Where do ideas come from? Who owns them? Are anyone’s ideas really unique? Can we catalyze for great ideas? Can we really create good new ones?
At first glance, what do you think?
Do you get intimidated by the names of the great inventors and innovators – Galileo; Gauss; Edison; Fermi; Pythagoras; Ooog (credited with the wheel) – and dispirited by the notion that you are expected to be as prolifically creative as they were?
Malcolm Gladwell, who gave us “The Tipping Point” and most recently “Blink,” has addressed this issue with his usual elegance and simplicity.
While some now attack “The Tipping Point” http://www.gladwell.com/tippingpoint/ and believe that in our highly leveraged, digital, social age it is passé – I’d actually argue that in a world where we declare victory because a thousand people have passed along some insipid video without an appreciable change in anyone’s behavior – not even as art if you accept catharsis as measure of art’s effect – “The Tipping Point,” which Gladwell based on social phenomena, should be more of a measure than ever before.
“Blink,” as you may recall, is about those decisions and judgments we make in split microseconds – those gut feelings that we go with or ignore, and then kick ourselves in the butt when we realize we over-thought the issue.
I am a huge proponent of Blink thinking http://www.gladwell.com/blink/index.html and believe, obviously, that the more data points we have, and the more information we can assimilate, the better our Blink moments will be.
Enough digression – or maybe it’s not digressive and is really foundation for what Gladwell writes as he prepares his new book – “good ideas are out there for anyone with the wit and the will to find them.”
In his most recent The New Yorker article http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/05/12/080512fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=all Gladwell writes, “Who says big ideas are so rare?” and further that “the history of science is full of ideas that several people had at the same time.”
He calls it “In the Air.”
To be fair, art is not included – Beethoven is Beethoven, and the Beatles are the Beatles, not to mention Picasso, etc.
But as far as we are concerned, good ideas are out there…
In thinking on this, I came across one of my favorite sources of innovation:
Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.
~Dr. Seuss
And there you have it – complicated questions, simple solutions, gut feeling and the need for the moment of critical mass…
So while we might not give Amadeus a competitive fright – old Tom Edison had better watch out.
I think this is an interesting topic. I’m personally a strong believer in there being no limit to new ideas. There are new and wonderful ideas that come to peoples’ minds everyday. In fact I dare say that ideas are cheap and maybe not that special.
The big challenge is making ideas real. It requires a very different type of person to take a concept and create something real from it. That is always the hardest part. This is where I really admire our histories great innovators. They were not always the ones that had the idea, but they are known as the ones who made it possible.
One of the things I find most fascinating about today’s social technologies is the ability to quickly get ideas in the hands of people who can make them real.
This why I believe we need more things like the TED Prize, Google Lunar X Prize, My Dream App, or the scores of open source projects on SourceForge. Systems to not only spark innovation to support them and make it happen.
Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.
That is why people are always amazed at magic tricks when they see them, but then usually disappointed when they are told (not when they struggle to figure out) how they’re done.
They don’t appreciate the engineering, complexity and raw innovation (or critical mass of ideas) required to create the trick in the first place.
More on the Tipping Point later, which is a subject that highly interests me.
I feel that ideas origin from the desire to do something … something that has the power to improve efficacy in doing things. Its just how strong your observation is that shows your strength at ideation. Nevertheless, I have never seen ideas origin from a spur of the moment. Its often after hours and even days of toiling at a problem before an idea can see the sun. Then the time lapsed when an idea transcends into a tangible solution is also a very important phase. I honestly don’t support the “Blink” ideology just because of these coherent deficiencies. For me intuition cannot work until there is enough homework done on the subject. Yes, decisions can be taken at the spur of a moment; but idea, its a different story altogether.
I recall comments by Mozart that there were two phases: Generate lots of stuff uncritically, then select with a discerning ear. Maybe he was being uncharacteristically humble – surely there is a “how” to generation and selection where he was highly gifted. We also need to consider motivation as well. Without a big need, Mozart could have lived a long, fat, boring life.
I’ve seen heaps of creativity in kids (at play, etc), but many people seem to lose it as they age (or are distracted, or brow beaten, away from it). Some don’t lose it…
Lots to comment — in terms of childresn creativity — Picasso said it best –”Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
Pablo Picasso
And its clear that even in sports kids have an edge — natural golf swing; instinctive throw etc — when they get older and self aware they often lose it…think on that.
Preperation is key — Blink is not about simple gut — its about millions of years of DNA baked in experience and hundreds of hours of your own — so yes I agree — the foundation is key.
Magic is a great analogy — Houdini was an inventor; engineer; showman– and simplicity was critical — even if teh construction was complex — the solution itself was simple.
For me ideas come from our knowledge base and human experiences. In my creative journeys I start with an idea! A website without an organizing idea is merely another fun toy. A TV ad without and idea is merely annoying. It is about being where they want us, when they want us and how they want us. Your Idea should answer why they want us.
http://joannapenabickley.typepad.com/on/2008/05/on-digital-all.html
everything should start with an idea. If yiu cant articulate it in a sentence you dont have an idea. If you need to add bells and whistles you have an execution — not an idea.