Ideas Are New Combinations

• An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.
• The capacity to bring old elements into new combinations depends largely on the ability to see relationships. The habit of mind which leads to a search for relationships between...

Thorndike's replacement theory was not correct. He was wrong in thinking that only the superficial elements of a task needed to match.

An idea, as an abstract concept, can influence your thinking more on a broader range of problems than only memorising some steps in a procedure.

An idea is a connection between two concepts.

Steve Jobs said that creativity is just connecting things. When you understand that and think of ideas in that way, the process of generating ideas will seem a lot less intimidating.