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The Myth and Magic of Generating New Ideas
Don't overthink
The first phase of solving can be described as “worrying” about a problem or idea. It evokes anxiety and gives the impression of productivity.
But, overthinking can lead to a dead end. The key to solving the problem is to take a break from worrying. Focus your attention on some other activity. Take a long hike or a long drive, to give your mind the space to have a good idea.
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Key Ideas
Where ideas come from
Ideas come to us when we have a specific problem but we do not focus on solving the problem directly.
It’s not at all obvious how to go about thinking up some new twist on these things. A new idea can feel like a remarkable discovery
Unconscious processing
Henri Poincaré, the father of chaos theory and the co-discoverer of special relativity, relates his own discovery. "the idea came to me, without anything in my former thoughts seeming to have paved the way for it.”
The Irish mathematician, Sir William Rowan Hamilton, had a similar epiphany while strolling by the Brougham Bridge. He was so delighted that he stopped and carved the defining algebraic equation into the bridge.
Don't overthink
The first phase of solving can be described as “worrying” about a problem or idea. It evokes anxiety and gives the impression of productivity.
But, overthinking can lead to a dead end. The key to solving the problem is to take a break from worrying. Focus your attention on some other activity. Take a long hike or a long drive, to give your mind the space to have a good idea.
Mundane work is necessary
Big ideas do not come only from leisure. The arduous, mundane work is a vital part of the process. You can't skip the worrying phase. You work, and work, and work some more to get some understanding.
The eureka moments will emerge once you have prepared your mind.
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Early History
The connection between genius and possible insanity was first documented in 1891 in the Italian physicians’ book The Man Of Genius.
In 1869, this was taken up by the cousin of Charles Darwi...
Genius and Heredity
In a 1904 study by English physician Havelock Ellis, a list was made of 1030 individuals through extensive research, examining thoroughly the intellectual distinction people had by the various factors like heredity, general health, and social class.
These works established that genius minds are often hereditary.
Genetic Studies Of Genius
A body of work of Stanford psychologist Lewis M. Terman, was an in-depth multi-decade study of gifted individuals, and an attempt to improve the measurement of genius and its association with the degradation of mental stability. This also included an enhanced version of the French IQ (Intelligence Quotient) test.
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Insights of Albert Einstein
Many insights of Albert Einstein are now part of popular imagination: black holes, time warps, and wormholes show up in movies and books.
Less famous, but probably the most revolutionary pa...
Some changes don't change anything
The most fundamental aspects of nature stay the same.
For example, Einstein's papers on relativity show that the relationship between energy and mass is invariant, even though energy and mass can take on many different forms.
Even though matter produces energy, the energy-matter content of the universe never changes. Matter and energy are less fundamental than the underlying relationship between them.
Relationships over things
We often think of things as the heart of reality. But most often the relationship is more important, not the stuff.
We may think "stuff" like space and time are unchangeable aspects of nature. In reality, the relationship between space and time stays the same.
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Multiple Intelligences
Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner described nine different types of intelligence in his book Frames Of Mind: The Theory Of Multiple Intelligences.
Each ‘type’ of intellig...
Naturist - Nature Smart
There are people who find nature to be meditative and feel closely connected to trees, rivers and flowers. The natural elements around them like the clouds and the universe attracts them.
They make great astronomers, botanists, geologists and landscape architects.
Interpersonal - People Smart
Some people love interacting with friends, family and colleagues. They understand body language, and communicate better and are sensitive to others feelings, perspectives and viewpoints. This super-important intelligence type can be applied to most careers.
Interpersonal Intelligence types can have great careers as managers, psychologists, teachers and social workers.
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