We have difficulty thinking of an idea even when we have all the facts in front of us. Thomas H. Huxley exclaimed after reading On the Origin of Species, "How stupid of me not to have thought of this."

Connecting unrelated ideas needs courage, as most peop...

Creativity requires isolation. The creative person's mind is mixing information all the time, even if he is not conscious of it. Consider the famous example of Kekule working out the structure of benzene in his sleep.

The presence of others can disrupt this process since creation is embarra...

Over 50 years ago, science-fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote an essay on creativity, a must-read.

Scientist Arthur Obermayer found Asimov's "On Creativity" while clearing out some old files. Even though the essay was written half a century ago, its contents are high...

No two people have the exact mental stores of items. One person may know A but not B, and the other may know B but not A. If both know A and B, they may get the idea, but not simultaneously.

Further, the information may be a combination of A-B, which may not be significant. But if one menti...