The morphological box

The morphological box is a heuristic, but systematic method to analyse a problem, do inventions or design new products. It was developed by the Swiss astronomer Zwicky and applied to find solutions to astronomical problems.
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Zwicky apparently was an enthusiastic teacher, who inspired his students, which is demonstrated by following example

( found at the biography of Fritz Zwicky, written by Roland Mueller: http://www.muellerscience.com/SPEZIALITAETEN/Morphologie/FZ_Biography_1932_1941_english.htm )

“At another time Zwicky promised his class free day if somebody could prove by logic that 10 is an even number. The next morning stood at the blackboard:


Through subtraction

SIX 6
-( IX 9 )
_______
S -3



SEVEN 7
-( S - 3
______________
EVEN 10



The students were allowed to ski on this day.”

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The simplest morphological box is a table with rows and columns. It is also possible, to extend it to several dimensions. A 3rd dimension could be shown, using colours.

To work efficiently with such more complicated problems, computers should be used. In mathematical language, one has to deal with matrices of several dimensions. Each element of the matrix is a combination of several parameters, which can be relevant for the problem. But not all combinations are possible, because of restrictions, set by physical laws, budget limits etc.

An interesting kind of a morphological box is one, in which the columns represent the time line and the rows the speakers in a debate. In each cell of the table the text of the speaker at that time can get activated by clicking the cell.

Have a look at:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/11/28/us/politics/20071128_DEBATE_GRAPHIC.html#transcript


The same method one can use to categorize all reports. Putting a short title in each cell of a table and hyper linking it to the folder, in which the report is saved, gives a quick access to all reports.

A very good report about morphological analysis ( or morphological box) is available for download at:

http://www.swemorph.com/ma.html