How do we grow new ideas?

Being a creative and and educator, I often find times when the struggle to explain the task of getting to an idea is further complicated by the need to understand that the students are in fact novice to all this. I did a lot of my research into Lateral Thinking and ideas when I was doing my Masters degree, some twelve years back now. Since then I have explored, read, watched, combined many theories and examples of how to get to the that idea. Whether its the hard toil or eureka moment, there are practices in place that can aid in the coming forth of good and even great ideas. Needless to say, that bad ideas are the metaphorical swamp that many a creative person finds themselves in at the start of any adventure into the creative world. So, we can only really pick ourselves up out of the mire of mediocrity and do better.

If you take our closest relatives, the chimpanzees, they have a knack of problem solving not far removed from the basic process of human endeavour. When challenged with something they tend to spend a great deal of time testing out extreme resolutions. Many of which fail, but in time delivers the end worth. It may not be the best result, but it achieves the needed outcome. Many people deal with the issue of problem solving i much the same way. Like sticking sellotape around something to fix it, or spelling something wrong on a crossword puzzle to get it to fit, so they can finish. These kind of solutions have no great practical outcome, as they are fixes to a problem, and not a resolution.

I was surprised when I typed out the short list of methods to make a good idea, as written in James Webb Young's inspiring book, and found that it wasn't too far removed from my own teachings in the study of creative thinking. Then, with some further reading into the book "How to do better Creative Work" it was explained that the reason that most people haven't truly caught onto this not because people haven't already thought of this plan, but instead find it hard to maintain the process. Maybe due to lack of motivation, time, or a number of other factors. However, the reason this process works is because it delivers the structure that the mind needs to go through to achieve that elusive idea. Here is the list again and the breakdown to it's value and purpose:

1. Gather as much raw information as possible.
2. Chew it over and let your first ideas leave your system.
3. Stop thinking about the subject and let your subconscious get to work.
4. Be ready for the idea to flow at any time.
5. Shape and develop the idea for practical usefulness.

1 | In many aspects, the most important, even if time consuming of the points. You can hardly move forward with an idea, if you know nothing of the subject and a little less of the needs. Many people (especially the learners) tend to believe they either know-it-all, or don't need to know anything about the depth of a subject brief to design something good. That it is more about what they think is good.

2 | Another aspect to what I teach. Get rid of the first idea. It's usually cliched and been done a thousand times before. There is never anything clever in seeing another person's work and then reinventing it in a different style. By all means use this as a starting point, but very quickly understand that this needs to be forgotten and/or worked on to be original.

3 | Now, this is a crazy notion. But believe it or not, creatives are 24/7 people. The actual aspect of stop thinking about it, means in a cognitive sense. You can never really stop thinking about a puzzle, as that is what the brain is for. Do what Einstein did, and lie down. There are reasons why it works, and anything that can aid in creating a brain flow should be considered.

4 | You should also consider the possibility that ideas (or better ideas) could emerge after the actual chosen path has been taken. Hence, after all, the expression, the eleventh hour. Many puzzles can be defined and determined by seeing other previously unseen aspects. Developing anything can generate these previously unseen aspects and therefore, should not be dismissed even if a conclusive path has been chosen.

5 | The final stage is possible the most enjoyable and satisfying, as its the assumed creative part. What should not be forgotten however, is that this is the realisation aspect. The idea is the more creative aspect. It is the thing that drives the brain to find answers.

So, growing new ideas isn't a difficult thing. It's just the difference between understanding if you need a quick yield or are patient enough to see a good idea bloom. The metaphor of growing may seem silly, but the process of seeing an idea sprout out of nothing, is as much as seeing young shoots popping their head out of the dark soil. It's a great joy when it happens. And the process that seemed pointless at the start now bears fruit.