Create instance of generic type in Java?

Question

Is it possible to create an instance of a generic type in Java? I\'m thinking based on what I\'ve seen that the answer is no (due to type erasure), but

Answer 1

Think about a more functional approach: instead of creating some E out of nothing (which is clearly a code smell), pass a function that knows how to create one, i.e.

E createContents(Callable makeone) {
     return makeone.call(); // most simple case clearly not that useful
}