Mandelbrot (roughly): do not look at what you see, but at the process that created it. Great ideas have infinite applications and all ideas are interconnected.

Mandelbrot (roughly): do not look at what you see, but at the process that created it. Great ideas have infinite applications and all ideas are interconnected. The trouble is knowing how far downstream you are from the source and if it is untapped. In this sense, I couldn't say I come up with any ideas, but recognize the underlining pattern reoccurring. Let your reason guide you; great minds find each other this way quite spectacularly. edit: there are also those times where you just say, "I wish I could just do ____", and often you can.