Scientific creativity, i.e. the production of new and socially effective empirical knowledge, can itself be subjected to empirical analysis. Research on the determinants of creative work in science suggests that the internal and external world of creative scientists is characterised by a series of tensions or "oppositions of forces" which "normally" cannot be integrated. Conversely, creative work in science can be understood as the provision of new answers to scientific problems where conventional answers are no longer sufficient to reduce incongruities (...) between cognitive, affective and social standards of satisfactory problem solution. (shrink)

Drawing on models of the interaction order, we describe how planning is an inherently social activity. We argue that planning as a practice involves five core elements: mirroring, identifying, coordinating, timing, and surmounting. Specifically, planning depends on (1) a realization of likely responses of others, (2) a recognition of communal understandings, grounded in local cultures, (3) a commitment to collaborative engagements with allies, (4) an adjustment to temporal sequences involving the use of “in time” strategies and tactics, and (5) an (...) ability to overcome or avoid obstacles and blocking moves set by competitors and adversaries. Planning is evident in micro-, meso-, or macro-level domains. To demonstrate how planning is a social accomplishment, we analyze three distinct ethnographic sites: the world of competitive chess, dependent on the micro-interactions of two competitors; the meso-level process of homebuying, requiring the aid of real estate agents as allies; and macro-level structures in directing social movement activism in a contentious action field. Planning extends beyond cognitive achievement and is central to a sociology of the future. (shrink)