> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On > Behalf Of Erik Reuter
... > > Pick up any book on creativity and you'll find that creative people > > are interested in everything. (We're into an area of my expertise > > here; IIRC, that very sentence appears on my web site.) Metaphor is > > powerful, so is letting a problem linger in the back of one's head. > > Big problems are rarely solved by tackling them head-on; many are > > serendipitous. > > That is mostly sensationalism and wishful thinking. It doesn't make a > good story to say that you were working on the problem for hours and you > solved it. It makes a great story to say you were in the bathtub and > suddenly had to jump out and run naked to your desk to write down the > idea that just occurred to you. Selective memory and drama. What makes you think so? It flies in the face of the success I've had. Do you have real-world experience in this area? My successes have been at Intel, IBM, Microsoft, Apple, etc. Not to mention my own companies. > > Serendipity is not something you can force to happen, but it's not > > random, either. > > The first part is a tautology or a useless definition, so I'll ignore > it, and the second part conflicts with the first. I don't follow. I see no conflict between the two parts. > > Head in an interesting direction and you're likely to find things you > > weren't even looking for. > > Head in an interesting direction related to what you are working on, > and you are likely to find useful things that will help you get your > work done. You can't absolutely force ideas, but you can make them more > likely. Uh, that's what I said. Nick _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
