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reviews hype it as a creativity must have. In fact, not really. Fun wears off in less than an hour.
People always ask me what it is, then they pick it up and they love playing around with it.The weird part is that after ignoring it for a while and then coming back to it weeks later, i begin to dream up all kinds of weird new inventions, ideas for shows, coffee flavors.Lots of these things are bogus or impractical (in this dimension perhaps XD), but occasionally i sit and ponder while just playing with the magnetic pieces and it helps me think clearly.The item itself doesn't hold any magical properties or really hold up well as a throw and catch toy (Ive tried throwing it up and down while lying on my couch, with messy results.). At first, i didn't know what to make of my new impulse buy. It was just something i got to have a toy on my desk for distraction, and perhaps a conversation piece. but its definitely interesting enough to hold my attention every once and a while. Makes a nice gift for an inquisitive middle-schooler or budding entrepreneur.
The Ball of Whacks is an excellent "fiddling" toy. As I kid I loved playing with magnets and I've always enjoyed geometric art, so the BoW is perfect for me. $30 is pretty steep for a time-waster, but it was worth it.
I'm a high school math teacher who can't keep my Ball of Whacks on my desk at school for long. Now that Amazon has it on sale, however, I may break down and buy another.Also: I just received an e-mail from a parent of one of my students, asking for the name of Ball of Whacks. Having 29 instead of 30 pieces has made no difference in the popularity of the Ball of Whacks, however.b) The dang thing is so popular that pieces of it have begun to disappear this year.
This year's students love it, too. I did not have that problem last year at all, but so far this year (and it isn't Thanksgiving yet)., my 29 pieces have shrunk down to just 20 pieces. I bought it last year, and my students went crazy over it.
I honestly think, unfortunately, that people are stealing 2 or 3 pieces at a time, to fiddle with in their pocket or whatever. Two comments:a) The kids make any pattern they choose; in other words, they all ignore the booklet that comes with it. However, they drop pieces (accidentally) often; one piece was lost last year under an immovable object.
I've considered buying a new Ball of Whacks because the kids like it so incredibly much, but I hate to encourage stealing. Apparently he has talked about it so much at home that she wants to get him one for Christmas.
I mention imagination because you can try to recreate the designs in the accompanying 96-page information booklet. As our hands manipulate the whack pieces, our brain slips into a state of flow - critical for creativity. The possibilities for creating stars, polygons, patterns, and random forms are limited only by imagination and accident. Ball of Whacks, A Creativity Workshop in a Ball by Roger von OechI love toys and this one has me hooked. Start a brainstorming session. He designed the Ball of Whacks to take advantage of the connections between the hand, the brain, and the creative process.
Roger von Oech is the author of A Whack on the Side of the Head, a book which describes the creative process and offers exercises to flex the inventive muscles.
But accident, I found, was a much more satisfying process.
Use it as you meditate.
Thirty-six plastic pyramids are fitted with magnets so they stick together with a satisfying "clack" to form a variety of geometric shapes.
So simply maneuvering the pieces becomes the most obvious way to make this toy an essential part of your creative work.In addition, the information booklet gives more than a dozen suggestions for inducing the creative process for individuals, partners, and small groups.
The pieces seem to "jump" into place forming surprise designs that, like a stream of consciousness, lead to further discoveries.
And this is one of the major intentions of this kinetic toy.
Think of it as a metaphor for a problem.
Or just take a mental stretch break.Learn more at www.thefirefly.org
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