THE PRINCIPLE

To incubate great ideas, your mind needs facts to work with

The standard definition of creativity includes reference to the fact that most new ideas are just new combinations of existing ideas.

You need to have a lot of facts swirling around in your brain before you have the exhilarating experience of coming up with a new one.

The general model is to learn as much as possible and then forget all about it for a while. Quite often the ‘Eureka!’ breakthrough idea comes in that second phase when you’ve stopped thinking about the challenge. Obviously some kind of gestation period takes place before the new idea is born.

However, in the first phase it’s important to distinguish facts from beliefs or assumptions. Galileo studied the facts about the planets, but he questioned the assumption that the earth was at the centre of the universe and was circled by the sun, moon and stars. He realised that this belief was rooted in religion, not in science.

He is known as the father of observational astronomy because he based his conclusions on what he observed rather than what he was told. That makes him a great model for the modern creative person (even if he did have to spend the last years of his life under house arrest on orders of the Roman Inquisition – who said the creative path is easy?).

So while you devour facts about your field, don’t also swallow the assumptions that often hide among them. And when you’ve packed your brain, relax and let your subconscious mind do the work … and get ready for new ideas to pop up when you least expect them.