Nothing is original: the idea of connecting knowledge is creativity

One day Belle Beth Cooper shared this image on Twitter via the official account of blog buffer, and soon there were more than 1,000 tweets, which were quite sympathetic to the public, and she began to think about how to link knowledge. This picture clearly points out the difference between knowledge and experience:

The picture comes from cartoonist Hugh MacLeod, a concept that is often less easily understood in a fairly clear and intelligent way. It is clear from the diagram that single knowledge cannot be effective unless we can link it to other knowledge that we have accumulated in the past.

Many good writers, artists, or scientists have talked about the importance of collecting ideas and knowledge, and have taken each knowledge and idea as a point to find ways to link it to produce more creative ideas.

Belle Beth Cooper thinks this kind of article is interesting and illuminating, and she collects some sentences and suggestions about how to create links in the brain from her favorite creative thinking possessions, and makes a point of giving the reader reference, and she encourages readers to read a lot, Discover the link between the knowledge and the idea in your mind!

Add unlimited creativity with Links: nothing is original.

Steve Jobs, without a doubt, is full of innovation and creative ideas, he said in an interview in 1996:

Creativity is connecting things together. When you ask creative people how they do it, they feel a little guilty because they are not really "creative", they just see something and link them up.

Then Jobs went on to say that the secret to a steady connection between ideas and knowledge is experience:

With experience, it is possible to link past experiences and synthesize them into new things. The reason why some people can easily connect is because they have more experience, or they know more about using past experience than others.

Brain Pickings founder Maria Popova can be said to be the best performance of "modular Creativity", which is to link something and create new ideas:

In order for us to truly create or contribute to the world, we must link those countless points, interact with new ideas from a great deal of knowledge in the past, and combine ideas together to create richer and larger ideas.

Maria Popova in a creative morning party to share her thoughts on links, where she believes that reading articles on a wide range of topics is key to enhancing connectivity, and she talks about how each person's ego affects our willingness to invest in what others are already doing:

Some things are already natural to us, but our creative selves are sometimes unwilling to accept, and this is the modular idea-nothing is original, all new ideas are based on things that happened in the past.

In the end, Maria Popova The Lego block metaphor, and she likens each knowledge point to a piece of Lego blocks waiting to be pieced together:

When we have more building blocks, we will have more shapes, colors, and finally put together the building blocks will be more interesting!

"Ideas are stolen: 10 of the creative Austin that nobody told you about," wrote Kleon, the author of Belle Beth Cooper, who decided to write a theme. The idea is all stolen. The beginning of the book is this:

Every artist will ask, "Where do you get the idea?"

An honest artist would say, "I stole it." 」

Austin Kleon also believed:

Each seemingly new idea is just a mix of past ideas.

If you are looking for more advice to help you connect your brain and gather more knowledge, Austin Kleon's book is a good start, and he offers a lot of advice, like carrying a notebook, reading a lot, and so on.

What do scientists think about connecting this thing

In the book of the Road to science (Art of scientific Investigation), the University of Cambridge, Beveridge, writes that successful scientists are often curious and have a wide range of interests:

Originality (originality) usually comes from the linking of ideas, and the methods of linking are not easily guessed by others.

He suggests that scientists should read more articles outside their fields of expertise to enrich their knowledge (so there will be richer and more diverse knowledge points to be connected in the future).

Start connecting, become more creative!

Next Belle Beth Cooper offers some advice to help users improve their abilities and create links:

1. Increasing knowledge-the power of new experiences

In any case, when you have more knowledge, you can make more connections. From the beginning of reading, a larger, more extensive. and explore every opportunity to gather knowledge (try new experiences, such as traveling, attending parties, or developing new interests).

Only new things can inspire the strong activity of the midbrain region.

So, try to challenge something new, put some pressure on your brain, and let your brain overload! Not only will it help develop the brain, but it may also be able to produce unexpected results.

About the wide range of channels, just recently in the knowledge to see an answer, students can refer to: http://www.zhihu.com

2. Keep an eye on everything-especially in the shower

Just take a notebook (or your smart phone) and make notes whenever you can, as Austin Kleon offers. Don't expect your brain to remember everything and write down ideas or ideas that flash through your mind. When you begin to do this, you may remember what you wrote down yesterday and in the past, which will help you to connect later!

You can even do that in the shower, according to the study, which is a very helpful time to inspire creativity.

3. Review your notes every day--Franklin's method

Examining your notes every day helps to recall them more easily in the future when you need them. This is one of Franklin's ways of cultivating 13 virtues, as Franklin looked at his chart every day, and sooner or later he would re-examine what he had done one day and answer a simple question:

What good have I done today?