Where Good Ideas Come From

Keep a Curiosity Journal: Every day, jot down questions or ideas that intrigue you, no matter how unrelated they might seem to your current projects or knowledge. This habit can help you identify patterns or connections you might otherwise overlook.

Cross-Pollinate Your Interests: Actively seek out information, hobbies, or conversations outside your usual sphere. For example, if you're a software developer, try attending a local art exhibit or reading about environmental science. The goal is to expose yourself to the 'adjacent possibles' in other fields that could inspire innovative ideas in your own.

Host Idea Dinners: Organize casual dinners with friends or colleagues from different backgrounds. Make it a point to discuss what everyone is working on or curious about. These conversations can spark ideas that are just on the edge of your current projects or knowledge base.

Implement '15-Minute Experiment Time': Dedicate 15 minutes a day to experimenting with something new related to your work or interests. It could be as simple as using a new software tool, sketching a product idea, or writing in a style you're not accustomed to. This practice encourages exploration right next to your current capabilities.

A mobile app developer reads about ancient navigation techniques for fun and becomes inspired to create a location-based game that uses historical exploration methods. This idea was an 'adjacent possible' because it combined existing GPS technology with a novel application inspired by an unrelated field.

A high school teacher interested in history starts using virtual reality in her classroom to create immersive experiences for her students. The idea came from her hobby of gaming. Recognizing the potential of VR to make historical events more relatable, she expanded her teaching methods into new, innovative territories.

Join diverse online communities and forums related to your interests and beyond. Engage in discussions, share your ideas, and be open to feedback. This digital networking can mimic the fluidity of liquid networks by connecting you with a wide array of perspectives.

Create or participate in interdisciplinary workspaces or groups, whether they're co-working spaces, online collaboration platforms, or cross-departmental projects at work. The goal is to immerse yourself in environments where you can interact with people from different fields and backgrounds.

Organize or attend regular meetups and workshops that focus on creativity, innovation, or specific interests. These gatherings are excellent for sparking new ideas through conversations and presentations, embodying the principle of liquid networks.

Keep a digital tool or notebook handy to jot down ideas, thoughts, and inspirations as they come. This practice helps in capturing the fleeting connections made in these liquid networks and can serve as a basis for future innovations.

A software developer joins an online forum dedicated to sustainable technology. Through discussions, they collaborate with environmental scientists and entrepreneurs to develop a new app that helps users track and reduce their carbon footprint.

A graphic designer working in a co-working space regularly interacts with professionals from various industries. One day, a casual conversation with a biologist about patterns in nature inspires a new design approach that becomes highly sought after in the design community.

Keep a Journal: Start documenting your thoughts, ideas, and observations on a daily basis. This practice can help you track the evolution of your slow hunches over time, making it easier to connect dots that were not initially apparent.

Dedicate Time for Reflection: Set aside regular intervals for quiet reflection or meditation. Use this time to think deeply about your ongoing projects or ideas, allowing your subconscious mind to work on the problems in the background.

Create a 'Hunch Hour': Once a week, block out an hour to revisit old ideas or projects that didn't immediately take off. This dedicated time encourages you to look at these concepts with fresh eyes and possibly combine them with new insights.

Cultivate a Diverse Network: Engage with people from different fields and backgrounds. Exposing yourself to a variety of perspectives can spark connections between seemingly unrelated ideas, helping your slow hunches develop more comprehensively.

Embrace Patience: Remind yourself that not all ideas will come to fruition quickly. Celebrate small progressions and remain open to the possibility that some concepts may need more time to mature than others.

A scientist keeps detailed notes on her experiments, even those that fail or produce inconclusive results. Years later, she revisits her old notebooks and realizes a pattern that leads to a major breakthrough in her research.

A novelist struggles with the plot of his new book, feeling something is missing. He decides to put the project aside and starts working on another story. Months later, during a casual conversation with a friend about history, he has an epiphany that solves his plot issue, thanks to the slow hunch that matured over time.

Expand Your Social Circle: Make an effort to meet and interact with people from different backgrounds, industries, and interests. Attend networking events, join new clubs or groups, and be open to conversations with strangers. The diverse perspectives you encounter can spark new ideas.

Change Your Routine: Alter your daily or weekly routines to expose yourself to new environments and experiences. This could be as simple as taking a different route to work, trying out a new hobby, or visiting unfamiliar places during your free time.

Curate a Diverse Information Diet: Actively seek out information from a variety of sources. Subscribe to magazines, podcasts, and blogs that cover a wide range of topics, not just those in your immediate field of interest. This broadens your knowledge base and increases the chances of serendipitous discoveries.

Encourage Random Exploration: Dedicate some time each week to explore topics, ideas, or projects without a specific goal in mind. Use the internet, libraries, or community resources to randomly dive into subjects you know little about.

Create 'Collision Spaces' in Work Environments: If you're in a position to influence your work environment, design spaces that encourage random encounters and conversations among colleagues from different departments. Open-plan offices, communal lunch areas, and cross-departmental meetings can foster these serendipitous interactions.

A software developer regularly attends art exhibitions and music concerts, which inspire him to incorporate unique design elements and soundtracks into his coding projects, leading to innovative app features.

A marketing professional starts a book club within her company that reads and discusses books from various genres, not just business-related. This initiative leads to unexpected cross-pollination of ideas, improving campaign creativity and problem-solving approaches.

Observe Everyday Objects with Fresh Eyes: Start by looking at the tools and resources you use daily. Ask yourself if there's a different problem they could solve. This practice will help you develop a habit of seeing potential beyond the intended use.

Cross-Pollinate Ideas Across Different Fields: Make it a point to learn about areas outside your expertise. The knowledge gained can inspire innovative uses of ideas or tools in your primary field. For example, a concept from biology might solve an engineering problem.

Encourage Open-Ended Brainstorming Sessions: Whether alone or with a team, set aside time for brainstorming sessions where no idea is too outlandish. This environment fosters creative thinking and can lead to discovering new applications for old ideas.

Document and Reflect on Past Projects: Keep a journal of your projects, noting what worked and what didn’t. Sometimes, the solution to a current problem lies in an unexpected aspect of a past project. Reflection can spark ideas for exaptation.

The development of Velcro is a classic example of exaptation. Swiss engineer George de Mestral was inspired by how burrs stuck to his dog’s fur and his own clothing. He then developed Velcro, repurposing the natural mechanism of burrs for a fastening system.

Penicillin, the world’s first antibiotic, was discovered by Alexander Fleming through an unintended mold growth in a petri dish. This accidental discovery led to the repurposing of mold substances to fight bacterial infections, revolutionizing medicine.