The famous thinkers that have been chosen are Dr. Martin Luther King and Bill Gates. These two individuals have had a phenomenal impact on society, and hence they truly are famous thinkers.
Contribution to society
Dr. King was a social activist and contributed to his society by promoting civil rights. He promoted racial equality for all citizens and residents of the US (Gladwin & Hill, 2010). He advocated for this equality across all races and not solely African Americans. He is known for use of nonviolent confrontation and speech to obtain solutions to these social challenges. Dr. King envisioned an American society where citizens of different backgrounds would stay and walk together without victimization. Through his civil rights efforts, Dr. King contributed to the American society by challenging it to embrace diversity (Gladwin & Hill, 2010). This expanded the value system of America by improving social cohesiveness.
For Bill Gates, his contribution to society has been through the use of computer software in business and personal applications. Through his creative work, Bill Gates has changed the business world by increasing the speed of executing transactions (Calton, 2012). This has promoted business growth across continents. Due to his thinking, computers have been made easy to use by many individuals through the use of Windows Applications. His contribution has been achieved by enhancing programming for personal computers (Calton, 2012).
Environment and factors contributing to creativity
The social environment for Dr. King was based on his upbringing. He was brought up in a segregated zone, which was a sharp contrast to the environment at Boston University. This is where he gained the exposure that enabled him to fight the segregation back home. As a young man, Dr. King experienced racism and understood the dangers of continuing in that path (Bruns, 2006). The political environment revolved around the battle between African Americans and Whites. The Whites had a majority of political seats in government. My thoughts are that these factors contributed to Dr. King’s creativity in that he was forced to respond by using creative and effective channels to find solutions for advancing civil rights. In addition, this social and political environment was characterized by racial tension, inequality and oppression (Gladwin & Hill, 2010). In my opinion, Dr. King did not wish that future generations experienced such social injustices.
On the other hand, Bill Gates social environment was based on his family background. His family has excelled in business and also politics. Bill Gates' father was a prominent lawyer while his grandfather was a bank president. Bill, therefore, had to excel in his field. His personal environment nurtured his abilities in that Bill joined a high performing private school (Tracy, 2011). This school was well equipped hence he gained a lot of exposure to computers. He wrote computer programs with his friend Allen, and this was the foundation of Microsoft Incorporation. I think that his early exposure shaped his career, and it has enabled him to be successful.
Problems to solve
These thinkers had challenges that they sought to solve. Dr. King sought to end segregation and racial practices that were very common in the south at his time. He sought to solve the issue of racism and injustice due to inequality that was associated with this issue (Bruns, 2006). For Bill Gates, he sought to solve the problems of computer use by corporate firms only. This is the problem that made him have a vision of making it easy and enjoyable to use computer software across all households. At this time, Bill sensed that there was a huge potential for extensive usage of computers. However, it lay unexploited due to the technical challenges that were evident on most computers. It is this problem that Bill sought to address in his software efforts.
Solutions and idea implementation
The solution for Dr. King was based on promotion of civil disobedience by all African Americans. This idea was implemented to counteract racism and also segregation. His idea implementation was based on the philosophy that it was the responsibility of each individual to disobey unjust laws. The solution was based on gaining integration in order to promote equality. The implementation of his ideas was done through the use of public speeches. The bus boycott of 1965 was a key significant non violence demonstration (Gladwin & Hill, 2010). After this event, Dr. King formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The solution that this platform gave him is that he managed to speak out against racial inequality and also segregation.
Bill Gates, on the other hand, implemented his solutions by designing software that was easy to use. His software ideas were implemented by creativity in design and setting its prices at low levels. Microsoft, therefore, was able to compete in the software applications market. Bill Gates executed his software applications solutions by advancing and improving the software (Calton, 2012). These improvements were made at a time when computer usage was limited due to its complexity and cost.
Creative process
The creative process for Dr. King was based on gaining civil rights for African Americans. This creativity by Dr. King changed the view of Americans on equality issues. He thought of a society where individuals would not be judged by their skin color. Dr. King envisioned a society where the issue of skin color would fade (Bruns, 2006). Bill Gates had a creative process of having computer companies purchase his software applications. His company was able to manufacture software that was of higher quality than that of its software competitors. Comparing these two creative processes reveals that both individuals had a clear and compelling vision for great societal improvements. These individuals had identified a gap in the society that would be filled by dedication, creativity and commitment. Both of their creative processes resulted in positive steps towards achieving these goals.
Idea critique
A critical analysis of Dr. King’s efforts indicates that he was successful in terms of ending racial inequality and the resultant segregation. He received criticism from his young generation of supporters; they felt that he should have used excessive force in order to achieve success in a fast manner (Gladwin & Hill, 2010). A black militant movement was formed, as a result. The strategy that Dr. King should have done differently is that he could have altered his nonviolence strategy. This would have made his efforts radical, and enhance achievement of his goals. A critical analysis of Bill Gates reveals that he has achieved software improvements. He has been making improvements in order to make the software user friendly. The only thing that Bill should have done differently is integration of his fellow students in his creative work. Adding friends, rather than just Allen, would have improved his chances of success. The pace of achieving software improvements would have been improved greatly due to idea sharing.
References
Bruns, R. (2006). Martin Luther King, Jr: A Biography. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Calton, S. (2012). How Bill Gates Revolutionized Software Applications . The New York Times, 49-52.
Gladwin, A., & Hill, M. (2010). Archival Information on Martin Luther King Jr. The Times Magazine, 62-65.
Tracy, A. (2011). Evolution and Success of Bill Gates and Microsoft Incorporation. The Economic Times, 74-77.
