#### : Ability, Perception and Self-Perception in the Arts and Sciences `Author:` `Availability:` ## Summary ## Key Takeaways Here are the **key takeaways** from _Frames of Mind: Ability, [[Perception]], and Self-Perception in the Arts and Sciences_ (1983) by **Donald A. Schön** — not to be confused with Howard Gardner’s later book of the same title. Schön’s work explores how people in both artistic and scientific fields understand and reflect upon their own ways of knowing and creating. --- ### **Key Takeaways** 1. **Knowing-in-action** Schön argues that much of expert performance—whether in art or science—depends on _tacit knowledge_. Skilled practitioners often “know” more than they can explicitly state; their competence is embedded in action rather than verbal explanation. 2. **Reflection-in-action** A central concept: professionals think and adjust _while doing_. This kind of improvisational reflection—observing, questioning, and reshaping what one is doing in real time—is essential to genuine [[Creativity]] and problem-solving. 3. **The artistry of practice** Scientific and artistic work both rely on what Schön calls _artistry_: a flexible, context-sensitive judgment that cannot be reduced to fixed rules. Even in technical disciplines, creativity involves an intuitive dance between [[Control]] and discovery. 4. **Frames and re-framing** Practitioners interpret their situations through “frames”—mental structures that define what the problem _is_. Innovation often begins when one _reframes_—seeing the situation anew, breaking habitual patterns of thought. 5. **Self-perception and professional identity** People in different disciplines form distinctive ways of perceiving themselves in relation to their work. Artists may value sensitivity and openness to [[Ambiguity]]; scientists may value precision and explanatory power. Each frame shapes what counts as “success” or “truth.” 6. **Parallels between arts and sciences** Schön challenges the traditional divide between art and science. Both involve **interpretation, experimentation, and reflection**, though expressed through different symbolic languages. Each discipline can illuminate the other. 7. **Education and reflective practice** Schön’s broader message (expanded in his later _The Reflective Practitioner_) is that [[Education]] should cultivate reflective awareness—helping learners articulate, examine, and refine their implicit ways of knowing. --- ### **Overall Insight** _Frames of Mind_ reveals that creativity, whether artistic or scientific, is not a flash of inspiration but a process of **continuous reflection, framing, and re-framing**—a dialogue between intuition and analysis. --- ## Quotes - ## Notes > [!info] > ![[Frames of Mind.png]] `Concepts:` `Knowledge Base:` [[Books index]]