[bmitc]

> At its best, a brainstorming group comes up with the same ideas as the group’s members would when working alone

That's not true. That would be brainstorming at its average. Has this person ever sat in a writer's room?

> at its worst, it perpetuates negative cultural habits, reinforces hierarchies, stunts productivity, and severely limits creativity.

Well yeah, anything at its worst is going to be counterproductive. Is that a revelation? I hate to say this phrase, but if that's the results of your brainstorming sessions, then you're doing it wrong.

The ideas of improv and the book Impro are relevant here.

Lastly, the purpose of brainstorming isn't productivity or results. It's about increasing the dimensionality of ideas. If one simply thinks alone, one may be stuck in linear or planar thinking. A brainstorming session or practice can help break out of that, where individuals can then return to solo thinking with a renewed exploration space and potentially a path through that.

[fatnoah]

> At its best, a brainstorming group comes up with the same ideas as the group’s members would when working alone

I picked up on this as well. In 20+ years of a Software Career, the ideas that come out of a brainstorm are usually ones that started with one person, and then got amplified, enhanced, and generally made even "better" by others in the group.

So yes, if we think brainstorming provides nothing new, then there's no reason to do it, but I think the whole point is that it is a fairly efficient way to bring many ideas to the forefront and allow others to add their own refinements to them. Many times what appears to not be the best idea turns into that best idea with some refinement.

[SecurityLagoon]

Your second point was what I was primarily thinking. If brainstorming highlights your cultural problems then maybe its time to fix your cultural problems rather than cover it up with less group work.