CONCEPT
Conceptual Space (Boden)
The formal structure within which exploratory creativity operates — a domain defined by rules, conventions, and boundaries that specify what counts as a valid move. The precondition for Boden's entire taxonomy.
A conceptual space, in Boden's technical use, is the structured field of possibilities that defines a creative domain. Chess has a conceptual space defined by its rules, board geometry, and the infinite but bounded set of legal positions. Classical tonal music has a conceptual space defined by harmonic conventions, instrumental ranges, and formal structures. A programming language has a conceptual space defined by its syntax, semantics, and standard libraries. The concept is essential to Boden's taxonomy because the three modes are defined by their relationship to conceptual spaces: exploration searches within one, combination crosses between them, transformation changes them. Without the concept of a conceptual space, the distinctions collapse.
In The You On AI Field Guide
The formulation is not metaphorical. Boden means conceptual spaces in a precise sense: formally definable (at least in principle) structures that specify what counts as a valid move within the domain. The space can be small and tightly rule-bound (chess) or vast and loosely constrained (poetry),