A Technique for Creating Ideas

A Technique for Creating Ideas

Step One: Gather information, a lot of it, be open minded and don’t block anything out; the more the better. There are two kinds of information: information directly related to the subject (that what you are working on) and general information on all kinds of subjects. Step Two: Digest the information; chew on it, look at it from all angles. Touch it, feel it and exhaust yourself by going over it. Float away from reality and get daydreaming, be absent minded. You will get tired at a certain stage but do not give up, ponder further until the second wind of energy rushes through the brain and you can go on for a second time. Then you will get completely confused and frustrated as everything gets blurry in your head and the conscious brain part cannot make sence out of it. Only after this episode you can go on. Step Three: Drop it. Drop the subject and do something completely different, mentally or physically. Let the unconscious part of the brain take over. Read a book, watch a movie, have sex or go to the gym, whatever you do in stage three, do not think directly about the problem or the material, just try to forget it. Stimulate however the flow of gastric juices (your brain needs a lot of energy now) Step Four: This step will come by itself. From apparently nowhere in one time the idea will appear. Maybe even at a very inconvenient time. This is how ideas come; after you have stopped straining for them and have passed through a period of rest and relaxation from the search. Step Five: Bringing your idea to live in the real world, take it to your friends and colleagues and let it be looked at, criticized, and worked on. Good ideas have self expanding qualities. In step five you file and shape your idea into practical usefulness.  Reference: James Webb Young 2003