The Provisional

“When everything changes from one second to the next” is a common phrase that expresses moments of important encounters or fateful events. It highlights the creative - even life-changing - potential that lies dormant within even the smallest units of time, both in a positive and a negative sense.

But being intentionally creative in just a few seconds - how is that even possible?

Some experts develop extraordinary skills when they have to react very quickly - simultaneous interpreters, boxers, or even artists.

Interestingly, even some of the brief everyday actions we perform almost unconsciously - such as tying our shoes or locking the door - are based on the same phenomenon. What could it be? Listen to my new episode.

Sources:

About Elvira Hufschmid:

BAS. (2017). Out of the Blue. From the Provisional to Improvisation. International Symposium, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin. https://www.udk-berlin.de/forschung/bas/aktuelles/out-of-the-blue-vom-provisorium-bis-zur-improvisation/. 

About Elvira Hufschmid (in german):

Margit Schild (2025): Improvisation und Kreativität in Zeitkrisen, oder: Macht (Zeit-)Not erfinderisch? Ein Anstoß zur Diskussion, in: 

Dürkop-Henseling, L.; Horwitz, M; Späte, K. (Hrsg.): Sozialwissenschaftliche Beobachtungen von Krisen, Perspektiven, Instrumente und Erfahrungen. Reihe Sozialwissenschaften und Berufspraxis, herausgegeben vom Berufsverband Deutscher Soziologinnen und Soziologen e. V., Recklinghausen, Springer, Wiesbaden, S. 421

Sound: 

R19-02-Boxing Fight or Sparring.wav by craigsmith -- https://freesound.org/s/483261/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Music: 

spacedust by airtone (c) copyright 2022 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/64741

Sorry for the delay of this episode. I was dealing with an important family matter.

"Lighting a counter fire, or: What conditions are necessary for creativity to emerge in an emergency situation?" 

This is the central question of this episode, and of the podcast in general, and I address it through examples from fire fighting and kayaking, along with film scenes from World War Z, Titanic and Jaws.

Possible answers are simple and challenging at the same time. 

Sources used:

Film:

Jaws (1975), directed bySteven Spielberg, United States, Universal Pictures, with Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss

Titanic (1997), directed by James Cameron, United States, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet

World War Z (2013), directed by Marc Foster, United States, Skydance Productions a.o., Paramount Pictures, with Brad Pitt and Mireille Enos

More information about the Mann Gulch fire: 

Weick, K. E. (1996). Drop your tools: An allegory for organizational studies.Administrative Science Quarterly; June, 41, 2, S. 301- 313.

About fire safety:

https://ssl.eas.ualberta.ca/safety/26-fire-safety/?utm

Sound: 

lg water3.wav by lgarrett -- https://freesound.org/s/17143/ -- License: Attribution 3.0

Music: 

roboduck by airtone (c) copyright 2023 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/66098

"How is it that people would rather burn in a house than run out into the street without pants?" Harald Welzer (a social psychologist from Germany) once asked. The answer to this very interesting question is certainly not that people were irrational or crazy.

Instead, this episode shows that, from a certain perspective, something very understandable, almost normal, is happening here. But it also becomes clear why, precisely for this reason, good improvisation is so difficult in time-critical and dangerous situations.

Find out why.

More information about the Mann Gulch fire: 

Weick, K. E. (1996). Drop your tools: An allegory for organizational studies.Administrative Science Quarterly; June, 41, 2, S. 301- 313.

"How is it that people prefer to be burnt to death in a house, instead of running out into the street without their trousers on?" was asked by Harald Welzer, in his talk:  Who Acts When and Why Not? Symposium "Out of the Blue. From Provisional to Improvisation", 27-29 October 2017, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, House of World Cultures, Berlin, p. 1, https://www.udk-berlin.de/fileadmin/2_dezentral/Forschung/FR_Postgraduales_Forum/Harald_Welzer_ENG_HKW_2017.pdf

Artistic director of the Symposium: Margit Schild

The german word "Schreckstarre" means "stiffness caused by fear" (PONS);

Späti, means Spätkauf, a late night corner shop common in Berlin.

Sound:

Ambiance_Fire_Bushes_Loop_Stereo.wav by Nox_Sound -- https://freesound.org/s/564621/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Musik: 

diffusion by airtone (c) copyright 2022 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/64852

“We have to improvise”—a phrase we often hear when something doesn’t go as planned, when a part is missing, when systems fail. It’s a word that surfaces often, especially in times of crisis.

