The ability to produce great ideas one after another is a coveted skill both in work and in life. For years, I have been using the process described in the 1926 book, the art of thought by Graham Wallas to generate great ideas. I recently found out about A technique for producing ideas by James Webb Young, so I did a quick internet search for additional information. I found two articles summarizing the book, which is only 48 pages long, and felt that the described method sounded similar to the one described in the art of thought.
As a professional with more than 15 years of research experience, I felt it was important to read the book for myself because information that I consider important might have been left out of the articles I read. It is interesting that I noted the similarities between the idea generation process described by James Webb Young and Graham Wallas because at the end of his book, Young recommends that readers also read the art of thought (as much as science and method Y The art of scientific inquiry) to better understand the entire idea generation process. By the way, the art of thought It was written in 1926 and A technique for producing ideas in the 1940s.
This is my interpretation of the information described in A technique for producing ideas.
5 steps to generating ideas
Step 1: Information Gathering
There are two types of information to collect:
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Specific
- Gather as much information as possible on the topic of interest.
- Write the information on 3×5 index cards, one item per card
- Classify the information by sections of the topic of interest
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General
- This is an ongoing process throughout your life.
- Record any interesting information you find in a scrapbook or other archiving method that makes sense to you.
Step 2: Work on the information in your mind
- Look at the information you collected from many different angles
- Synthesize the information
- Combine two facts and see how they fit together
- Connect the information with what you already know, nothing exists in a vacuum
- As partial or tentative ideas come to you, no matter how crazy or incomplete, document them on the index card, one idea per card.
- Don’t stop until you have at least a partial or incomplete idea
- When everything is a jumble or there’s no point in doing extra work, it’s time to take the next step.
Step 3: Incubation
- Give the problem to your subconscious mind
- Work on an unrelated task or do something that stimulates the imagination and emotions.
Step 4: eureka! I have it
- When you least expect it, the idea occurs to you
Step 5: Shape and develop the idea
- It is unlikely that the idea is ready to be implemented as it is.
- Criticize it: test it, then refine it
5 great ideas
- An idea is a combination of old elements.
- The ability to combine old elements into something new depends on the ability to see relationships and make connections.
- Build a reservoir of knowledge, which is full of life experiences, facts, and other information.
- Learning is a lifelong process
- Constantly expand your experiences personally and indirectly
I liked A technique for producing ideas by James Webb Young and will integrate his process into the Wallas process. It’s a great idea to keep a scrapbook for general information. When you come across really interesting information that you currently can’t use, where do you park it so you don’t forget it? My suggestion is that you create an electronic document to store that important information. As you get older, more general information you will have accumulated, which helps a lot in creative problem solving. I recommend A technique for producing ideas.