Where Do Good Ideas Come From

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas. What's the Big Idea?

Everyone likes Ideas -- they are the spark of the fire. Everyone has their ideas, but GoodIdeasAreExpensive. So WhereDoGoodIdeasComeFrom? How do you get your good ideas?

Mostly I find that good ideas come from deep within my brain, when I have already thought out a problem thoroughly and am involved in a completely different task. Good Ideas come from the subconscience. I get my best ideas when I am walking around admiring the sights in the neighborhood. Or writing in my journal. Or taking a shower.

-- JeffChapman

Good Ideas come from FreeCell.

In my experience, good ideas are born of necessity. You know "Necessity is the mother of invention".

Does this mean therefore that to be productive at creating good ideas that we should deliberately put ourselves into a state of need?

Does this mean that suffering is a necessary prerequisite to creating good ideas (or creativity, or art)?

How does this apply to software development: are the good idea creators in software design those people who are more sensitive to other people's computer/computing needs?

It's a pressure, or emergency, kind of thing. The greater the need or urgency, the better the really good ideas seem to flow. Kind of like "water reaches hotter temperatures under pressure."

Not for me -- pressure makes for a faster flow of my ideas, yes. But not Good ideas. In fact, I think quite the opposite -- relaxed inattention to the problem at hand is what causes my best ideas. It is after my brain has had unpressured time to mull over all of the various possibilities that it harkens upon the Good idea.

I find that I can generate ideas (of random caliber) when I want to, and I can usually recognize a Good idea when I see one. However, I never seem to be able to generate a Good idea on demand. Therefore I must generate tens, or even hundreds of ideas, if I want to end up with a Good one.

GoodIdeasComeFromWalking

Often ideas and work are separated either by position, power or competence. There are those who

have ideas, but do not know how to make them work
have ideas, seek others with complimentary competencies, and begin work on implementations
- either individually, jointly or severally decide upon which ideas will work
oppose ideas NotInventedHere
propose and seek to implement bad ideas
have ideas but do not record them or seek their implementation
work without having an idea of what it is they are to accomplish
work, always improving, but never finishing a stage, being satisfied with partial functionality with partial dys-functionality
work, the same way, over and over, never seeking or discovering a better or easier way

 http://donaldr.noyes.com/SunflowerSynergies/IdeasAndWork.htm

DontLoseGoodIdeas

CategoryCreativity