One of the classes I’ve begun teaching engineers, computer scientists, and designers is on chance—the creative possibilities of chance. This is a challenge. There are many definitions of design. Most of them are the opposite of chance. To design is to plan. Design is intentional. Engineers and computer scientists tend to be even more averse to chance, even more committed to things being deliberate and determined. Engineers, in particular, tend to think there’s a right and wrong way to do things and, often, a formula to guide you to do things the right way. Of course, there’s reason for this. I don’t want to drive across a bridge that’s been left up to chance. I don’t want to use software where the outcome of pushing a button is indeterminate.
But all of life isn’t making bridges and software. And even in designing things meant to be purposeful, there’s room for the creative possibilities of chance.
Artists give us many examples of chance in the creative process. Movements such as Dada and Fluxus relied heavily on chance. John Cage used the indeterminacy of chance as the basis for novel approaches to music. Allison Knowles and James Tenney collaborated to create one of the first works of digital poetry, using chance as a tactic for composing sequences of words.
Chance creates a space between our intentions and outcomes. In doing so, we have to relinquish control and let go. Even if just for a bit, relinquishing control and letting go creates a space, a moment, in which other things can happen. Put another way; chance creates an opportunity for things to happen in ways that aren’t limited to our preconceived notions about how they should happen or our desire for them to happen in a particular way. Chance liberates us from expectations, at least a bit.
This isn’t to say chance is entirely by accident. When an artist like John Cage created a composition or Allison Knowles and James Tenney created their digital poetry, they made decisions; they often arranged the setting, selected props, and set constraints. When working with chance, part of the creativity is deciding on those settings, props, and constraints.
Here are two ways to explore chance. The first is to take a walk. On this walk, you will only walk on streets that begin with a vowel. Maybe you have to walk a few blocks to get to one of these streets, but it probably won’t be too far. Then, when you arrive at another street that starts with a vowel, you have to take that street. First, you turn left, then at the next street, you turn right, and so on, only walking on streets that begin with a vowel. After an hour, you can turn around and walk home however you want. It may be interesting to walk home the most direct or familiar way as a point of comparison. Where did you go? What did you see, hear, and smell that would not have otherwise?
The second way to explore chance is by making a meal. This one is a bit more complicated. On small slips of paper, write down 10 main ingredients, 10 secondary ingredients, 10 spices or sauces, and 10 ways of cooking (for example, baking, grilling, frying, raw, etc.) Put each of those 10 slips of paper in a separate bowl. Then, randomly select one slip from each bowl, and use this combination as the basis for a meal you make for yourself and someone else. You can add other ingredients but must use the ones you selected. Do your best to make the meal delicious.
In both examples, the rules and process provide the opportunity for creativity. Where will you go? What will you make? What will you experience? Of course, these rules are flexible; you have to interpret them, and there will be times when you have to adjust them (maybe you can only turn left when you should turn right, or maybe you don’t want to eat raw chicken). While these examples are for our amusement, you can also give chance a try in other situations, with rules and processes that you define, leaving open the result to the unplanned and unexpected.
It’s worth exploring chance in our creative activities because there’s possibility in chance that wouldn’t exist otherwise. And if for no other reason, we should explore chance because chance counters perfection—and perfection is so often detrimental to creativity.