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Sometimes I have ideas after I have just woken up. Other times I have them as I am falling asleep. Occasionally I have experienced that magical ‘a-ha’ moment when I am relaxing in the bath, at the gym or mid-way through a conversation with someone else. Then there are the times I become inspired when walking through a busy street, or waiting for a bus. Oddly enough, I just had one whilst writing the end of that last sentence (selling socks in threes instead of twos – that way, if you lose one you still have a pair). It’s not a great idea, but you get the general point.
For me, the emphasis is not about where I am, but rather a type of thinking that operates independently of location. I believe that coming up with good ideas is really hard work, and there are many different factors involved. For example, you have to have a firm understanding of the problem in hand, know what you are looking for, look in lots of different places for possible solutions, be prepared to take time away from the problem, consider options that others reject, and, perhaps most importantly of all, be resilient enough to keep going in the face of the endless bad ideas that you will produce on the way.
I wish that I knew how these different elements combined to create a great idea. It would be wonderful to produce some kind of scientific formula that reliably resulted in a best-selling product or breathtaking invention. However, given that so much of the process seems to take place in an unconscious, and somewhat mysterious, way, I suspect that such a formula will forever be beyond our grasp. But all is not lost. Although creating an exact formula to understand and predict creativity maybe something of an impossibility, I do believe that it is possible to reflect on our everyday experiences and relevant work from psychology, and start to identify together some of key pieces of the puzzle.
So, with that in mind, I would like to spend the remainder of this article examining one of the processes that I believe plays a vitally important role in the production of successful ideas. The process revolves around the concept of priming. Your brain is amazingly good at seeing what it wants to observe. When you are hungry, it focuses on finding food. When you are thirsty, it looks for liquid. This is easy to demonstrate. Have a quick look around you. Perhaps you are in your office or your home. Wherever you are, look around. Next, choose a colour from the list below:
Red-Blue-Green-Yellow
Now look around again, but this time focus on any objects that match your chosen colour. If you have chosen green, just look for green objects, no matter how small. Perhaps you have now noticed a piece of green clothing or a tiny patch of green carpet. Most people report that the scene appears different the second time because they spotted objects, or parts of objects, that they missed the first time. Now choose another colour and repeat the process. Once again, you may be surprised at how you noticed things that you simply didn’t see first time round. In this exercise, you primed your brain to notice objects that you missed when you first looked around. It seems to me that exactly the same concept is vital to having ideas. People who have good ideas are skilled at priming themselves with a particular problem and therefore spotting the solution to that problem, or something that will lead them to that solution, when it happens to pop up in front of them.
The brain’s ability to perform this amazing feat has been demonstrated in several experiments. In one well-known study, volunteers were shown into a room that had various small objects scattered on the floor and two strings hanging from the ceiling. Their task was to find a way of tying the ends of the two strings together. There was just one small problem. The length of the strings, and the distance between them, was such that it was impossible to grasp both of them at once. The solution was to tie one of the objects to the end of one string, and thus convert it into a pendulum that could then be swung towards the other string. After the volunteers had worked on the problem for a while, the experimenter would enter the room for a brief chat. On his way out, the experimenter would brush against one of the strings and gently set it swinging. After this, the majority of volunteers suddenly had an idea and thought of the pendulum solution, but were completely unaware that the gently swinging string had acted as an important clue. Unknown to them, their brains had been primed with a problem and so quickly detected, and made the most of, a seemingly chance opportunity.
There are lots of historical examples of how a primed mind being fed with diverse material has resulted in great ideas. For example, in the 15th century, books were produced by a slow and laborious technique that involved hand carved wooden plates, inking the plates and then pressing each sheet of paper against them. Johannes Gutenberg wanted to revolutionise printing by creating a more effective technique for mass-producing books. He had thought about the problem for a long while, and had already come up with the notion of movable type, but could not find an effective and efficient way of pressing the paper against the type. Whilst visiting a festival celebrating the wine harvest, Gutenberg noticed how a wine press was used to remove the juice from grapes, and realised that the same idea could be used to press paper against his new form of type. Voila! The birth of the printing press. Similarly, James Watt was struck by the notion of the steam engine while watching a kettle boil and Sir Isaac Newton developed the notion of gravity after seeing an apple fall to the ground. Also, after a huge amount of careful experimentation, Charles Goodyear eventually discovered a commercially viable form of rubber when he accidentally dropped a sample on a hot stove, and noticed that it formed a highly stable substance.
So, for me, it is key to spend some time thinking about the problem that I am trying to solve. Often this involves working on it for a while, and talking to friends and colleagues about the issues in hand. It really doesn’t bother me if I cannot think of a solution. I am confident that something will occur to me at some point in time, it is just a question of when, not if. However, I try not to completely forget about the issue, but rather continue to be mindful of the problem. In short, I try to achieve more by striving less.
I also try to feed my mind with new experiences, such as going to a museum, or flicking through magazines or newspapers. But I don’t push it. Instead, I simply immerse myself in novel ideas and experiences, and leave it up to my brain to find a solution among the huge amount of information, meetings, comments and emails that I encounter on a daily basis.
Then, often when I am least expecting it – bingo – an idea occurs to me. Of course, it may not be a very good idea. Or an idea that is practical. Or perhaps it feels too risky. But none of that is important. The key point is that the ideas keep flowing and the more you produce the more you have the confidence to wait until the right one comes along.
Professor Richard Wiseman is a contributor to the East of England’s space for ideas campaign, aimed at encouraging creativity in business (www.spaceforideas.uk.com). Many of his experiments have received considerable media attention, including his research into the psychology of luck, the paranormal and humour. He is the author of the best-selling book The Luck Factor (Arrow) and his latest book, Did You Spot The Gorilla? (Arrow), explores why people miss obvious opportunities and simple solutions.
VTR
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