A Dreaming Reflection

I was recently reminded of the Dreamer, Realist, Critic model for creative thinking. One way a person might apply it to a situation that needs ideas is to think in three phases:

  • Dreamer: What ideas can I find for this? The sky’s the limit!
  • Realist: How can I find a practical idea? I have to be grounded.
  • Critic: Where are the flaws with my ideas? I have to be serious.

I’m simplifying for brevity, but you get the idea. Disney is said to have used these various stages of thinking to help explore projects. More generally, it’s helpful to have structure to help focus.

As with so many tools like this I think it has a natural application to viva preparation, particularly in reflecting on the thesis contribution. The three words have good connections with different ways to focus:

  • Dreamer: How can we apply this contribution? What are the different ways someone might value it?
  • Realist: How did you come to these ideas? What tools, methods and resources did you use?
  • Critic: Where might there be problems in your research? How can you account for different perspectives?

I’m simplifying for brevity here too, but again you get the idea. Take the questions, write down some thoughts and reflect on your research and what it means.

Dreamer, Realist, Critic

I’m a big fan of creative thinking tools. The Disney Method is one I like a lot. It forces you to break creative thinking into stages by adopting three personas:

  • Dreamer: think of as many ideas as possible; encourage brainstorming; remove constraints and see where thoughts take you.
  • Realist: think about what would work practically; explore within resources and deadlines; see what can be achieved.
  • Critic: think about what won’t work in your ideas; test them to destruction; find problems to solve.

At the end of this kind of process, ideas are stronger and more clearly defined. You can see whether or not they will actually be useful.

Maybe something like this could be a useful framing when it comes to look back over one’s research too:

  • Dreamer: what did you want to do when you started? What were your big goals? How high were you aiming?
  • Realist: what did you actually do during your PhD? How did you tame your objectives? In what ways did you have to adjust the scale of your ambitions?
  • Critic: where are the problems with what you’ve done? What could people object to? What would you do differently, and why?

You might not get these exact questions in the viva, but they might not be a million miles away either. Tools like this can be useful to unpick and explore. They can boost your confidence at going over your research in the viva.

Bonus questions: Which are you most like in your day-to-day, a Dreamer, a Realist or a Critic? How well does that work for you?