

Coming up with my best idea - rguldener
http://tillist.com/mails/archive/2012-06-12

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andykk
The methodology you describe and credit to James Webb Young aligns nicely with
an amazing talk by John Cleese on Creativity. You can find the video at
<http://vimeo.com/18913413>. He bases his talk on a Berkeley psychologist
named Donald McKinnon who also did his research in the 60s. In addition to
providing a great refresher for light bulb jokes he provides concrete steps to
get in the creative or "open" mode. He lays out five elements needed to create
the right circumstances for coming up with original and creative ideas: 1)
Space - Clear your calendar of interruptions 2) Time - Set aside a specific
amount of time 3) Time - classic Cleese here with time listed twice. This
matches your step 3 as well where you give the subconscious time to work. 4)
Confidence - Worry about making a mistake will kill creativity. 5) Humor -
playfulness and curiosity are keys to unlocking ones natural creativity. The
more serious the matter the more it needs a dose of humor.

I must say that teams that have fun have tended to be more creative,
collaborative, innovative and productive than the ones that are serious, be
they in software, school, or war zones.

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harrymylo
Thanks for the video! The two are definitely complementary. I always clear out
my schedule and dedicate time when I need to come up with ideas. It's also
good to spend time every day or some times a week coming up with ideas, even
if you never act on them.

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hugs
The only thing not mentioned is the variability of time scale. Sometimes the
idea process can take years. For example, it took Bret Victor 10 years to find
his ideas about UIs. ( <https://vimeo.com/36579366> ) For truly world-changing
ideas, 10 years is not uncommon. Steven Johnson explains this as a "slow
hunch" in his TED talk --> "Where Good Ideas Come From" (
[http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_johnson_where_good_ideas_com...](http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_johnson_where_good_ideas_come_from.html)
)

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harrymylo
Very good point. I was lucky in that case with CPU Wars as it took me around
2-3 weeks.

