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COMMUNITY Creativity in Second Life Take the Thinkerer Challenge by Surfdaddy Orca
Thinkerer Melville is the Second Life avatar of the youthful 78-year-old Selby Evans, Ph.D., a retired Professor of Psychology from Texas Christian University and an independent consultant in behavioral research. He has taught courses in psychological measurement, computer applications, and systematic problem-solving and conducted research in pattern perception, and studies of cognitive systems, supported by U. S. Military organizations, NASA, National Institutes of Health, and other government organizations. Evans has more than 80 technical papers in professional books and journals.
He now provides consulting to the Applied Cognitive Research Lab at TCU and maintains a website in collaboration with Dr. D. F. Dansereau. The site, thinkerer.org, is intended to disseminate the findings of cognitive engineering to people interested in self-improvement, self-growth, and self-direction.
Take the challenge! No, you don’t need to drink a cup of Pepsi or Coke. But you do need to think outside the box a little to take the Thinkerer Challenge. Thinkerer Melville of Thinkerer Studios (“a network rather than a company”) has created an incentive program “to identify and encourage the development of creative products and services that use Second Life (SL) capabilities to enrich or empower experiences in Real Life.”
Does drinking Pepsi or Coke sound a little easier than coming up with an outward-facing concept in a virtual world such as SL? Some of the SL projects currently under consideration for awards include English as a Second Language, a Renaissance Village, and a version of the Frank Lloyd Wright “Fallingwater” house.
During a recent interview, Thinkerer pointed out that while this isn’t a substantial amount of money in comparison to a MacArthur Foundation grant, it is a “small award” to encourage graduate students and other interested SL residents to challenge themselves to make connections between virtual and real worlds. There are three important criteria that are being used to judge the submissions:
Collaboration: The product or service results from the collaboration of two or more people who have made distinct and recognizable contributions. Outfacing: The item (or a significant aspect of it) is accessible and of value to some people outside of SL. Submissions are evaluated by a panel of judges. The judges include individuals with both real life (RL) and SL experience in a range of creative and technical fields. The judges identify SL groups that are dedicated to related and meaningful endeavors and invite them to submit nominations. The NMC Campus is an experimental effort currently using the Second Life platform to inform the New Media Consortium’s work in educational gaming. As reported on the NMC Campus web site (see http://sl.nmc.org/2007/08/16/thinkerer-challenge/), the judges include the following: Tom Polum: (Second Life moniker: Trip Potvin) As a producer, Tom was part of the national tour of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and “Hairspray/The Producers” (with producing partner Jean Cheever). Currently filming “Last Call Documentary” (www.lastcalldocumentary.com). Tom’s Second Life persona—Trip Potvin—is also the producer of Broadway Live Island, a residential and commercial community covering five sims (regions) designed to support the development of live theatre in Second Life. Adele Ward: (known in Second Life as Jilly Kidd) Adele Ward is an award-winning author whose poetry collection Never-Never Land is due out from Bluechrome in November 2007. Adele is also a fiction editor working for Bluechrome Publishing in the UK, with years of experience as a journalist. Adele’s Second Life avatar—Jilly Kidd—hosts live author interviews at the Joysco Convention Centre on SL which are broadcast on SLCN TV. Virginia Dickenson: (Second Life’s Xenon Darrow) Virginia, an A.B.D with an Ed.D specializing in Adult Learning, Organizational Development, Educational Research, and Instructional Systems Design, has been a design consultant for authoring software and an instructional designer in computer and web based training and virtual learning environments for 12 years. Virginia’s Second Life persona—Xenon Darrow—is the Chancellor of eLumenata University, focusing on using the metaverse to create greater learning impact at an affordable cost. David Laundra: (Second Life’s Kronos Kirkorian) A screen and stage actor, still photographer, cinematographer, and teacher, David has acted in commercials and industrials, appeared on all the New York-based soap operas; television series “30Rock,” “The Jury,” “OZ,” “Homicide,” “The Beat” and numerous films. He served as Technical Director, handling lighting and camera, for 26 half-hour episodes of “The New York Theatre Review” on PBS. David’s Second Life avatar—Kronos Kerkorian —has focused on photography and Machinima (movies created in the metaverse): www.Kronostv.com. Don’t like Pepsi or Coke? Well, maybe you can come up with a healthy alternative in SL that has a real life “outward-facing” application. If so, Thinkerer and his panel of judges would love to hear about it. IM Thinkerer Melville or visit Thinkerer Quests, Thinkerer Quests (148, 163, 26) * * * 
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Thinkerer, a renaissance man involved in video production, performing arts, and a variety of other creative activities both inside and outside SL, stresses the connection between SL and real world experiences. “Show me something that is outfacing in SL that can pay real dollars” he said during a recent interview with The Seventh Sun. Thinkerer wants to encourage young talent in SL to earn RL dollars.
According to a recent press release, recipients of the Thinkerer Challenge Award will receive 30,000 $L and the use of a parcel of virtual land for one year. Awards are monthly and funded directly by Thinkerer.
Creative synergy: The product or service results from an innovative combination of ideas from the real world and capabilities offered by SL.