time.

You are alone in a large featureless room with no windows, a door with doorknob, a hanging light fixture on the 10-foot ceiling, and a sink and drain with working tap.

The only other items in the room are:

  • Three rolls of adhesive tape

  • a roll of twine

  • a 1 qt Tupperware container with lid

  • a gallon metal can of black latex paint with lid

  • a 2” wide paint brush with wooden handle

  • a 7 foot aluminum ladder

  • a 6” serrated hunting knife

  • a blue click-type ballpoint pen

  • a 12” wooden ruler

  • a 3 kg lead weight with hook

  • a 8” tall candlestick with holder

  • a box of matches

  • a thermometer

  • a handle (large bottle) of vodka

Please draw or describe the concept of your solutions in order in the boxes provided and mark the time as projected by the laptop in the front of the classroom to the second (hh:mm:ss) in the space provided when you finish each solution. More pages are attached as needed.

Prompt Profile

Field

Value

Deliverable Type

concepts

Timebox Hint (Minutes)

10

Participants

individual

Evaluation Mode

idea_generation

Sources

Key

Summary

tseng_moss_cagan_kotovsky_2008

Tseng, Moss, Cagan, and Kotovsky (2008). The role of timing and analogical similarity in the stimulation of idea generation in design. Design Studies, 29(3), 203-221.

Raw Citation Records

@article{TSENG2008203,
title = {The role of timing and analogical similarity in the stimulation of idea generation in design},
journal = {Design Studies},
volume = {29},
number = {3},
pages = {203-221},
year = {2008},
issn = {0142-694X},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2008.01.003},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142694X08000197},
author = {Ian Tseng and Jarrod Moss and Jonathan Cagan and Kenneth Kotovsky},
keywords = {problem solving, design cognition, creativity, conceptual design}
}