Now, even though most of us have an intuitive sense of what improvisation is, but:

What exactly is it, what is improvisation?

It’s not an easy question to answer. But one thing is certain: time plays a crucial role.

Sources used:

Mascolo, G., (30. März 2023). Die Kunst des Überlebens. Süddeutsche Zeitung, S. 3

Voss, M. et al. (2022). Katastrophenbewältigung als sozialer Prozess: Vom Ideal- zum Realverständnis von Risiko-, Krisen- und Katastrophenmanagement. Notfallvorsorge 1/2022, Walhalla u. Praetoria Verlag.

Thirteen Lives, 2022, Film by Ron Howard

Tham Luang cave rescue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tham_Luang_cave_rescue

Musik: blackSnow by airtone (c) copyright 2021 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/63513

Sound of a hospital operating room: 

OR1.m4a by pschu -- https://freesound.org/s/624700/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Creativity works like a marshalling yard, or: how do I remove a spider from a wall, which is a real emergency for some? By using a drinking glass as a spider transport device. All this is nothing more than a core strategy of creativity.

Sources used:

Hofstadter D. & Sander E. (2013). Surfaces and Essences. Analogies as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking, New York, Basic Books. 

Sound:
Water is poured into a glass 2 by tosha73 -- https://freesound.org/s/727382/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) directed by Jonathan Demme

Music:
reNovation by airtone (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/60674

Analogical thinking and its allies, or: who or what invented Wilson?

A strong connection between analogical thinking, aesthetic perception, emotion, and memory came into play, helping the stranded man create a companion. Chuck's own contribution at the crucial moment? A minimal correction...and...distance.

Sources used:

Cast Away, Film from Robert Zemeckis, 2000, with Tom Hanks.

Ratatouille, Pixar Animation Studios, 2007

Hofstadter D. & Sander E. (2013). Surfaces and Essences. Analogies as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking, New York, Basic Books. 

Music: spacedust by airtone (c) copyright 2022 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/64741

Sounds: RESTAURANT KITCHEN IS BUSY.wav by cpark12 -- https://freesound.org/s/347309/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

In both Cast Away and Apollo 13, the protagonists had to rely on the arsenal of on-board resources. This podcast explores that concept—a term that comes into play when facing sudden emergencies or extraordinary situations. The *arsenal of on-board resources* can vary dramatically from one situation to another. 

Sources used:

Apollo 13, Film from Ron Howard, 1995. With Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Ed Harris.

Cast Away, Film from Robert Zemeckis, 2000, with Tom Hanks.

Anne with an E, a Canadian period drama television series from Moira Walley-Becket, 2017, adapted from Lucy Maud Montgomery's 1908 Anne of Green Gables.

Fargo, Film from Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, 1996, with Frances McDormand.

Hofstadter D. & Sander E. (2013). Surfaces and Essences. Analogies as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking, New York, Basic Books. 

Music: roboduck by airtone (c) copyright 2023 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/66098

Wilson, the volleyball – a makeshift companion from the film Cast Away – demonstrates basic mechanisms of creative thinking. It is this similarity that not only allows one to build a provisional air filter made from cardboard and socks, but also helps with repurposing items and solving problems.

Sources used:

Cast away (2000),  from Robert Zemeckis, with Tom Hanks.

Hofstadter D. & Sander E. (2013). Surfaces and Essences. Analogies as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking, New York, Basic Books. 

NASA Audiofile: images-assets.nasa.gov/audio/Apollo13Highlights/Apollo13Highlights~orig.wav

NASA Website:https://images.nasa.gov/details-Apollo13Highlights

Music: diffusion by airtone (c) copyright 2022 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/64852

A sock, some cardboard - after the failed Apollo 13 moon mission from 1970, a number of improvisations and provisional solutions saved the lives of the three crew members and brought them back to earth. What mechanisms of creativity are behind it and where is the connection to everyday situations?

Sources used:

Apollo 13, Film from Ron Howard, 1995. With Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Ed Harris.

All drawings by Margit Schild.

www.less-art.de, schule-des-provisorischen.de

Dramaturgy Consultant: Zach Clarke

Music: blackSnow by airtone (c) copyright 2021 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/63513

Supported by Amadeu Antonio Stiftung